Nigel Morris


Nigel William Morris is a British businessman. He is the managing partner of QED Investors and co-founded Capital One Financial Services with Richard Fairbank.

Early life

Nigel William Morris was born in Billericay, Essex, the son of an army sergeant, in June 1958. He grew up in London.
With an army father, and moving around the country, Morris went to 11 different schools, ending up at Lancaster Royal Grammar School. Morris earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from North East London Polytechnic, followed by an MBA from London Business School, where he is also a Fellow.

Career

Morris is the director of QED Investors, a venture capital firm focused on high-growth companies that leverage the power of data strategies. In addition, he works in an advisory capacity with personalized prepaid debit card provider CARD.com, General Atlantic Partners and Oliver Wyman Consulting. He serves on the board of numerous for-profit companies, including Remitly, Red Ventures, CAN Capital, Media Math, borro, and Prosper. He is also on the boards of National Geographic, ideas42, and the London Business School.
Previously, Morris co-founded Capital One Financial Services in 1994. Under Morris's leadership, Capital One pioneered an information-based strategy that fundamentally transformed the consumer lending industry. Combining advanced statistical marketing techniques with nascent information technologies, the company reduced costs to conventional borrowers, extended capital to overlooked consumers, expanded internationally, and produced extraordinary returns for investors.
During Morris's ten-year tenure, Capital One's net income after taxes grew at a compound annual rate of more than 32%. Over this same decade, earnings per share growth and return on equity both exceeded 20% per year, a financial performance attained by only a handful of American companies. Upon his retirement in 2004, Capital One's 15,000 employees across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom managed over $80 billion of loans for 50 million customers. Generating over $1.5 billion in earnings, Capital One had successfully transitioned from an emerging start-up into an established public company valued at over $20 billion.

Personal life

Morris lives with his wife and four children in Virginia, US.