Sarah Williams-Gardener, Chair of FinTech Wales, attended Windsor Castle on Wednesday 15th April to formally receive her Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), following her appointment in the 2025 New Year Honours.
The OBE was awarded to Sarah Williams-Gardener, by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, in recognition of her outstanding contribution and leadership in building and promoting a fair and inclusive fintech sector in Wales and across the UK.
A passionate advocate for innovation, inclusion, and regional economic growth, Sarah has played a pivotal role in shaping the fintech landscape in Wales and beyond.
Sarah is a highly experienced leader with over 30 years’ experience across technology, banking, and public policy. She began her career with 17 years at IBM, latterly serving as Government Affairs Director UK, and was a founding member of the team behind challenger bank Starling.
Since 2019, she has held several senior roles, including Interim CEO of the charity Hope for Children, and a leadership role at Fair4All Finance, where she established its market and consumer insights function and contributed to product design.
In 2020, Sarah was appointed the first CEO of FinTech Wales, where she drove significant investment and growth in the Welsh fintech ecosystem before transitioning into the role of Chair in 2024. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director at the DVLA, a position she has held since 2024.
Beyond her professional achievements, Sarah was recognised in the Honours List for her commitment to charitable causes and public service. She is a passionate trustee of Surviving Economic Abuse, having served on the board for the past seven years. Through this work, she has combined her expertise in financial services with a commitment to supporting vulnerable customers, playing a key role in the innovation and adoption of tools such as the “gambling block” and “reference block” features, now widely implemented across the financial services sector.
Sarah is also an active angel investor and holds a number of non-executive and advisory roles, including positions with the Tata Group Translation Advisory Board and Business Beats Cancer Cymru as Chair.
Upon receiving the OBE, Sarah said: “I’m incredibly honoured to receive this OBE. It reflects the collective work of so many people across Wales and the UK who are committed to creating a fairer, more inclusive financial services sector. There is still much to do, but I’m proud of the progress we’ve made together.”
Sarah Jones, CEO at FinTech Wales said: “Sarah’s recognition in being awarded an OBE is so richly deserved. Her vision, leadership and unwavering commitment have made a profound difference not only to FinTech Wales, but to the wider financial services community in Wales and beyond. We are incredibly proud to see her receive this honour in person at Windsor Castle.”
