Mettle, the NatWest-backed business account, has appointed Andrea Himmelbauer as its first culture and people lead.
Since joining from fintech Arcus where as director of people operations she was responsible for HR, coaching and development, talent acquisition and culture, Himmelbauer, who was born and raised in Mexico, now sits on the Mettle leadership team. She studied Organisational Psychiatry and Psychology at King’s College London due to her passion for cultivating diverse and inclusive organisations.
According to the business, this hire demonstrates its commitment to an inclusive company culture at a time where organisations are shifting towards hybrid working. Having worked with a diversity and inclusion architect to determine what else is needed, Mettle believes this is an “important” next step to continue progress.
Himmelbauer commented that she is looking forward to joining the business, particularly at a time where culture, inclusion and diversity is becoming ever more important to employees.
“One of the things that attracted me to Mettle was the passion that everyone has for an inclusive workplace, everyone has the opportunity to share their perspectives and that is really important in a collaborative working environment. The leadership team has created an environment where being myself and bringing that to work is welcomed and valuable,” she said.
Marieke Flament, CEO of Mettle, added that hiring Himmelbauer is going to help with the organisation’s growth ambitions while keeping its start-up culture, and it is driven by seeing greater gender, ethnic and cultural diversity in leading roles.
“Everyone at Mettle is extremely excited to have Andrea on board. Her background in fintech and creating people-focused strategies is something that will take Mettle to the next level. Mettle is growing quickly, we now have more than 250 employees, up from 50 18 months ago, and are going to continue to grow at a fast pace,” she said.