Squared Holding SA Names Dirk van Daele as New Group Chairman

Squared Holding SA, the parent of Squared Financial, announced on Tuesday the appointment of Dirk van Daele as its new Group Chairman. He was previously a Board Member and Non-Executive Chairman at Squared Financial.

His appointment to the apex role came when the company is strengthening its corporate governance toward minority shareholders. All of it is a part of the group’s efforts to scale the business and support ongoing funding.

“The roadmap towards neo banking is intricate especially that Squared Financial is geographically expanding, namely in the USA, with a special focus on emerging markets in Africa and LATAM,” van Daele said.

“Working closely with the team, we will capitalize on corporate governance and investment expertise to draw more funding, cementing Squared Financial's position as the investment firm of the future.”

Strong Industry Background

He brings 35 years of banking industry experience to the new role. Over his career, he covered corporate banking, corporate finance and asset management in Europe and Asia.

Along with his role at Squared, he will continue to be the Chairman of Circlo3, an FCA-regulated firm founded by him that is focused on capital raising by private placement. He also sits on the board of several other listed and non-listed companies like Element 2 and Sphaira Innovation, according to his Linkedin profile.

He started his career in 1984 and worked with big names like Barclays, UBS and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, which are among several other companies he had been a part of.

“Dirk's long history of leadership, coupled with his experience in corporate governance over the last 10 years, makes him the right fit for this role,” said Philippe Ghanem, the Founder of Squared Financial Group.

Now, Ghanem will be focusing on the scaling of the business, especially operations in Cyprus and bolstering its payments arm. Furthermore, the company launched a crypto arm to expand into the United States.

“We aim at acquiring more jurisdictions, attracting more shareholders, and further increasing our client base and product offering, which requires stronger corporate governance,” Ghanem added.