It’s with sadness that WorldRemit announces the death of founder and board member Catherine Wines, who started the company in 2010 with Ismail Ahmed and Richard Igoe.
Breon Corcoran, CEO, said:
“Catherine had a relentless focus on doing the right thing for customers, something that she continued to drive through her role on the board.
“She was passionate about creating financial inclusion for migrants, and leaves a strong, purpose-led legacy”.
Ismail Ahmed, co-founder and Non-Executive Chairman said;
"Catherine was truly inspirational, her vision and ambition for how a remittance business could change lives was central to the founding of WorldRemit. But more than that, she was an extraordinary mind, with a deep understanding of financial services that enabled us to create a viable way to serve the customers she was so passionate about helping."
Catherine was born in France, and grew up in Paris. The daughter of a convenience store owner, Wines soon learned the importance of loyalty and serving customers as she made deliveries to the store’s best customers.
After moving to England after university, Catherine obtained an accountancy certification and went on to pursue a career that enabled her to travel widely in the 1990s, including to emerging markets.
Catherine got into remittances in the early 2000s when a friend asked her to come in as finance director for a struggling firm: very quickly, she became the managing director. Eventually that firm was sold to Travelex Money Transfer and then to Coinstar Money Transfer.
After leaving Coinstar, she met her future co-founder of WorldRemit, Ismail Ahmed.
Latterly Catherine dedicated her time to working with charities and other organisations to support and mentor young people.
