Ripjar appoints Matt Mills as Chief Executive Officer

Ripjar has appointed Matt Mills as chief executive officer as the London-headquartered screening and financial crime technology company enters its next phase of growth.

Mills brings more than 15 years of experience in banking, payments, automation and security technology. He has held senior commercial and general management roles at Featurespace and Aurasma, both later acquired by larger groups.

The leadership change comes as banks and corporates face tighter expectations around financial crime controls. Regulators are increasing scrutiny of how firms screen customers and counterparties against sanctions lists, politically exposed persons and other watchlists.

Regulatory pressure

Illicit proceeds from criminal activity represent an estimated 2% to 5% of global GDP, according to the World Economic Forum. The Forum also estimates that less than 1% of funds linked to financial crime are seized or frozen by law enforcement.

The EU's Anti-Money Laundering Authority is also raising the profile of enforcement in Europe. Firms face greater exposure to penalties if they transact with financial criminals or if controls fall short of supervisory expectations.

Against that backdrop, demand has risen for screening tools that reduce false positives and handle large volumes of customer data. Compliance teams are also dealing with more frequent list updates and more complex ownership structures among corporate customers.

Company background

Ripjar was founded in 2013 by former members of the UK Intelligence Services. The company develops screening software used by financial institutions and other enterprises, and positions its product around integrated views of risk and explainable artificial intelligence.

Ripjar uses a data-agnostic approach to integrate with existing systems. Its platform provides a customer-specific view of regulatory and reputational risk, which can change as new information emerges.

More than 200 businesses use Ripjar's products, including tier 1 banks and large corporations. The company says deployments have produced a 99% reduction in data requiring manual review and a 5% increase in risk identified.

Mills' track record

Mills spent around a decade at Featurespace as chief commercial officer and general manager. During his tenure, the company expanded from 12 to more than 400 employees before Visa acquired it in 2024.

Earlier, he led innovation, sales and partnerships at Aurasma, which was later acquired by HP. Ripjar said Mills helped expand Aurasma to more than 10,000 commercial customers and partners over three years.

Mills takes the top job following a period of industry and investor activity around risk technology. Ripjar was named in the Chartis RiskTech100 2026 Winners list, a ranking of risk technology providers.

Ripjar also completed a follow-on majority investment from Long Ridge Equity Partners in November 2024; Long Ridge is now the company's majority owner.

In a statement, Mills linked his appointment to the critical role of screening in financial crime prevention. 'I have been an admirer of Ripjar and its important work across screening and intelligence for some time,' Mills noted, emphasising that financial institutions and enterprises act as the 'first line of defence' against illicit activity.

"I have been an admirer of Ripjar and its important work across screening and intelligence for some time. Ripjar has consistently excelled at protecting countries, banks and corporate entities. Financial institutions and enterprises are the first line of defence against financial crime. Our screening technology empowers them to make smarter decisions that defend their businesses and disrupt the crime economy," said Matt Mills, chief executive officer, Ripjar.

Long Ridge highlighted Mills' background in scaling commercial operations in regulated markets, alongside changing demand in screening and compliance.

"Matt brings a powerful combination of deep domain expertise and a proven track record of leading and scaling innovative, high-growth businesses," said Jason Melton, partner at Long Ridge. "Mills will accelerate Ripjar's go-to-market strategy and global expansion to meet increasing market demand for smarter, more efficient customer screening solutions. We're excited to welcome him onboard."

Mills takes charge as financial institutions and large corporates continue to invest in controls to address sanctions compliance, customer due diligence and related screening requirements across multiple jurisdictions.