Ryan
Mendy

Ryan is Strategic Adviser to Zilch CEO and Co-Founder, Philip Belamant, helping shape the company's long-term growth, strategic partnerships and stakeholder engagement. Since 2019, Ryan has worked closely with the founders and leadership team to help build Zilch from concept into Deloitte's fastest-growing fintech unicorn in EMEA for both 2024 and 2025. He initially served as a board adviser, working directly with the founders and co-leading capital and debt raises, before joining the executive team as Chief Communications Officer and later Chief Business Officer, where he helped build and shape the company's reputation, media profile, public affairs, and banking and investor relationships.

Ryan is also a founding co-chair of the Unicorn Council for UK Fintech (UCFT) executive committee. Collectively valued at over $150 billion, the council is a market-first body uniting CEOs and leaders of over 25 of the UK's most valuable, late-stage and fastest-growing fintech firms with IPO potential. Working alongside No. 10, HM Treasury and financial regulators, the UCFT's core purpose is to help senior stakeholders shape and influence policy, improve investor perception and unlock capital markets reform to cement the UK's position as a global fintech leader.

In 2026, Ryan was awarded the Freedom of the City of London, presented by the incoming Lord Mayor of London, in recognition of his contributions to financial services, entrepreneurship and the UK's fintech ecosystem.

With over 25 years of experience, Ryan has a diverse background spanning investment banking, with corporate advisory and analyst roles at institutions such as Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs, as well as founding a research business focused on activist investing, working with global investors to predict corporate spin-offs and M&A, covering landmark situations including Activision Blizzard, Cablevision/MSG, eBay/PayPal, Pfizer/Zoetis, Universal Music Group and Vivendi.