17th June 2026

Starling – Kari, Technical Risk & Control Manager

What does your job role involve?

I’m a risk & control manager in Technology which involves having responsibility for; planning and delivering our annual control testing programme, managing our risk register, working with teams across Starling to complete risk assessments on a range of things such as new tools, AI, changes to how we work and even new client products, and helping to coach and support our analysts.

I also created and co-lead our Starling Nest initiative to support parental leavers and returners, which is something I’m really passionate about.

What made you choose a career in technology?

Originally I wanted to be a physiotherapist but I’m actually not very good at science which was needed to get onto the degree! I’ve always loved computers and technology since my Grandad introduced me to them. I started to read more about technology and was fascinated by how often technology projects go wrong and decided I wanted to be involved in fixing that!

Did you study an IT or technology related subject at A-Level or University?

I studied IT at A-Level and Computer Information Systems at the University of Lincoln – I had no programming experience and it wasn’t something I was interested in so I steered away from Computer Science degrees.

Did you get any work experience in IT or technology before this role?

I’ve worked in a number of different Technology roles (plus a stint in Compliance) at various banks for nearly 17 years!

Do you think there is a lack of females in the IT and tech sector?

As you progress there’s often fewer women around you, particularly when you couple Technology and Banking, so it can feel hard to find a role model. The Lovelace report provides some interesting insights into this mid-career challenge. I consider myself lucky that in my current area there are lots of women and amazing role models but for those who don’t have that, employee networks are vital in helping women feel connected.

Do you find there is a stereotype that a career in IT or technology is just for men?

Historically there has been a stereotype but now I think it’s more that the breadth of potential careers in Technology is not well understood.

What would entice women to study technology related courses?

Girls tend to lose interest in technology much younger than boys making it less likely that they will study technology related subjects. I strongly believe that finding ways to keep girls engaged throughout primary school would really help with this. At this age it doesn’t have to be really technical, it just needs to be fun! Thinking about as girls get older – whilst technology has become part of everyday life I don’t think there’s enough done to encourage girls to think about all the people involved and whether that’s something that they would enjoy as they start making decisions about their future. Working in technology doesn’t only mean writing computer programmes!

Are there barriers when it comes to women getting into tech?

I think a lot of people are put off because they wouldn’t describe themselves as “technical” however working in technology is not always about having specific technical knowledge, and many women have amazing transferable skills that they could use in technology but don’t realise this is possible. To support this there are programmes available to help women retrain so they can enter technology at multiple points in their career rather than only at the entry level which is amazing.

How could we encourage more women to start a career in tech?

For me there’s two aspects to this – one is making sure we are capturing girls’ interests so that more will go on to study technology subjects, but even if it’s not their first career choice they have that lifelong interest and may come back to it later.

Secondly, making sure we are sharing open and honest stories from women who work in technology so that others can find their role models. Being open and honest also helps to shine a light on where changes need to be made to support women into technology – if organisations can publicly show how they are making technology a great place for women to work that will really help set them apart from the competition.