By Muskan Arora
Oliver Holbourn has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of UK’s National Wealth Fund, effective November 1.
In his new role, Holbourn will lead the National Wealth Fund’s efforts to deliver on its priorities: significantly increasing the amount of capital it deploys; expanding into new sectors; and trialing strategic partnerships with mayoral strategic authorities to develop richer pipelines for regional investment.
“Oliver is passionately committed to our mission, brings a rare combination of senior leadership across both the public and private sectors, and has a background in banking, which is at the heart of what we do,” said Chris Grigg, chair of the National Wealth Fund, in a press release.
Holbourn previously served as CEO of UK Financial Investments (UKFI), where he was responsible for managing the government’s shareholdings in the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Bank, and the UK Asset Resolution Ltd. Earlier in his career, he spent more than a decade at the Bank of America in several roles including managing director of equity capital markets for the U.K., Ireland, and South Africa.
Most recently, Holbourn was the CEO of RBS International Holdings, a subsidiary of the NatWest Group, where he was also a member of its executive committee for more than four years.
“Oliver brings a wealth of private sector expertise and public service experience to this critical role,” said Rachel Reeves, chancellor of Exchequer for the U.K. Treasury, in a news release. “His expertise will be instrumental in delivering the government’s growth and clean energy missions.”
The National Wealth Fund is the government’s principal investor and policy bank. Since its launch in October 2024, the fund has committed £2.5B, supporting more than 10,000 jobs. It also has expanded its firepower, with £5.8B of additional capital to deploy.
