Vivek Bajaj succeeds founder Michael Lines as the London-based capital markets fintech enters its next stage of expansion.
Capital markets fintech firm Likezero has named Vivek Bajaj as its new Chief Executive Officer, marking the start of the company’s next phase of strategic growth following a period of exceptional performance, which has seen its annual recurring revenue (ARR) increase tenfold over the past two years.
Bajaj brings a wealth of international leadership experience in fintech and risk management. He previously served as European Head of Sales at Moody’s Insurance Solutions, having joined the organisation through Moody’s acquisition of fintech scale-up RMS, where he was EMEA Managing Director. Prior to that, he spent nearly 20 years in senior roles at IBM and led consulting services for Microsoft’s Financial Services division, where he developed technology strategies for leading global financial institutions.
Bajaj succeeds Michael Lines, Likezero’s founder, who launched the company in 2020 after spinning it out from PwC in a deal backed by Souter Investments. While stepping down as CEO, Lines will continue to play a key role in shaping Likezero’s long-term strategy and product innovation as co-chair, working alongside current chairman Mark Horgan, former CEO of Moneycorp.
Likezero currently counts several of the world’s largest blue-chip institutions among its client list, including three of the six largest banks in the US and three of the five largest European investment banks, with expectations to achieve 30% market share across the North American and European G-SIB market, the UK, Europe, and Asia-Pacific over the course of 2026.
The company’s data-driven software, which is applicable on both the trading floor and in the risk office, supports clients in managing and analysing hundreds of thousands of trading agreements. From derivatives to repo and securities lending contracts, these agreements often represent trillions in notional value and underpin the daily functioning of global financial markets. As a result, its clients can react faster and more accurately to optimise their trading and counterparty relationships, particularly in periods of market fluctuation when quick decisions are imperative.
Michael Lines, founder and co-chair of Likezero and an early innovator of AI in financial services, said: “Financial institutions have undergone significant change since the global financial crisis, but assessing counterparty and contractual risk and optimising time to trade, what to trade, and the regulatory capital needed to back a trade has remained a costly analogue process.
“Since 2010 we have seen a continuous stream of counterparty risk events – be it Greensill, Archegos, SVB and Credit Suisse and current geopolitical market volatility. This has illustrated the value of being able to deliver real and actionable insight to our clients during unforeseen external shocks as well as business-as-usual economic benefits, which include enhancing client onboarding, time to trade, pricing, XVA collateral operations, and optimisation.
“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved at Likezero in such a short time, and I welcome Vivek to our team. I’m confident that with this strategic move, we will be well-placed to pursue new opportunities to scale and invest in developing the new data solutions services that the wider industry craves.”
Today’s leadership evolution follows a 200% compound annual growth rate for Likezero between 2023 and 2025 and tenfold ARR (Annualised Recurring Revenue) growth over the past two years.
Vivek Bajaj, CEO of Likezero, said: “It’s an honour to take on the challenge to lead Likezero which, under Mike’s pioneering leadership, has successfully cultivated an impressive roster of some the largest global Tier 1 banks whilst growing significantly.
“I am excited to take up the mantle for the next phase of growth for the firm, which will be twofold. Firstly, we will continue to invest heavily in our market-leading contract intelligence platform which blends industry-specific data assets, advanced machine learning and AI, with ambitions to create a complete, digital record of trading terms and agreements for capital markets. Secondly, we will bring Likezero’s capabilities to even more leading institutions so that they can win business with confidence and improve counterparty trust across the industry.”
Mark Horgan, co-chair of Likezero, said: “Since its early days, Likezero has been a disruptor. Its technology fundamentally changed once-manual and reactive processes into efficient and data-driven decision-making which is increasingly seen as an essential service for modern investment bankers.
“Our impressive base of clients, built quickly over the last two to three years, speaks volumes in how our solution has been adopted by the industry, and we look forward to this next stage in the company’s growth objectives under Vivek’s leadership.”
