From Barclays CEO to fintech Founder: Antony Jenkins on making banking 10x better

Episode overview

Former Barclays Group CEO Antony Jenkins joins Dave Allen to share how he walked away from the pinnacle of global banking to found 10x Banking, a fintech built to make banks “ten times better.” He reflects on leadership under pressure, the realities of starting from scratch, and how AI, education, and personal grit are reshaping the future of finance and work.

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Leaving the summit of global finance to start entirely from scratch is not a move for the faint of heart.

Antony Jenkins’ career documents a radical reinvention. From a graduate trainee in the 1980s to Group CEO of Barclays, Antony spent decades commanding one of the world’s largest banks.

Yet, driven by a burning sense of purpose, he made a deliberate pivot, launching 10x Banking to take the scale of the sector’s growth from incremental to monumental.

So what happens when a leader walks away from the ample resources of a FTSE 100 giant to build a disruptive technology startup from the ground up?

Today’s episode is a candid exploration of high-stakes career transitions, the culture shock of true entrepreneurship, and how to harness a state of “permanent dissatisfaction” to drive change that registers on an industry level, and beyond.

You will learn:

• How Antony Jenkins made the leap from Group CEO of Barclays to founding 10x Banking.
• Why outdated technology is still holding banks back – and what it takes to make them “10x better”.
• How AI and agentic systems could enable five‑minute mortgages and radically better customer experiences.
• What modern leaders really do day-to-day, and why “permanent dissatisfaction” can be a strength.
• How education, apprenticeships, and an entrepreneurial mindset can help you become the CEO of your own career.

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