The Most Wanted FIntech Legends in the Wild West
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BUCKAROOS2022
y d w o H ! s r e n t r Pa
ent when ou know that mom swing the saloon doors stops ist open, the pian ot w fo steps of a playing and the slo l the atmosphere? new buckaroo fil r u will. Because fo No!? Well, now yo , we’re taking this special edition ild West to meet you to the Wild W s around. the craftiest critter the very best We’ve rounded up ostly) fintech North American (m , and brought characters of 2021 cowboy town, them to our epic ll find them there LegendVille. You’ seeking new breaking norms, srupting finance adventures and di business! like it’s nobody’s es ready, your So, get your hors dy … Here come cowboy hats stea oos! Yeeeeehaa! the Fintech Buckar
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n, Edito r a c n u D h Hanna
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The good, the badass & the huskies Barb MacLean
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7 8 9
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Oklahoma! Jill Castilla No country for old tech Sarah Williams-Gardener
Ending the great daylight robbery Michelle Pearce-Burke
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Saving the day for NGOs Francesca Hodgson
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This eagle has landed Amanda Orson
Meet ng a G e t h19 28
Expecting the unexpected Denyette DePierro
Opportunity Bites! Fired up about family finance Pauline Roteta
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Read ‘em and weep! Cokie Hastotis A fistful of justice Angel Rich
Tough ain’t enough! Taking power and purpose to the next level Angelica Fuentes
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There’s a new sheriff in town Julie Rasmussen
Keep movin’, movin’, movin’ Ghela Boskovich
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Ali Paterson
ART DIRECTOR Chris Swales
GENERAL MANAGER Chloe Butler
US CORRESPONDENT Jacob Bouer
ONLINE EDITOR Eleanor Hazelton Lauren Towner
EDITOR Hannah Duncan
PHOTOGRAPHER Jordan “Dusty” Drew
ONLINE TEAM Lewis Johnson-Pitt Elvey Mensah-Afram
HEAD OF CONTENT Douglas Mackenzie CONTENT TEAM Bobby Suman Aniqah Majid Joe Butler
Going in for the thrill Lisa Violet
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For a few founders more… Roshawnna Novellus
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Hell or high water Sam Maule
The magnificent six-times founder Kelsey Weaver
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Nobody gets left behind! Nicky Goulimis
26 27 SALES TEAM Tom Dickinson Karen Estcourt Serena Khemaney Shaun Routledge
Blazing channels Andi Dominguez Life in the fast lane Allison Barr Allen VIDEO TEAM Lewis Averillo-Singh Lea Jakobiak Oliver Chapman
Shooting for sustainability Sarah Bratton-Hughes
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Plaid to the bone Ginger Baker
This tech is made for sharin’! And that’s just what we’ll do Toni Townes-Whitley
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Once upon a time in the Netherlands… Conny Dorrestijn
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Insurance, unchained Bobbie Shrivastav
Three little words Our buckaroos describe their career
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his badass buckaroo is screenplay material. Starting out as an analyst at Celero Solutions in 2001, Barb MacLean hustled her way up to the top. Twenty years on, she’s the VP of Integration & Analytics, and we all bow down to her superior knowledge. What’s more, she’s still ploughing forwards on her upwards trajectory. Go on MacLean!
We’re delighted to present to you, the ultimate buckaroo, the Rocky Balboa of Fintech ...Barb “Bloody Legend” MacLean!
People-first approach... With MacLean’s leadership, we’ve seen Celero deliver better and better client experiences – including their recent digital partnership with 1st Choice Savings and Credit Union. Putting customers at the heart of the experience is where MacLean ffnews.com
The good, the badass & the huskies really shines as a fintech expert. “It’s not about the fin. Or the tech. It’s about the people”, MacLean reveals. “Treat them right, and it will come back to you in more ways than you could possibly imagine”.
in the most epic style …. See what we mean? Bloody legend.
...And huskies
Of course, we want to be living legends too. So, we asked MacLean for some pointers. We weren’t expecting her to come back with this fabulous shopping list of instructions, but we LOVED it. “Take or make opportunities. Try new things. Learn as much as you can. You must unlearn what you have learned. Surround yourself with good people. Don’t be a jerk. Call out jerks when you run across them. Send the elevator back down. Give other people a chance. Focus on execution. Do, or do not. There is no try”. Oh! And if you noticed that little Star Wars’ Yoda reference in there, then you, my friend, are a legend too.
You may be wondering how MacLean came to earn the name “Bloody Legend”. Well, while there are many reasons, the term was first coined by our Editor-in-chief, Ali Paterson in relation to her fabulous husky dogs. Of course, we couldn’t resist asking a little more. “Once a husky person, always a husky person”, MacLean proclaims. “What could be more fun than getting dogs involved in your outdoor activities when it’s winter for six months of the year? The only answer is dog sledding. And the perfect breed for that is of course huskies”. We couldn’t agree more! Like a snowy Boudica, MacLean travels around
Calling out jerks, unlearning lessons and listening to Yoda
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J
ill Castilla has been in more power lists than it’s – somewhat ironically – possible to list. She’s such a permanent profile in American Banker we almost feel like we’re copying… So, if American Banker publish a fintech magazine about cowboys next month, we’ll all know why! Castilla’s the community-focused President and CEO of the Citizens Bank of Edmond, and when it comes to serving the good people of Oklahoma she means serious business!
Making PPP accessible
Bringing the Paycheck Protection Programme to local businesses is where Castilla truly takes the crown. She’s well and truly smashed it out the park. In 2020, the US government reacted to the pandemic by issuing financial help for SMEs. But the process was agonisingly
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slow. Recognising that every second counts, our fintech legend Castilla teamed up with none other than Dragon’s Den investor Mark Cuban. Together, they launched an overdraft facility for the business owners to quickly access those much-needed funds. To top it off, the dynamic duo even created a platform which simplified and automated the process. Removing all friction for local businesses. Honestly. We don’t even have words for how awesome that is. We’re all sitting here with our jaws on the floor, gaping like Western-themed goldfish.
Putting the community first
Jill “Community-first” Cast President and CEO of the illa Citizens Bank of Edmond
“No talk, all action” is how the great Cuban described Castilla. True to form, we couldn’t get an interview this time (d’oh!) but we have watched from the side-lines as Castilla removes obstacles for her community left, right and centre. We were super impressed with her “curbside banking” initiative. To help curb (yay! pun!) the spread of the virus, banking customers could access all their normal in-branch services from their car outside the bank. We’ve also watched with wonder at the myriads of community initiatives Castilla spearheads. From Heard on Hurd, a monthly food festival sponsored by the bank, to the dozens of scholarships
and mentor programmes she partakes in. Castilla sits on numerous boards, from the YMCA to MetaFund CDFI. Honestly, it’s nuts. Not to mention how this buckaroo also serves 100 days a year as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army of Oklahoma… Is there ANYTHING Jill Castilla doesn’t do? Oklahoma is home to a few worldfamous financiers … Warren Buffet, T. Boone Pickens and more. But our all-time favourite is without a doubt, Jill “Community-first” Castilla. Welcome to the gang Castilla, you absolute legend.
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NO COUNTRY FOR OLD TECH T
his story begins not in the dusty planes of a Western backdrop, but in the cosy country of Wales. Wedged between the rocky Irish Sea and a rather the dominating neighbour of England, Wales is a fintech-fierce nation, which packs a punch.
Leading the revolution for Wales Leading the revolution is the surprisingly approachable Sarah Williams-Gardener. But don’t be fooled by her calm and friendly demeanour. Because, like the Celtic legend of Boudica, this CEO of FinTech Wales means serious business. “Wales has quietly been starting, scaling and selling amazing fintech businesses here in the Welsh valleys”, Williams-Gardener reveals. (She’s good at her job, so she gets promoting right away. Extra points for Williams-Gardener!). “And now, thanks to the work of Ron Kalifa, our secrets have been discovered, with South Wales and, in particular, Cardiff highlighted as a thriving hub for fintechs”. Becoming a fintech leader isn’t simply a nice-to-have for a country like smaller
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Sarah “Raving for a Revolu ti Williams-Gardener on” CEO of FinTech Wales
Wales. It can turbo-charge the whole economy. Mainstreaming fintech across schools, universities, businesses, towns and cities can override bleak unemployment forecasts and offer a better career to huge segments of society. That’s why we love Williams-Gardener. Her mission can uplift an entire country. Get in Williams-Gardener!
Building tech to help people over profit
So, what makes Williams-Gardener different? Well, we think it might just be her people-first perspective. “I think it was an advantage for me not being a career banker or technologist when I joined the FinTech sector”, she elaborates, “I’ve always looked at things through a consumer lens”. Throughout her career, she’s also strived to take mental stress away from tech customers too. She recalls a time when she worked with gambling tech, and how she took up the goal to make it less addictive. “Understanding the challenge from customers addicted to gambling, reading research about the
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impact of this on mental health, hearing from parents whose son’s habit had resulted in them taking their lives”, she explains. “I vowed to find a small way to support those who wanted to control their habit. With the help of Starling Banks’ uber smart software engineers we created a customer controlled gambling block. This was soon adopted by other challenger banks and eventually by the traditional banking sector. Imitation, as they say, is the best form of flattery”. BAM! Nicely said.
IMITATION, AS THEY SAY IS THE BEST FORM OF FLATTERY ffnews.com
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ichelle Pearce-Burke hit the ground running. She hit the ground running so hard, that she’s basically a turbo-charged flying-machine now. We love that she created a low-fee investment platform for ordinary people, and can’t get enough of her business ethos.
Launching an investment platform, managing a team and being a fintech bad-ass...
Pearce-Burke co-founded the nowhousehold-name investment app, Wealthify. Let’s be fair, that takes balls. While heading up the investment team as Chief Investment Officer, she also held down the post of Chief Operating Officer too (!!!) Six and a half years later, Wealthify is absolutely smashing it. The team have picked up more awards than you could shake a stick at, and they’ve swept more than 50,000 customers off their feet. Lordy. What’s most impressive about Wealthify is its super-low fees and tiny minimum investments, helping more people build up their finances.
With so much choice, we challenged Pearce-Burke to pick out the thing she’s most proud of. A tough question, but she gave it a good go. “There have been so many moments along the way that have made me proud of Wealthify and what we’ve achieved”, Pearce-Burke explains. “When I read our Trustpilot reviews or hear genuine customer feedback, it is nearly always overwhelmingly positive, and that makes me very proud of what we’ve built. When Aviva invested in the company in 2018, that also was also a good moment, as it brought a lot of praise and was a lovely external validation of the value of what we’d built”.
...In her twenties What we love about Pearce-Burke is that she co-founded an investment firm at such a young age, and confidently led a team of investment managers. BAM! She’s exactly the kind of person we’d want to be our daughters’ godmother. Someone who jumps in the deep end. And someone who kicks the glass ceiling so hard that it sends tiny little shards floating up into space.
So, what’s the secret? Where does she get the confidence and drive? “I am eternally optimistic about what I can achieve”, she reveals. “This has downsides and can lead to me occasionally ‘biting off more than I can chew’, but it also means I get things done and am not afraid to do new things”. Perhaps that’s the beauty of starting up a business young, before working life and middle-aged men have worn you down into a husk. “Setting up a business, I think this ‘can – do’ spirit is essential”, Pearce-Burke continues. “As there will be so many problems you encounter along the way which you will need to overcome”. Pearce-Burke is a real pioneer in her field. And she’s not done. Not by a long stretch. When it comes to the future, Pearce-Burke had this to say, “Wealthify is scaling up fast at the moment, acquiring customers at a rate of knots. I can’t share anything too specific, but we’re building out lots of exciting new features and products, so watch this space!”. We will, Pearce-Burke, we will!
es” fe h ig h s io d A “ e ll e h ic M Pearce-Burke & er Wealthify Co-FounOdffi cer t n e tm s e v In f ie h C ffnews.com
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SAVING THE DAY FOR NGOs NGO s!
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ou know what we love about this bunch of bombastic buckaroos? It’s their unyielding focus on people and improving the lives of others. Leading the way in this noble cause is founder and COO of GoodBox herself, Francesca “Fintech for Good” Hodgson. She’s rescued more charities and Non Governmental Organisations than we can shake a lasso at, and is poised for even more fintech philanthropy. Go on Hodgson!
FACILITATING CONTACTLESS PAYMENTS FOR CHARITIES
So, what is GoodBox? And why did Hodgson co-found it? Well, in her own words, “We launched Goodbox in 2016 and I personally had worked for 10 years with non-profit organisations and could see how desperately the sector needed digital innovation. We took a problem-first approach that centred around the devastating impact a cashless society was having on non-profit fundraising. So much charitable work relies on the generosity of donor support, to contextualise this further an average of $10bn each year
is given to non-profit causes. These causes underpin our communities and provide much needed services”. This Cambridge graduate wasted no time in creating a simple-yet-genius solution, the “Tap To Give” boxes were born. From museums to churches, more than 1,700 charities have signed up to become clients of GoodBox.
MAXIMISING REVENUE AND INCREASING SECURITY
Since creating these cashless ways for charities to access capital, GoodBox’s non-profit organisations have enjoyed soaring increases in revenue – And these much-needed funds were invaluable over the past couple of years. “We have recently reached a key milestone of 1 million donations and now have over 2,000 clients across the UK”, Hodgson explains. “One figure that really highlights the impact of our solution is that our early adopters have seen an average increase in donations of 68% by using one or more of our products”. We quizzed Hodgson on the uncomfortable question of whether GoodBox is a for-profit company. And the
Francesca “Fintech for good Hodgson, Founder and ” COO of GoodBox answer we received was so satisfactory, we’ve come away as even bigger fans than we were before. GoodBox is a tech company, it has to be for-profit. BUT… And it’s a big but… the company pays for itself by massively boosting revenue for charities, it’s the ultimate win-win. “Our aim for all our charity clients is to deliver a return of 5 times on any investment made in a GoodBox product”, Hodgson explains. “Along with helping them reduce fraud, increase security and reduce administration”. Nice!
WATCH THIS SPACE!
But Hodgson is not yet done on her mission to revolutionise payments for good causes. Oh no Sir. She has ambitions to continue rocking the charity sector with cashless fintech. “Our plans for the future include scaling up our UK operations and expanding internationally. We will also continue to invest in R&D to help the non-profit sector with digital tools and valuable data insight”. Go on Hodgson!
WE TOOK A PROBLEM-FIRST APPROACH THAT CENTRED AROUND THE DEVASTATING IMPACT A CASHLESS SOCIETY WAS HAVING ON NON-PROFIT FUNDRAISING 10
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P
ocketful of aces? Cards up your sleeve? Or perhaps in your back-pocket? Don’t be an amateur! Keeping them all in one place is one of the many roles of Head of Curve’s US Expansion, Amanda Orson… the latest arrival to LegendsVille.
This is one poker-faced bandit you don’t want to meet the other side of the blackjack table. Picture the scene, ice clinking against the bourbon glass, nervous laughter in the dusty heat. And… BAM! Saloon doors crash inwards, there stands a silhouetted Orson against the high noon sky. She’s on a mission to bring the London-based brand to the US. This buckaroo is shooting for the star-spangled banner… and she’s absolutely nailing it.
Exploding Curve into North America Here at fintech finance, we’re fans of Curve. The brand won our epic fintech rap battle, and Kate Rosseau also made
our list of rip roaring Swashbucklers last year. (We’re not really fans of “lists''. Much better are cowboy towns and pirate ships). Heading the North American expansion of an emerging finance titan is never easy, but Orson does it with true Western style. Since joining in 2020, Curve secured a whooping $95 million towards its US launch in a super successful series C funding round. Yes Orson!
Firing out some bloody good tweets!
But there’s more to Orson than her role at Curve. Casual side hustles include advising venture capital and private equity firm Gauss Ventures, fire-fighting(!) as well as shooting out exceptionally snappy and useful tweets. From machine learning to real estate, Orson’s tweets are so on-point, we think they should be renamed “treats”. Orson is especially enthusiastic about all things crypto, keeping her nearly-19 thousand followers up-to-date on the hottest intel around. Welcome to the round-up, Amanda “Shoot for the stars” Orson … You’re acing it!.
tars” s e h t r o f t o o h S Amanda “ Vice President, Orson. America, Curve Head of North
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e're going to level with you. We knew that Rasmussen was kind of a big deal, and we knew that she’d freshly launched a fintech company, Simply Finances. But oh, my days. It wasn’t until we started researching her, did we realise how insanely bad-ass she is.
Adventure awaits!
A S ’ E R THE F F I R E H S W E N N W O T IN
Reading about Rasmussen’s life was like watching a Ted Talk. We’ve come away feeling like anything is possible. Case in point. We asked her, “Climbed any mountains? Run any marathons? What have you done that we wouldn’t know about?”. We ask this to flesh out the character and get to know the person. Uhhh… we were not expecting Ramussen’s answer. Which started like this, “Once I spent two months living in a tent on the side of a river in Siberia and running Class V rapids in an inflatable raft at the height of the spring runoff”. And ended like this, “Before we left, the tribesman approached the head of the Russian rafting team and offered to buy me to be his wife. I’m not sure exactly how many horses he offered, but I’ve always wondered if I should have taken him up on his offer lol”. Our jaws are on the actual floor. What a life!! We swear Rasmussen has had more adventures than Tarzan. Ok, amazing fireside stories aside… Why did we pick her to be a buckaroo?
Turning her business skills to fintech
Well, here’s the thing. She’s the one to watch. Rasmussen has a history of transforming $0 companies into $100 million ones. In her own words, “I was able to scale the company from zero to over $100 M in sales in five years and produced the highest EBITDA in company history”. Unsurprisingly, she won the esteemed “Businessperson of the Year award”, presented by the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia. She’s now the only woman elected to sit on the Chamber’s board too. And now … hold on to your (cowboy) hats… She’s entering the world of fintech. Her fintech, Simply Finances, is fresh out of the bag at the time of writing. Not even a year old. But it’s powerful stuff! Like Elas, the Brazilian neobank founded by our 2020 Swashbuckler Dr Vanise Zimmer, Rasmussen’s fintech is created for women.
A fintech for women, by women
Julie “One to Rasmussen, FWatch” of Simply Finounder ances 12
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Ready to see how an elevator pitch should be done? … Take it away Rasmussen! “Women’s World Banking puts this untapped market at $300 Billion and a study by Oliver Wyman puts it at $700 Billion globally”, she explains. “For all its innovativeness, the current fintech industry, just like the traditional financial services industry, struggles to connect with female customers. Our company aims to increase the uptake of financial products and services by women through increasing financial literacy and awareness of what fintech has to offer”. BAM! And uhh… where do we sign up? ffnews.com
D
enyette DePierro hasn’t just read the rule books on cyber security and risk. As the Vice President and Senior Counsel for the American Bankers Association (ABA), she’s basically written them. DePierro’s thirteen years in the field makes her truly one of the guardians of all things risk, cyber and a whole lot more! We’re super proud to welcome the charismatic, clever, and surprisingly chilled Denyette DePierro into our brave gang of buckaroos!
ITALY, POLITICS, LAW, TECH AND FINANCE… ALL IN ONE EPIC BUCKAROO We could gaze at DePierro’s LinkedIn for hours. DePierro, if you’re reading, apologies for all the views. It’s just a lot to process. With two degrees (technically three?) in Law, Politics and Italian, DePierro’s worked in
Washington, California, Naples (very glamorous) and London (ahoy there!). She’s taken on an insane number of extremely high-profile roles which blend international law, finance and tech in a way which would give most nonbuckaroo-people a tension headache. “In 2008 - before we had the term 'fintech' or ‘innovation’ - I founded ABA's emerging technology and banking trends portfolio”, DePierro explains. As well as covering “what we now call fintech” (legend); DePierro’s remit also included underwriting for sustainable construction, P2P lending and social media. “Before social media became what it is today, I developed the first-in-kind social media-focused regulatory portfolio and risk management framework to assist banks in adopting, using, and securing social media channels”, she elaborates. “This became the industry standard for managing and guiding social media strategy and bank-compliance engagement”.
CHILLED YET SPARKLING… LIKE CALIFORNIAN BUBBLY
There is SO much we could write about DePierro’s insanely impressive contributions to fintech in the regulatory space. But we absolutely MUST save some word count for her sparkling yet chilled personality. “Being a native Californian from a beach town, I’ve been told I bring a level of grounded calm to high-stress, deadline driven teams and projects”, she elaborates. We asked DePierro if she had any words of advice for budding buckaroos. “If there is an aspect of tech that doesn’t make sense to you, then try it out. Do not ignore it”, she replied. And that did it for us. That line is so good that we want to make a book called “Best 100 quotes in fintech” and put that as number one. That’s EXACTLY what we love about her. … Oh! And this little gem which DePierro revealed to us at the last second, “I gave up my apartment early in the Pandemic and have been living out of a suitcase moving from Airbnb to Airbnb, preferably somewhere on the water”. One word: Iconic.
or” Denyette “The Anticipdeatnt DePierro, Vice Presi the and Senior Counsel for iation American Bankers Assoc
EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED ffnews.com
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ur next gunslinging, showstopping buckeroo is surely the opportunist of the century.
Alongside co-founder Julie Scotland, Pauline Roteta saw a gap in the market. A gap bigger than the market. A gap so glaringly obvious and relevant that we’re puzzled nobody thought of it before. And that gap is financial inclusion for families. Using her epic financial skills, Roteta walked away from her portfolio manager role at Blackrock to set up a family-first financial service for everyone. Yes Roteta!
Finding her inspiration So, what inspired this brave Buckeroo to make such a drastic leap? “I spent two months living with my older sister and helping out after my niece Sophia was born. In her tight LA apartment, I became a part of intimate discussions she was having with her husband around new family finances”, Roteta reveals.
“After we tried and failed to get access to a financial advisor, I worked with them to get organized, fill the gaps and set up systems to keep tracking towards their family goals. It was exciting to help my sister and her family, but I am most proud about taking action to make sure other American families can also feel less stressed knowing their house is in order”. BAM! We love a good story, and especially one that ends in a brand new financial founder!
Letting go of the trapeze What really stood out to us about Roteta was how she left her hard-won investment management role to take a bit of a risk. We’re really into that. So, we gave her a bucketful of extra points for being brave and standing by her convictions. Team Roteta! We asked this buckaroo more about her journey and whether she got a bit freaked out about making such a big change. Her reply was profound, poetic and circus-themed! Excellent! “One of my mentors said to me
last year “Life happens when you let go of the trapeze”. That really stuck with me and helped me make the decision to leave Blackrock to start Pasito”, Roteta explains. “When you let go of a trapeze and leap for another, you can fall but you can also swing back and reach further. Many times, entrepreneurs get the advice to build as much as possible while still holding on to their jobs. You must let go of the trapeze to truly make it to where you need to go”. Gahhh… Anyone else got goosebumps? We love the family-first mission behind Pasito and the easy way that employers can sign up to give their staff benefits. And hot off the press, we've just learned that this fierce fintecher has now expanded her service to all employees... Not just parents and families. A big, massive tick from us. Welcome to Team Buckaroos Roteta!
Pauline “Family First” Roteta Co-founder & CEO Pasito 14
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s i t o i s a H ” e M t Cokie “Tweeer of Twali Found
I
t’s good to have critics. People who keep you on your toes, call you out when you’re bluffing … and generally stop your head blowing up like a hot air balloon. Our next buckaroo, Cokie “Tweet Me” Hasiotis joins the gang for exactly that reason. She says it like it is. From banks to bullsh**ers, Hasiotis is not afraid to go after the big guns and hit them hard right where it hurts… In the Tweets.
DEFLATING MASSIVE EGOS We’ll be the first to admit that there are some big egos in fintech. Frankly, it was inevitable. Think of your stereotypical tech people. The Musks, the Bezoses, the Zuckerburgs… You get the picture. Combine them with your classic Wall Street Tycoons and whaddya get…? EGOS! And questionable hairstyles.
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There are BIG personalities in this world we call fintech, and everybody is just a tiny bit scared of them. They come from giant corporations. Corporations that LITERALLY control all the money and tech in the world. Naturally, most people are a bit nervous of upsetting those honking great firms. So we LOVE it when someone bites back. It makes us feel alive. We need people like Hasiotis to take these guys down a peg or two. In the words of Voltaire (sort of), we may not agree with everything Hasiotis tweets, but we love that she has the balls to do it. Go Hasiotis!
...WHILE VENTURING INTO WEB.3 As well as being a fierce tweeter, Hasiotis also has experience in niche areas of fintech. In the past two years, she’s co-launched a consultancy called Lasagne to help banks access the tools they need to fulfil their goals. Hasiotis is also starting a web3 marketplace for freelancers (like us! Yay!) called Twali. At the moment, it’s all very secretive. But we’re keeping a watchful eye on where it goes… Welcome to the clan, Cokie “Tweet Me” Hasiotis!
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A FISTFUL OF JUSTICE dedicating my work to creating equal access for financial literacy”. Just like that, Rich became the Robin Hood of finance that we know and love today. The legendary Sherwood-forest-based spreader of wealth that is. Not the investment platform. Rich has a hefty accolade of achievements – far too many for this bloody small word count! So we’ve narrowed down our favourite three. Firstly, we’re so impressed with her company CreditRich. A fintech which improves users’ credit scores by using spare change to pay bills. Genius, genius, genius. That’s what this magazine is all about. Lush new fintechs which help people in meaningful ways. Also… loving the word “Rich” wordplay there, Angel you ledge. Secondly, we CANNOT GET ENOUGH of how Rich approaches financial literacy. She’s written a bunch of books, designed courses… and best of all, gamified finance with her company Wealthy Life. Two thumbs up from us. And our very favourite thing on the list? It has to be #BlackTechMatters - a company which kicks bigoted thinking squarely in the balls. “Black Tech Matters is dedicated to increasing diversity in STEM. I founded it with Yusuf Henriquez after hearing about the lack of diversity in tech”, Rich
” Rich h lt a e W e h t d a e r p Angel “S hayLife, lt a e W t a r e d n u o F Serial Matters h c e T k c la B & h ic R Credit
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ngel Rich has the best name in the business. And she might just have the best heart too. Because as well as being a fierce founder, Rich uses her skills to help others gain financial access and inclusion. She's a warrior for justice, with fintech as her main weapon… We go nuts for that. We’re proud to reveal our next badass buckeroo is none other than Angel “Spread the Wealth” Rich.
FINANCE IS FOR EVERYONE!
The story first began when Rich – who was busy making billions for Prudential – took a trip to Kenya. Seeing a small boy religiously wearing a Whaton t-shirt was an eye-opening experience for her“I realized that no matter how smart he was, he would likely never have the opportunity to go to Wharton, never mind leave Kenya”, Rich recalls. “That was when I decided to quit my job and start
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explains. “We found that often the large tech companies like Google would say that the reason was because they couldn’t find qualified Black people to take the jobs. Black Tech Matters was created to dispel that narrative and connect Black students, entrepreneurs and professionals to tech companies to increase diversity in STEM”.
SMASHING IT OUT OF THE PARK, AGAINST ALL ODDS
Start-ups owned by Black females get a teeny-tiny, hardly-visible 0.02% of all start-up investment money. The deck is stacked against women of colour. But somehow Rich smashed it out the park anyway, founding multiple fintechs and securing funding. We asked more about her journey. “It’s been a really tough journey. I had to fight really hard to get to where I am today”, she explains. “Countless people didn’t believe in me and underestimated what I am capable of”. For others out there, Rich has this advice, “To other Black women who are struggling to get funding … whatever you’re asking for, double it”. Anyone have a contact at Marvel…? We’ve got a new superhero in town.
“I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT IF I WEREN’T A BLACK WOMAN, I WOULD ALREADY BE A BILLIONAIRE” ffnews.com
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e don’t even know where to begin. Fuentes takes female empowerment to unchartered levels. We are obsessed. The way that she talks about female entrepreneurship is… Well, let’s just say she can hold the room. No wonder this absolute legend was named one of Forbes’ most powerful women in Mexico. And won a UN Award for leadership. Plus a zillion other awards too. We’re delighted to name the incredible Angelica Fuentes, founder of microfinance platform MUVOP as our next badass buckaroo!
A PLATFORM WHICH INVESTS IN FEMALE-LED BUSINESSES
There are so many reasons to love Fuentes. But what really blew our socks off is how she’s using fintech to empower women. Specifically businesswomen. Her microfinance platform, MUVOP, doesn’t just offer credit to female-led businesses. Nu’huh. It creates bespoke scale-up and salary packages to suit all SME needs. Nice! What’s more, MUVOP also offers financial courses to help businesswomen make the most of the accounting and financing. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this. MUVOP is a one-stop-shop for female entrepreneurship, and we are SO into it. “I am convinced that microfinance has the potential to increase opportunities for women through access to affordable credit”, Fuentes explains. “The bottom line is that, I think there is a lot of female
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talent out there, and we have to encourage women to believe in themselves. Access to credit can foster their entrepreneur spirit so they can develop other forms of income”. “Unfortunately, credit is very expensive”, she continues. “…Not exclusive and most of the population do not have access to it. The objective of MUVOP is to remove obstacles and promote equality, by providing access to credit at affordable rates”. Honestly, what’s not to love? Absolute legend.
FEMALE EMPOWERMENT’S STRONGEST ADVOCATE
Of course, we couldn’t resist asking more about what makes Fuentes tick. The reason she gets up in the morning. “Women empowerment means everything to me”, she emphasises. “It’s my mission in life. My most important goal is to help other women find their own space and their own voice”. We kind of guessed that it would be female empowerment. But we wanted to hear Fuentes talk about it more. “Female empowerment means overcoming the attitudes and perceptions that continue to enforce archaic stereotypes about the roles of men and women in society”… Can we get that printed on t-shirts? We love you Fuentes!
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tep aside! Step aside! Twitter royalty storming through! Our next bombastic badass buckaroo is none other than fintech’s finest, Ghela Boskovich – or Ghela B to her fans. Boskovich has an INSANE bunch of experience and projects on the go! Deep in the Wild West, we see her herding a million cattle into place like an old hand and directing all the operations. As we started typing, even the noise of the keyboard seemed to sound like “Head 'em up! Get 'em up! Rawhide!"
FOUNDER, CAMPAIGNER AND SPREADER OF GOOD VIBES
Now we love Boskovich for any number of reasons. We’re obsessed with how she teamed up with Helene Panzarino – the Scale-Up Sorceress who featured on our 2020 Swashbucklers edition – to create Collab. “We figured out a way to help institutions rapidly design proofs of concept and commericialise engagements with fintechs”, Boskovich elaborates. And we love how Boskovich has boldly campaigned against PSD2 reauthentication requirements. “I’m also incredibly satisfied with the results of a year-long campaign to showcase the detrimental harm the PSD2 90-day reauthentication requirement does to competition, which the FCA recognised in its first consultation of 2021”, Boskovich stresses. “The market is primed now to shift away from re-authentication to consent renewal, which is much more
deeply to me”. Right, that's it. Someone get us some “Ghela B for President” jackets. We’ve got a new idol in town.
MINGLING POETRY AND BLOODY GOOD TWEETS
Ghela “The Boss” Boskovich Regional Director & Head of Europe at Financial Data an Technology Association d consumer friendly, and gives some much-needed relief for fintechs”. Is there anything this Buckaroo cannot do? But what we love most of all about the vivacious Ghela B – the glorious cherry on the ridiculously good fintech cake – is her total and all-consuming mission for diversity and inclusion in theindustry. YES BOSKOVICH! We are SO behind you! “People are at the heart of fintech and financial services”, Boskovich begins. “The system itself is a reflection of those who contribute to it.. Inclusivity matters, diversity improves outcomes, empathy and humanity changes systems. Helping shift attitudes towards embracing these truths is something that matters
When Boskovich is not busy radically revolutionising regulations, stirring up start-ups or campaigning for common decency, she can be found brainstorming ideas with other fintech legends. On what first enticed her into the industry, “the endless exciting conversations and people who were out to change the world became addictive”, she reveals. “My fascination with all things fintech grew from there”. And not much has changed, even today. We quizzed the bombastic Boskovich about her favourite thing in fintech. “A culmination of moments of true connection and shared energy, where hearts are opening, minds are expanded and new ideas take root”. Is it just us, or did that read more like a beautiful poem than an interview answer? Nice one Boskovich!
KEEP MOVIN’, MOVIN’, MOVIN’... 18
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aro Bank will go down in history as America’s first ever nationally-chartered bank. Somehow, despite the global pandemic, far-reaching recession and political carnage the team managed to burst out from beta status and power into an official launch. And it never have happened without the sterling work of Lisa “Balls of Steel” Violet. Go Violet!
OVERCOMING EXCEPTIONAL CHALLENGES Violet joined the team at Varo in 2019, to help the bank open for business. After half a decade of planning, 2020 was going to be the year that the bank finally cut the ribbon and welcomed customers. Anyone who’s interested in fintech - so basically everyone who reads this magazine, you absolute legends - knows this journey is crazy difficult. And for Violet it was even more of a challenge because this buckaroo was responsible for all things risk. All things
risk… for a newly launching bank, in the middle of a global-pandemic-fuelled recession and poltical anarchy. Most of us would have run screaming for the hills. When we asked Violet why she decided to take on this insane task, cool as a cucumber she replied, “I firmly believe technology is one of the greatest equalizers. Banking needed a transformation to better serve the needs of the modern consumer”.
But we are not done. Oh no sir. Because in addition to shouldering this earth-shattering risk, Violet was also responsible for securing a charter for the bank. Not any old charter. Only the first of its bloody kind in the whole of America. Like for real you guys. This is too much.
BEING AN INSANELY NICE PROFESSIONAL... We’re going to level with you. Interviews don’t always go as planned. We do a lot of them, and let’s just say sometimes it’s a struggle. But Violet made the process easy. She replied straight away, super polite, uber professional… And to top it off she came back with some absolutely BANGING quotes. We asked about the best lesson Violet had learned in fintech so far, and we really fell for her logical approach. “Always think and act tech forward while informed by the data”, she explained. “Disruptors do get disrupted. The pace of innovation is intense. Making business decisions based on the best prevailing data is competitive advantage”.
...BUT ALSO SECRETLY BADASS
iolet, V ” l e e t S f o s l Lisa “Bal itor, Varo Bank Chief Aud ffnews.com
“I've travelled every continent in the world, have been to 32 countries, lived in five, and am only just getting started”, Violet begins. We buckle in. “The world with all its cultures is for me the richest of pleasures”, she continues. “I hope civilian space travel comes within my reach. I've sky dived a few times. Each time I've gotten a fresh perspective on things after jumping out of the airplane and looking at the horizon”… Does anything get this Buckaroo flustered? Like, seriously? Launching a bank? Jumping out of a plane? Welcome to the gang Lisa “Balls of Steel” Violet! FintechFinancepresents_Buckaroos2022
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f the 500 leading publicly-traded companies in the US (the S&P 500), just four CEOs are Black men. Less than 1%. And when it comes to women, it’s not much better. 6% of the S&P 500 CEOs are female.
Like, what the hell?! The situation is so dire that according to MarketWatch, there are more men called Michael or James in the top job than women. Ugh. Most of us will read that stat, sigh, and turn the page. Not Dr. Roshawnna Novellus. This absolute legend has set out to do something about it. Novellus created a funding platform EnrichHER, to connect fabulous founders with investors. And unlike the others, this is NOT designed for middle class white men called Michael or James. It’s a platform for women and people of colour to stop being overlooked and start growing their businesses. Yes Novellus!
SECURING INVESTMENTS FOR WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOUR EnrichHER has gone from strength to strength. The platform has deployed over
$14 million across 47 States. And it’s still growing! “There are bigger things to come!”, Novellus proclaims. “My goal at EnrichHER is to partner with corporate impact funds, foundations and individual investors to deploy $30 million in companies with diverse founders and leadership”, she elaborates. BAM! When it comes to securing capital, Novellus is a pro. While the rest of us were popping zits or flirting at Saturday jobs, she was off making hundreds of thousands. “As a high school teen, I raised over $600,000 in scholarships to fund 11 years of higher education”, Novellus reveals. “I did this by writing letters to over 200 companies basically asking them to fund my college education”. “Fintech has enabled me to become an activist in the community and help open doors for under-served groups in new unheard-of ways.”
unexpected. “I take four hours each day to practice mindfulness”, Novellus replied. Huh. “Mindfulness gives you clarity”, she elaborates. “Eastern traditions aren’t typically integrated into capitalism, but I’ve practiced mindful finance in my career for years”. For any young buckaroos out there, Novellus recommends to focusing on mindfulness as well as money. “Don't stop chasing success”, she begins. “But also don't forget to balance your time between work and relaxation…Not only will you benefit from it personally, but professionally as well”. Well said! We’re proud to welcome Dr. Roshawnna “The Enlightened” Novellus to the buckaroos!
BULLS-EYE FOCUS AND MASSIVE ON MINDFULNESS So what’s the key to Novellus’ success? Of course, we couldn’t resist asking. And the reply was
Roshawnna “The Enli Novellus, CEO & Fougnhtened” d of EnrichHER er
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egend Alert! Sam Maule has had a double career. Starting off as a technician for the US Navy, he spent nine years ENGINEERING SUBMARINES. Amazing. Then (and this is the bit we can’t wrap our heads around), he went from his super cool “James Bond on an underwater mission” lifestyle to … pension planning?! WHAAAAATT. After nine plus years of retirement consulting, Maule blended his contrasting careers into one epic fintech cocktail. BAM! Today he’s a Key Account Executive at Google, on every fintech list imaginable (we are not a list by the way, we are a Wild West Cowboy Town called LegendVille) and he’s absolutely smashing it.
SUPER, CRAZY MODEST
One thing we love about Maule is his down-to-earth good vibes. We enquired about his ultimate superpower – a free pass to show-off outrageously – and got this uber-gracious reply. “My kids once gave me a t-shirt”, begins Maule. “That simply says ‘Talentless but connected’. Amen. I don’t know a lot. But I know a lot of people who know a lot”. And on that basis… We’d like to award Maule a million points for modesty.
Throughout his interview, Maule consistently batted the credit to someone else, and really spread the love. Not to be super shady, but it’s a rare trait in the world of finance and technology. We were keen to find out more about what makes Maule tick. “It is a bit cliché, but I always try to remember ‘it’s not about me’”, he answers. Could this guy even BE any nicer?
DRIVEN TO SUCCEED
But don’t be fooled into thinking Maule’s just a nice guy. Oh no Siree. Because Maule has shaken things up like a polaroid picture. “My career has spanned 30 years so I’ve lived through the rise of computers, the internet, beepers to flip phones to smartphones, to IoT, etc. And I’ve loved every minute of it!”, he elaborates. “I joined Google back in December of 2020 because as a friend of mine put it ‘Google has the potential to actually improve peoples’ lives at a global scale’. How’s that for a challenge...?”, Maule reveals.
We could keep going forever, but we don’t have the word-count. Sam “The Engineer” did however leave us with this jaw-dropping exclusive… “I’m living out my last decade in payments/banking”. NOOOO!!! “And I’m ready for this stage to be one where we actually deliver on the concept of the democratization of financial services”, he finishes. BAM! Strong ending there. Welcome to LegendVille, Sam “The Engineer” Maule!
“I SINCERELY BELIEVE IN THE CONCEPT OF UNLEASHING TALENT. TO BE HONEST, MOST PEOPLE I’VE WORKED WITH ARE SMARTER THAN I AM. MY ROLE HAS BEEN TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE INVOLVED AND SHINE BEST WHERE THEY CAN MAKE THE MOST IMPACT FOR A CLIENT”
Sam “The Engineer” Maule, Key Account Executive of Google ffnews.com
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D
o you remember how Disney’s Cinderella walks up the stairs? One tea tray in each hand, one balanced on her head, while she opens the door with a foot, and navigates a horrible cat? That’s how we imagine Weaver on her career path. WHAT a multi-tasker. Going in for the record, we have six-times founder Kelsey Weaver as our next most wanted buckaroo of 2021!
NASDAQ MarketSite to announce FinXTech, and getting to have my picture alongside my father, up on the tower in Times Square”, Weaver revealed. “My father has since passed, but his nametag from that day always sat front and centre on his desk, and now on mine. He was my biggest fan, and I will never forget how proud he was of me that day – and how proud I was to have my father share such an incredible moment with me”.
CRAZY-LOADS OF HIGH-PROFILE ROLES
PEOPLE-FIRST APPROACH TO BUSINESS
Since 2018 alone Weaver’s held down six founder, advisory or board member positions in tandem. These include childhood cancer charity, Sebastian Strong, cloud-based tech provider, Neocava, and digital advice partner, Marstone Inc and more. On top of all that (and this gets the official stamp of “legend” from us), she’s a blogger. Waheyy! Looking at Weaver’s impressive career, it was tricky to pick out one thing which makes her shine. So, we cheated. We asked Weaver herself to recall her proudest moment. Quick as a flash, she pinged back with, “Doing the Closing Bell ceremony at the
When we ask these questions, most of the time, we settle in to hear about an accolade of academic and business achievements. Answers like Weaver’s are rare. But that’s exactly what makes her different. “I think most will agree that I indeed work ‘differently’ – but there is a method to the madness. I enjoy learning about other people, what makes them tick, what they care about, and how to help them achieve their objectives”, she explains. “It may sound counterintuitive, but I care about people more than I even do business”.
Caring about people is exactly what stands Weaver apart from the non-buckaroo competition.. In her own words, “When you genuinely help and show up for others, you are making their lives better”, Weaver explains. “I like to say ‘solve, don’t sell’...”. We couldn’t agree more! Looking through the candidates, we were pretty blown away by Weavers’ mad multitasking and people-first approach. It’s not every day you meet a fintech legend who founded a charity and a foodtech! Yes Weaver!
THE MAGNIFICENT SIX TIMES FOUNDER ffnews.com
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e love Nova Credit. It’s a platform on a mission to help immigrants access the same financial opportunities as everyone else. And we love co-founder Nicky “The Motivator” Goulimis too. This Stanford and Cambridge graduate is trailblazing the way when it comes to inclusive lending. Alongside co-founder Misha Espivov, she’s helping the one million plus immigrants who enter the US each year get a foot on the financial ladder. Go Goulimis!!
Sticking it to the system
Nova Credit fights back. And we like that. A lot. Instead of meekly sitting on the fence, the brand fires products and content sticking up for new-comers and sticking it to anti-immigration policies. From Trump to Biden, we continued to see the firm bulk up their commitments with purposeful partnerships.
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Over 2021, we’ve been super impressed with the direction and leadership of Nova Credit – and especially co-founder Nicky Goulimis. In April, she was promoted from COO to board director and advisor. She’s serious about helping immigrants and puts her heart and soul into making finance work for them, not the other way around.
Curiosity and Knowledge
Goulimis is such an all-round legend, we couldn’t resist asking about her fintech journey. On how she first got started in fintech, she replied, “By happy accident! I’d worked for banks before but hadn’t particularly focused on fintech. When my friend Misha Esipov started talking about fintech ideas I got so excited by his curiosity and knowledge that I couldn’t say ‘no’. It became an itch to scratch” … And the rest, as they say, is history! With so many to pick from, we asked about Goulimis’ proudest fintech moment, “When we saw the first few international credit data pulls come through for our customers”, she reveals. “There’s nothing like the invincible feeling you get from seeing something go from post-it’s to reality before your eyes!” Of course, all of our buckaroos need a superpower. Whether it’s keeping the herd moving like Ghela “The Boss'' Boskovich (page 18) or driving the husky sleigh like Barb “Bloody Legend” McClean (page 5). So, what Wild West skills does Goulimis have up her sleeve? “My superpower is motivating teams around a shared strategy”, she exclaims. “Often with far too many inconsistent metaphors and attempts to engage others in team chants!”. Exactly what we need! Welcome to the buckaroo gang Nicky “The Motivator '' Goulimis! FintechFinancepresents_Buckaroos2022
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ou don’t need to live in Texas to be a rootin’, tootin’ fintech cowgirl… But it helps! Our next badass buckaroo is none other than Andi Dominguez from Austin.
As well as being an all-round hero, she’s also the Insurance and Healthcare Principal at Quadient… And she REALLY knows her field. Dominguez is firing up insurance channels like it’s nobody’s business and placing the customer slap-bang in the centre.
Ahead of the times Waaaay back in Summer 2019 – when we were all blissfully unaware of what was about to hit – the team at Fintech Finance travelled over the pond to interview Dominguez for the Insurtech Magazine. We were – and still are – completely blown away with the clarity and relevance of her answers. When it comes to customer expectations, Dominguez remained strikingly ahead of the curve, referencing
Netflix and Amazon-style marketing, before we even realised that we wanted it! She warned about the critical need for omni-channel hyper-personalisation… Maverick thinking for insurance in 2019! And she really delved into what marketers need to look out for.
insurance and health side of things at Quadient. Meanwhile, the company has gone from strength to strength with partnerships, customer satisfaction and more.
“Insurers are now serving five generations of policy holders, and that means five generations of different communication preferences and different devices”
Small acts of kindness go a long way. Something that stood out to us was that after the interview finished and the cameras had been packed neatly away (sort of)… Dominguez stuck around and invited us out for a burrito. There’s only one thing we have to say to that. Deep breath now… “LEGGEEEEEEEEENNDD!!!!” … And also, “Yes please”. The burrito – later described by Editor-in-Chief, Ali Paterson as “amazing” – lingered in our memories and our hearts. We love you Andi “Relationship-Builder” Dominguez!
Dominguez explained. “The challenge is to deliver a consistent experience, not just across multiple channels, but also across an insurer’s products and lines of business – at speed”. It’s eerie how relevant this is today – accelerated by the pandemic. Over the past years, Dominguez has had her hands full working on both the
...And for buying us a burrito
Andi “Relationship Dominguez, Insura-Builder” Healthcare Princip nce and al, Quadient
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ool, calm and collected is how we’d describe Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Fast, Allison Barr Allen. She has the kind of Hollywood coolness that you don’t often see in real life.
We picture this cowgirl peacefully focused on the road ahead, softly humming a little tune in a bubble of calm. Then the camera zooms out, and the wagon she’s steering is actually screaming down the dusty motorway, overtaking a train in an epic chase-scene. Barr Allen is a chilled character, on the road to achieving whip-lash-inducing fintech innovation. She’s so insanely speedy, even her company is called “Fast”. Pop William Tell Overture on Spotify and buckle in for the profile of Allison “Pressure? What pressure?” Barr Allen.
High-speed fintech We asked more about Barr Allen’s proudest career moment, “When we launched Fast for the first time on the BigCommerce platform in
September 2020”, she reveals. “This moment had been over a year in the making. We’d raised two rounds of financing, recruited an incredible team from scratch, and built the product and infrastructure from the ground up. To see the vision we’d pitched thousands of times as a reality and to have buyers experience true one-click checkout was extraordinary”. Over the past year and a half, we’ve seen Fast zip on by. The one-clickcheckout app has raised $102 million in series B funding and opened a new office.
Steely determination We love Barr Allen’s quiet focus and unshakable drive – it’s something which really characterizes her approach to fintech. “I have an incredibly long-term focused mindset”, she elaborates. “I’m all about delayed gratification and investing now for gains in the future. I also have a competitive spirit and a lot of grit”. Staying calm under pressure is Barr Allen’s super power and we couldn’t love her more for it. We couldn’t resist asking this
chilled character what advice she would give to young buckaroos out there (Buckaweenies?) who want to follow in her cowgirl footsteps. And we were not disappointed! “First, I recommend that anyone who’s just starting out in college to major in computer science or a data or engineering-focused field”, she begins. “The career possibilities with these types of degrees are limitless! When you’re just starting out your career, Second, I recommend joining a high-growth startup that’s recently raised a Series A or B financing round. If you join somewhere that’s experiencing hyper-growth, there are almost infinite opportunities to have a big impact and take on increasing responsibility. Third, I encourage you to build relationships with your coworkers and those around you. Don’t be scared to send cold emails. You never know how a coffee meeting may impact you years down the line or where relationships may go. It’s a small world!” BAM!!! We’re proud to welcome the coolest critter around, Allison “Pressure? What pressure?” Barr Allen to our fintech cowboy town, LegendVille.
Allison “Pressure?Allen What pressure?” BOarorf Fast Co-founder & CO ffnews.com
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SHOOTING FOR SUSTAINABILITY P
icture this. The saloon doors of a dingy criminal den creak open to reveal the silhouette of a cowgirl. One that means business. Silence befalls the unlucky gang. Their days of greenwashing and truthmanipulating are about to end. Above her holster, one finger twitches. Then BAM! BAM! BAM! Two smoking barrels later, and all the gang’s paper plans for greenwashing are in tatters, flying around the room like feathers.
Toxic greenwashing has spread around the investment industry like a rash. And Schroders is one of the few institutions that has not been pumping billions of dollars into fossil fuels on the sly. While many others have been saying one thing, and doing another, Bratton-Hughes has managed to keep her team in the green. WE. LOVE. THAT. So how do you pick out a genuine sustainable investment from the fakes? “Sustainability should be embedded throughout an organization”, BrattonHughes explains. “From the purpose and commitment of the organization, to integration at the investment desk level, to a focus on where investment dollars are being allocated”. Nice!
There’s a new way of doing things around here. And it’s called REAL sustainable investing. That cowgirl is none other than Sarah “Your impact or your life!” Bratton-Hughes.
AND A REFRESHINGLY HONEST CHARACTER As well as fixing the world investment
REAL, HONEST INVESTMENTS “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”, begins Bratton-Hughes. We’re talking about sustainable investments. Not with a director. Not with a manager.
Sarah “Your impact or s your life!” Bratton-Hugabhele Head of ESG & Sustain Investing, American Century Investments 28
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With the Senior Vice President and Head of ESG & Sustainable Investing at American Century Investments. Formerly the Global Head of Sustainable Solutions at Schroders, Sarah Bratton-Hughes. This is big stuff. “Although most have good intentions”, she continues. “There is greenwashing in the market right now and it is very important to understand the intended and actual impact of your investments in terms of both financial returns and real world progress”. BAM!
by investment, Bratton-Hughes is refreshingly honest. We asked about her challenges and braced ourselves to hear a story about a sleazy client or tyrant boss. Instead, we got this. “My most challenging moments tend to be self-inflicted, self- doubt – having the confidence in myself to push beyond my comfort zone” … We really liked that brutally honest answer. It’s raw, real and (for most of us) all too relatable. It was the slow-talking, arm-swinging, cowboy-extraordinaire, John Wayne who said, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway”. Doing the right thing is not always a walk in the park – or a swagger in the ranch – but in today’s world it’s more important than ever. Here’s to doing the right thing! And here’s to Sarah “Your impact or your life!” Bratton-Hughes. Our sustainability-lovin’ buckaroo!
“IN MOST ASPECTS OF LIFE I APPROACH OBSTACLES AS OPPORTUNITIES” ffnews.com
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hen we launched our search for the most daring buckaroos in fintech, we were sort of talking in metaphors… (As writers we like to throw in the odd one to prove we’re legit). The last thing we expected to find were so many GENUINE explorers and daredevils.
Perhaps none more so than our next badass buckaroo, Ginger Baker. No, not the legendary drummer of Cream. The rockstar Head of Inclusion at Plaid. Baker has (deep breath now), traveled to more than 50 countries, climbed African mountains, run triathlons and even moved her family to Rwanda! But her favourite adventure of all? Coaching her kids’ sports teams! Goooooo… Baker!
A history of inclusion
This buckaroo has a history… A history of financial inclusion that’ll blow your socks off! Whether it’s facilitating social media payments during her time at Facebook or bringing Visa to the under-served, this Baker is cooking up some serious stuff. “The best lesson I’ve learned is that fintech products can be successful globally, but they require local insights to be truly relevant”, Baker tells us. "Local context matters”. During her time in Rwanda, Baker and her team developed deep connections with local stakeholders, which they incorporated into their offering. “The initial project was to design a mobile-phone-based solution that enabled access to digital payments for
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mass market consumers in emerging markets. The resulting product, mVisa, did eventually launch. But after deeper engagement with the national government of Rwanda, the team saw an opportunity for even bigger impact”, she explains. “We pivoted to create an expanded 13-pronged digitization partnership – a first-of-its-kind initiative for both Visa and Rwanda – that digitized Rwanda’s economy and helped them become a leading force in East Africa”. A 13-pronged partnership sounds like a hefty mission to complete, but for Baker it’s one of many big wins. This buckaroo means business!
The pattern of success continues at Plaid
Ginger “The Adventure Head of Financial Accesr” Baker s, Plaid
Since joining Plaid in 2020, Baker’s had her work cut out. Tasked to deliver financial access to record numbers of people dragged down by a pandemicdriven recession. Eeech. But with her solid vision and nice-boss vibes, she’s really making real progress. “Financial inclusion is my north star and economic empowerment has always been the thread throughout my career”, Baker continues. It’s clear that she’s super into her work, and massively believes in the end-goal.
So what does the future look like for this adventurous Buckaroo? “Through technology, I am hopeful that the future is more inclusive for both people and businesses as a more diverse array of digital financial tools are created”, Baker reveals. “I’m thrilled to drive Plaid’s efforts to advance the ecosystem towards an Open Finance future. This helps achieve Plaid’s mission of unlocking financial freedom for everyone and stays true to my north star of financial inclusion”. Nice one Baker! Welcome to LegendsVille, you’ll fit right in.
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BUCKAROOS2022
OH
My. Days. Tony TownesWhitley is the BEST speaker. We first encountered her at the Virtual Finastra Universe in March 2021 speaking as Microsoft’s President for US Regulated Industries… And we just couldn’t stop listening. Coffees went cold. Emails went unread. We didn’t care. We just wanted more.
Townes-Whitley speaks with the kind of authenticity and purpose that makes you sit up straighter in your chair. None of this slouching malarky. The more we found out about her, the more we loved. Here’s to Toni Townes-Whitely, the best in the biz for combining digital transformation with social justice badass-ery. (Not a real word, but for Townes-Whitely, it should be!)
TECH FOR EVERYONE!
Townes-Whitely, of course, is a great advocate for fintech and a
powerful influence in the space. “The biggest lesson we’ve seen in working with financial institutions is the clear ability for these organizations to accelerate customer value if they are partnering with fintech companies”, she tells us. “Working with customers around the world, especially in this past year, has really highlighted the gap between companies that have and have not yet made technology investments – showing up in their ability to adapt to a changing landscape with agility and speed. Organizations across the fintech spectrum are able to leverage secure and compliant technology platforms like ours to innovate and quickly bring solutions to market – staying competitive by meeting customer and member expectations around experience, fraud, security and scale”. When it comes to digital transformation, Townes-Whitley isn’t messing around. Oh no Sir. She wants to support businesses and help customers get ahead. Like yesterday. We asked her more about how she approaches this. “[By] shifting Microsoft’s sales model towards a verticalized industry model”, Townes-Whitley explains. “Leading this go-to-market effort for the last six years in both corporate and field roles has helped position Microsoft with more relevance to our customers”. Indeed it has! Is there any business who hasn’t jumped aboard the Microsoft train yet? And for much of that, we have Townes-Whitley to thank.
POWER AND PURPOSE
Even though that’s massively epic, it isn’t our favourite thing about Townes-Whitely. Our number one showstopper is her strong sense of social justice … and she does a LOT. We asked her more about what she is most proud of. “[My] ongoing efforts to advance women, and particularly women of colour, in the workplace – such as working with organizations like the Athena Alliance and the Leadership Foundry to place women on corporate boards, and through ongoing mentoring at Microsoft and beyond”, she explains. “Helping to shift the dialogue and advance the social justice movement, both at Microsoft and at PNC, where I am a member of the Board '', Townes-Whitley continues. “When we reached an inflection point last year with the death of George Floyd, I was able to help shape our company’s response and action plan. At the same time, I was invited by PNC to join a special Board committee focused on racial and social justice where we are driving efforts to support underserved communities with a “low cash mode” approach to banking”. There’s so much more we’d like to say, but we’ve already gone over the wordcount. All that’s left to do is raise our saloon tankards and shout cheers to Townes-Whitely!
THIS TECH IS MADE FOR SHARIN’! …AND THAT’S JUST WHAT WE’LL DO ffnews.com
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BUCKAROOS2022
Conny “Dutch Darede Dorrestijn, Advisor avnil” Founding Partner of B d ankiFi
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE NETHERLANDS... W
e can’t write about all Conny Dorrestijn’s experience and achievements because we’d run out of word count. Let’s just say it’s a hell of a lot, and it’s baffling to us how one person can achieve SO much. Literally right now at this very second, Dorrestijn is chairing, advising, or directing no less than seven different (and super important) fintech organisations. SEVEN! If our cowboy world was real, she’d be lassoing a wild horse, shooting the bad guy and hammering out a classic ol’ country tune on the piano all at the same time! She’s got grit, determination, and vision. We couldn’t be prouder to welcome this Dutch daredevil into our roaring gang of buckeroos.
Seven organisations, two mentees and one podcast
Starting her career in the edgy Netherlands, Dorrestijn found that the simple and straightforward tech ethos helped her to get ahead. “We are
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pragmatic”, she tells us about the culture. “We look to solve problems”. As she rose through the ranks and work took her abroad, Dorrestijn quickly found – like so many of our 2021 buckaroos and 2020 Swashbucklers – that it’s one rule for men and another for women. “Having worked in the City in London in the 80s I have experienced discrimination against women in this financial and technology industry in many shapes and forms”, she elaborates. “My key lesson is that whilst it is important to jointly strive for and build a better world, it all starts by surviving and thriving in an imperfect world”. And just like that, we fell in love with her. Is it any wonder Dorrestijn is one of the top ten voices in EU Fintech? Thriving in an imperfect world is something Dorrestijn excels at. She’s now at the top of seven organisations, helping two mentees and even co-hosts a podcast, “Fintech Cappuccino”. Which is a brilliant name
FintechFinancepresents_Buckaroos2022
for a podcast. A frothy little pick-me-up all about fintech. We love it.
Bringing focus and fierceness to fintech
Dorrestijn’s pragmatic attitude carries through her work and is a distinctive part of her character. As ghost-writers we completely related when she told us, “One has to be low on ego, and high on pragmatism for this white label type of approach”. We hear ya sister! And as fintech freaks we nearly lost our minds when Dorrestijn began with, “We gain very little from the old versus new, incumbent versus challenger debate”. We knew she was on track to say something brilliant, and sure enough, Dorrestijn came out with “I feel we should all very clearly define our purpose, out road to market and look for collaboration whilst being brave enough to embrace the new and untested”. Yes Dorrestijn!
“WE LOOK TO SOLVE PROBLEMS”
ffnews.com
rivastav h S ” er v ol S m le b ro P “ Bobbie f Product Co-founder & Chieek Officer, Ben iva
Y
ay for Bobbie “Problem Solver” Shrivastav!! She’s your classic hardworking, innovationdriving buckaroo who’s not afraid to share the credit with her team. Shrivastav dabbled in a few different industries, and even launched a previous company before finding her true calling in insurtech.
And now she’s the co-founder of multiple award-winning Benekiva “We were able to take learnings from our previous start-up and incorporate them in Benekiva”, she comments. Nice one Shrivastav!
Breaking out of the technology shackles to solve real problems With an unshakable focus on insurance claims, Shrivastav & Co are on a mission to empower both the customers and the insurance firms. “The sweetest ffnews.com
moment is that we have built something that is positive for customer experience for end-users along with operations, whom always get left behind when it comes to new technology and processes”, she explains. Using a “triple threat” model, this bad-ass buckaroo has been able to cut through the faff, and create a razor-sharp solution to frustrating problems. “The triple threat model involves ensuring that the individual is solutions focused – (architecture, product development, business analysis background), has a technical background to understand complexities of a large and complex organisation (former tech lead, developer, integration), and has a project management background (not a task manager but true change management)”, she elaborates. “Together, we were able to tackle the problem and build a company out of it which is now 60 people strong serving over 15 clients and growing in less than 4 years”, she adds.
Shrivastav’s solution busted out from the shackles of insurance technology and reclaimed (Yay! Pun!) some much-needed mobility for the users.
And being super gracious about it Getting this buckaroo to speak about herself was hard-going. Nearly every question was answered with a credit or reference to those around her. “Each one of us brings unique skill-sets and together”, Shrivastav elaborates. “I’m very proud to have recruited such a strong team of leaders which will allow us to continue our growth projection”. All leaders should strive to be as gracious as Shrivastav… for fintech writers like us too, it’s super refreshing. They say ‘teamwork makes the dream work’ – well, a lot of dads tend to say that – but we also think leaders with a heart are super smart. We love that she shares the love and credits her co-workers – seriously, there isn’t enough of that in finance. For being super modest and bloody amazing, we’re super proud to welcome Bobbie “Problem Solver” Shrivastav!
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BUCKAROOS2022
w e l o t t r i d l s e . e .. r h T Ville, Here in our cowboy town of Legend describe we asked each of our buckaroos to y did not their careers in just three words. The ctious disappoint! Raw, real and rambun – here’s what they came back with:
MICHELLE “WEALTHIFY E -BURK CO-FOUNDER” PEARCE otional. Consuming. Em Enjoyable.
BOBBIE “PROBLEM SOLVER” SHRIVASTAV
Solving Real Problems
GHELA “THE BOSS” BOSKOVICH
c.
Unplanned. Opportunisti Surprising.
SAY, TONI “DID SOMEBODYTIO MA N’?” ‘DIGITAL TRANSFORITL TOWNES WH EY . ng
rgivi Fierce. Fearless. Fo
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ANGEL “SPREAD THE WEALTH” RICH
Guts. Grit. Discipline.
LISA “BALLS OF STEEL” VIOLET
Connector. Amplifier. Strategic.
DR ROSHAWNNA “THE ENLIGHTENED” NOVELLUS
Journey in self. …“I’m on a never-ending quest to figure out who I am through the decisions I’ve made in my career”, she adds.
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ANGELICA “WHO RUNS THE WORLD” FUENTES
Strong. Wise. Empathetic.
KELSEY “SIX TIMES FOUNDER” WEAVER
l.
Unexpected. Purposefu Unconventional.
CONNY “DUTCH TIJN DAREDEVIL” DORiouRES s, give
Engage, be cur re back … Again, a little mo than three words there, e but you don’t get the nam t “Dutch daredevil” withou es! rul few a ng aki bre
BARB “BLOODY LEGEND” MACLEAN
Minimum Viable Canadi
an
SARAH “YOUR IMPACT OR YOUR LIFE!” BRATTON-HUGHES My ow
SARAH “RAVING FOR A REVOLUTION” WILLIAMS-GARDENER
Unplanned, continuous learning and rewarding in the friendships I’ve made. … Slightly more than three there, but she’s so awesome we’ll accept it!
n path.
FRANCESCA “FINTECH GSON FOR GOOD” HODard ing, Ambitious, rew problem-solving.
ffnews.com
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