George Lucas to quit Raiz

Raiz Invest managing director and joint group chief executive (international) George Lucas has resigned effective December 31.

The board acknowledged Lucas' work in establishing Raiz and his leadership of the fintech through significant growth and expansion.

Raiz has over $1 billion in assets under management and over 1.5 million investment accounts.

In an ASX release, Raiz said Acorns, a specialist micro-investment company launched in the US in 2012, was recognised by Lucas in 2014 as an innovative opportunity to provide online wealth accumulation products to small investors via the Acorns platform.

The release said Lucas is keen to pursue other opportunities.

"Founding and building Raiz has been my most rewarding challenge. I'm proud of having helped over one million people learn more about savings and investments," Lucas said.

"I am excited about the future for Raiz, especially the renewed focus on educating the next generation on building financial security."

Lucas has spent more than 20 years in the investment banking industry and has extensive experience in developing and structuring new financial products.

Lucas will be replaced by Brendan Malone, currently, the joint group chief (Australia).

Moreover, he has advised hedge fund managers and written several publications and tertiary courses on derivatives.

Raiz chair Harvey Kalman - who has decided to step down as chair - said the board was indebted to Lucas' intuition and spirit of entrepreneurship.

These attributes led to "the identification and successful execution of a market opportunity that has provided a wealth management pathway to our investors, allowing them to access markets and savings opportunities previously unavailable to them."

Of the incoming chief executive, Kalman said Brendan has been an integral part of the business since joining as the first employee of the organisation in 2015.

"He brings a passion for our customers and our people, as well as an intimate knowledge and understanding of our business," Kalman said,

The outgoing chair said it had been a privilege to chair the board of Raiz over the past 12 months, steering it through one of the most tumultuous periods in its history.