Wise PLC Corporate Governance Red Flag?

In the summer of 2025 Wise was pursuing a shareholder vote to pursue a dual listing on the LSE plus the NASDAQ.

Shareholders were forced to vote on a bundled resolution that included pursuing dual listing PLUS extending the 9:1 voting rights of the founders Class B Shares.

Interestingly, one of the two co-founders (Hinrikus) actually opposed this and he writes:

“Respected bodies, including the Council of Institutional Investors, as well as academics and proxy advisors, criticise extended dual-class structures, noting controlled firms typically underperform financially, exhibit weaker governance, and face higher volatility.

Wise should adhere to the foundational corporate governance principle of “one share, one vote” to protect its long-term business value and the interests of all owners equally.”

The resolution ultimately passed - Co-Founder / current CEO Käärmann retains his nearly 50% vote, and Wise is set to list on the NASDAQ later this month.

However, it highlights an interesting contradiction - Wise aggressively champions transparency, fairness, and equality in its consumer-facing financial products, it relies on highly entrenched, opaque, and unequal voting mechanisms for its internal corporate governance.