OPORTUN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Awesome Place Excellent Customer Service Very Helpful 1
Aileen Chou's entire career has been guided by her desire to make a difference in the communities she serves, whether in Europe, Asia, or the United States. As Senior Director and Corporate Counsel at Oportun, she has been instrumental in helping the company reach major milestones including our IPO and first strategic acquisition. Aileen's story is featured in Modern Counsel.
Job Titles:
- Hispanic Executive
- Senior Director of Public Affairs
Alejandra Velazquez, Senior Director of Public Affairs, embodies Oportun's corporate values of inclusion and equality through her outreach work with nonprofits and health care providers. She is known for her coalition-building skills, and sees her job as a way to support those who are too often excluded from the American Dream. Learn more about Alejandra in her profile at Hispanic Executive.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- VP, Assistant General Counsel, Regulatory Legal & Compliance
Alicia brings a wealth of legal expertise and experience to her role at Oportun. Prior to joining the team in 2018, she worked in leadership positions at JPMorgan Chase, including its auto finance group. She was also an associate at Quarles & Brady and Kutak Rock. Alicia is happiest with her husband, son, and two dogs by her side.
With more than 20 years' experience working in financial service marketing, Ann brings a strong perspective to her role leading Oportun's direct marketing team. Before Oportun, she led the marketing efforts to launch Gap, Inc.'s co-branded credit card, in addition to directing their growth and innovation marketing. She also worked at Visa in marketing communications and for Visa at the digital agency Razorfish. Before financial services, Ann worked in children's education television at Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop of Sesame Street. When Ann is not at work she loves to hike, cook, and spend quality time with her family.
Job Titles:
- VP, General Manager, Secured Personal Loan ( SPL )
Job Titles:
- Member of Oportun 's Board
Carl has served as a member of Oportun's board since 2010. He brings expertise from his role as an executive advisor at TPG Capital, a leading global private equity firm. Carl retired in 2005 from Visa, where he served as president and chief executive officer for 12 years after holding multiple leadership positions. He also worked as vice president of the international division of Crocker National Bank and vice president of metropolitan banking at Bankers Trust.
Combining experience in consumer finance, insurance, real estate, and private equity markets, Casey serves as Oportun's vice president of finance and our controller. A certified public accountant, he spent six years each in leadership roles at OneMain Financial and Deloitte before joining the team at Oportun. When he's not at the office, you're likely to find him playing pickup basketball or soccer.
Job Titles:
- VP, Credit Card Operations
Chris joined Oportun in 2018 and leads operations for the credit card and bank partnership programs. He previously spent more than a decade building operations and contact centers for financial services companies spanning the United States, Asia, and Europe. Outside of the office, Chris enjoys spending time with his family, sharing in culinary adventures with friends, and cheering on the UVA basketball team.
Job Titles:
- VP, Retail and Operations
Job Titles:
- VP, Total Rewards & Human Resources Information System
As an experienced leader in strategy formulation, program design and deployment, Christine leads Oportun's rewards and HRIS functions. Before joining the Oportun team, she held leadership positions in total rewards at Visa, RCM Capital Management and Goldman Sachs. When not in the office, Christine can be found hiking, at Orange Theory or honing her culinary skills at cooking classes.
Job Titles:
- VP, Data & Business Intelligence
With nearly 20 years in the financial sector, Chuck brings deep industry experience to Oportun as the company's vice president of data and business intelligence. Chuck leads the charge in the areas of business best practices, data integration, analytics, and more. Before arriving at Oportun, Chuck worked at AAA, JPMorgan Chase, and Providian Financial. When not digging through data, Chuck enjoys creating music and taking in a baseball game.
Dave has served on Oportun's board since 2007. He has been a partner at venture capital firm Greylock Partners since 2001 and has been affiliated with Greylock since 1980. Dave also currently serves as a director of several private companies and previously as a director of DoubleClick, Internet Security Systems, SuccessFactors, EMC, and VMware. Dave received a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Job Titles:
- SVP, Public Affairs and Impact
With more than two decades of experience in government relations, community relations, and public affairs, Ezra fills a vital role at Oportun as senior vice president of public affairs and impact. Prior to Oportun, Ezra was vice president and chief sustainability officer at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and on the community relations team at Target. Ezra's commitment to impact shows through his time on the boards of the Latino Community Foundation and Leadership San Francisco.
Gaurav leads Oportun's data and analytics teams. Before Oportun, he held leadership roles at the confluence of marketing, analytics, data, and technology at Capital One. Gaurav also spent five years leading growth-focused engagements at McKinsey. With a master's in computer science from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago, his work in data and analytics grows from a solid foundation. Tennis keeps him active, and books and movies help him decompress.
George Gonzalez, our Communications Director, has built his work life around serving others. A former Obama administration official, he now devotes his talents to Oportun's mission of providing affordable financial services for all. George recently talked to Hispanic Executive about his bicultural upbringing, his reasons for coming to Oportun, and his focus on making the world a better place.
Ginny Lee recently served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Khan Academy, a globally-recognized non-profit online education technology organization with a mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Prior to Khan Academy, Ms. Lee spent more than 17 years at Intuit, where she held multiple senior operational and technical roles, including Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intuit's $650M Employee Management Solutions Division, as well as Chief Information Officer. Ms. Lee received an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and holds a dual Bachelors degree in Business Economics and Organizational Behavior & Management.
Job Titles:
- Chief Marketing Officer
- Hispanic Executive
Building on extensive experience designing and scaling financial products, Gonzalo leads the development and launch of Oportun's credit card business. Prior to Oportun, Gonzalo served as the chief marketing officer for a Fenway Summer credit card startup. His experience includes 15 years at Capital One, where he held multiple positions including head of consumer deposit products. Traveling with his family and listening to live music are two of Gonzalo's favorite pastimes.
Like so many of our executives, Gonzalo Palacio is passionate about making a positive contribution through his work. Prior to leading our marketing organization, Gonzalo led the development and launch of Oportun's credit card business, calling on skills honed in banking services and the values instilled in him by his extended family in Colombia. Gonzalo has been featured in Hispanic Executive.
Job Titles:
- VP, Store Development & Facilities
Heidi has over 30 years of multi-unit experience in the retail, restaurant, and financial services industries. At Oportun, she leads teams focused on store expansion and their efficient operation-and they work fast, opening an average of one store per week. Heidi's prior experience includes Peet's Coffee, Chevys Fresh Mex, and PepsiCo. She loves to drive convertibles-fast-with her high school sweetheart by her side.
Aida has served on Oportun's board since 2011. She also serves on the board of directors at HP, K12, and Fastly. Aida is the former administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and served in President Clinton's Cabinet. She was the founding director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and worked extensively in public finance. She previously served on the board of directors of Walmart, Zoosk, PacifiCare Health Systems, Union Bank, and UnionBanCal. Aida was elected to serve her alma mater on the Harvard Board of Overseers. She holds honorary degrees from four other universities.
Jo Ann has served on Oportun's board since 2016. She is the founder and CEO of Barefoot Innovation Group and serves as advisor to private consumer finance companies and fintech startups. She serves on the board of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and the Milken Institute FinTech Advisory Committee and previously served on the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Jo Ann previously served as chair of the board of the Financial Health Network, as Deputy Comptroller of the Currency and has held leadership roles at Treliant Risk Advisors, KPMG, and the National Association of Realtors, as well as serving on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Jo Ann was a senior fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business & Government at Harvard University.
Joan Aristei - Chief Legal Officer, Chief Risk Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Risk Officer
- General Counsel
- Modern Counsel
Joan leads the legal, compliance, enterprise risk, security and bank charter teams at Oportun (NASDAQ: OPRT), a financial services company that leverages its digital platform to provide responsible consumer credit to hardworking people. Joan is regarded as a specialist in bank risk management and consumer financial services compliance and regulatory issues, especially as they pertain to the fintech world. Joan led the legal team at Oportun through its successful IPO in September 2019 and has since help established the required public company control environment. Joan has over thirty years of experience including over seven years at Oportun and prior experience at Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Toyota Financial Services and Nissan Motors Acceptance. Joan lives in the Bay area and enjoys taking advantage of the region's great weather and hiking and biking trails.
General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer Joan Aristei lives her commitment to inclusion and diversity every day on the job. Drawing on a deep background in corporate compliance and regulatory issues, she assembled Oportun's best-in-class bilingual legal team from the ground up-a team composed primarily of women. An article in Modern Counsel highlights her achievements and philosophy.
With over a quarter century of experience in the consumer finance industry, Jonathan has served in his role at Oportun since 2009. He previously acted as chief financial officer and treasurer at MRU Holdings through the credit crisis of 2007-2009, and also worked at Fortress Investment Group, Goldman Sachs, and Credit Suisse First Boston. In addition to solving financial puzzles, Jonathan proudly completes the New York Times crossword every day.
Job Titles:
- VP, Collections Analytics
Juan leads the collection analytics and loss forecasting teams at Oportun. Before coming to Oportun, she successfully led analytics teams at Capital One and Ocwen Financial. With a PhD in applied mathematics and an MS in industrial system engineering from the University of Florida, Juan loves solving challenging business problems using advanced analytics and technology. In her leisure time, Juan enjoys hiking and reading novels.
Job Titles:
- Corporate Secretary
- Deputy General Counsel
- SVP
Kate has provided her legal expertise to Oportun since 2016. Prior to joining Oportun, Kate served as director and senior corporate counsel at ServiceNow and at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and McDermott Will & Emery. Her extensive legal experience makes her a critical asset to the Oportun team. If she's not working or rowing, you can find Kate cheering on the Wisconsin Badgers.
Job Titles:
- VP, Capital Markets & Treasury
Kyle joined Oportun in 2018 to lead our capital markets strategy. With over 14 years of experience in finance, he's held leadership roles at LendingClub, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Redwood Trust, and Thornburg Mortgage. In 2006, Kyle earned his chartered financial analyst (CFA) certification. When not working, Kyle loves to travel and sample the world's cuisines.
Job Titles:
- Member of Oportun 's Board
Louis has served as a member of Oportun's board since 2014. He is a financial executive and certified public accountant in the state of California. He previously worked as a senior partner at KPMG, managing partner of its San Francisco office, and senior partner of its Latin American region. Louis was also an audit partner providing services to public and private companies with expertise in SEC compliance and Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. He currently serves on the board of directors of Lithia Motors and Rite Aid. Louis received a BS in business administration from California State University, East Bay.
Job Titles:
- Assistant General Counsel
- Vice President
- Hispanic Executive
- VP, Assistant General Counsel, Commercial, Global & IP
Marta brings over 20 years of both in-house and law firm experience to her role leading Oportun's global and commercial legal team and intellectual property practice. Marta has held several senior in-house counsel positions following a career with Perkins Coie and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where her practice focused on antitrust, commercial litigation, and global investigations. As an amateur chef, baker, and drawing aficionado, Marta applies a creative approach to legal risk mitigation.
Vice President and Assistant General Counsel Marta Palacios gained invaluable legal and strategic experience working first in the nonprofit sector, then at prestigious private law firms. Joining Oportun has allowed her to exercise her passion for giving back to the community through lending and banking practices that promote economic inclusion. Hispanic Executive honored Marta as one of its 2022 Legal Changemakers.
Martin brings to Oportun 20 years of financial services experience in product development and strategic analysis. Martin started his career in management consulting, held leadership roles at WSFS Bank, and had a long tenure at Capital One. While not at the office, he can be found swimming laps at the local pool or enjoying a squash game.
A proven leader, Matt has served as Oportun's chief operations officer since 2016 and general manager for the personal loan business since 2018. Before joining Oportun, he led global consumer operations for Citi, topping off a 17-year tenure. Previously, he worked with the cardmember service team of Bank One (formerly First USA). Matt also served in the United States Army as an intelligence analyst and worked for the National Security Agency as a Spanish linguist. Matt is happiest when he's combining his greatest passions, family and football, as a coach.
Job Titles:
- SVP, Strategy & Corporate Development
Nick brings an array of leadership experience to his role as senior vice president for strategy and corporate development at Oportun. His past experience includes strategy, products, and marketing at Western Union and McKinsey. Nick started his professional career with the United States Army. Once the work is done, Nick's favorite pastimes include family activities, skiing, and music.
In his role as Senior Director of Public Affairs, veteran policymaker Orson Aguilar advocates to help people of all colors and economic circumstances achieve their goals. His collaborative skills and service ethic are a perfect fit for Oportun's values of inclusion and equality. In an interview with Hispanic Executive, Orson talks about access, empowerment, and opportunity for all.
Patrick has led Oportun's risk strategy for more than a decade. In prior years, he helped facilitate Metris Companies' IPO as head of planning and analysis, transitioned into risk management, and after HSBC's purchase, became senior vice president and managed policy for large credit card portfolios. In addition to driving Oportun's core intellectual property in risk scoring, Patrick has helped Oportun win two flag football championships as a ferocious pass rusher and a speedy receiver.
Neil has served on Oportun's board since 2017. He previously was executive vice president and chief financial officer at Intuit and held similar executive positions at Visa. Neil also served a dual role as chief financial officer for Inovant, Visa's global IT organization. He is an independent director of RingCentral and previously served on the board of directors of Amyris. He has also held numerous senior financial positions at commercial banks, and is a certified public accountant. He received his BA in business administration from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Job Titles:
- VP, Risk Management, Credit Cards
Rahul leads the areas of credit risk and verification strategy, product analytics, and fraud strategy. Over the past decade, he held other leadership roles at Oportun in risk management and in building our personal loan product. His experience also includes a stint as head of risk at PayJoy. Outside of work, he enjoys rock climbing and golfing.
Job Titles:
- SVP, New Products Engineering
Ram leads the engineering, architecture, and quality assurance teams at Oportun. With more than a decade of experience at both startups and large companies, Ram focuses on Oportun's future product development and strategy. Prior to joining Oportun, he served in various engineering roles at Andy Warhol Museum, Wipro, and ZBee Technologies. Ram's unwavering curiosity leads him and his family on exciting adventures, exploring new destinations together.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- CEO, Hispanic Executive
Raul has served as Oportun's chief executive officer and board member since 2012. His past experience includes leadership roles at Walmart, including three years as CEO of Walmart.com, and at high-growth startups. Raul currently serves on the boards of Intuit and the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, and he formerly sat on the board at Staples. He has been a member of the Community Advisory Board at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and chaired the Federal Reserve's Community Advisory Council. He holds a BS and MS in industrial engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from the Wharton School. In 2018, he was named EY's Entrepreneur of the Year in financial services. Raul celebrates the good and bad, the small and big, with ice cream from Dairy Queen.
Our CEO, Raul Vazquez, operates with a servant style of leadership that sets the tone for our corporate culture and day-to-day operations. Under his guidance, Oportun has revitalized its technology and streamlined its loans, credit cards, and savings, and money management services. Raul is known for his hands-on approach, dedication to excellence, and willingness to listen. Hispanic Executive profiled him in January of 2020.
Rick Welts has more than 45 years of experience in the NBA, primarily as a league and team executive, most recently as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Golden State Warriors. In recognition of his outsized contributions to making the NBA a global brand, Mr. Welts was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Mr. Welts has also been honored with multiple awards recognizing his significant contributions to promoting diversity, inclusion and equality in sports and society, including the ADL's Torch of Liberty Award and GLAAD's Davidson/Valentini Award. Mr. Welts currently serves on the NBA's Team Advisory Committee and Global Inclusion Council and is a board member of the Bay Area Council, the Warriors Community Foundation, and GoPro Inc. Mr. Welts holds a Bachelors degree from the University of Washington.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of Weave Communications, Inc
Roy Banks is the Chief Executive Officer of Weave Communications, Inc, an all-in-one customer communication and engagement platform for small businesses. With more than 20 years of experience in high-tech software development, e-commerce, internet marketing and payment processing, Mr. Banks has also served as CEO Partner at Tritium Partners; President of the LoadPay business unit and a board member of Truckstop.com; CEO of Network Merchants; CEO of Accelerated Payment Technology; and President of Authorize.Net. A five-year veteran of the United States Navy, Mr. Banks holds a Bachelors degree in Business Management from Utah Valley University.
Sandra (Sandy) Smith previously served as Chief Financial Officer for Segment, which was acquired by Twilio. Prior to Segment, Ms. Smith was the Vice President of Finance at Twilio, helping to lead the company through a successful IPO. Ms. Smith has also held senior financial roles at Akamai Technologies and has practiced as outside corporate counsel for multiple public and venture-back companies. Ms. Smith received a JD and MBA from the Boston College. She holds a Bachelors degree in Photography from the University of Michigan.
Job Titles:
- VP, Compliance & Enterprise Risk
With more than 15 years of financial services experience, Seher developed Oportun's internal audit program and focuses on the company's second line risk management functions as the vice president for compliance and enterprise risk. Before joining Oportun in 2016, Seher led internal audit and SOX compliance teams at Fannie Mae. At home, Seher mentors college-bound high schoolers and watches too much HGTV, and in her free time, globetrots with the latest murder mysteries.
Stacy became our Chief People Officer in 2021. She has led Oportun's retail stores and operations since joining the team in 2018, following two decades of leadership in retail and commercial banking. Her experience includes executive roles at Bank of America and SunTrust Bank, where she oversaw the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region. When not on the road, Stacy enjoys adventures with her family and exploring the monumental attractions of the metro D.C. area.
Stacy Newton excels at integrating values with behavior. Connection, collaboration, and team spirit inform her work as Chief People Officer for Oportun-a role that has become even more crucial during the Covid pandemic. Her innovations have helped foster a deep sense of community and enabled our people to thrive while working remotely. Profile Magazine interviewed Stacy to learn more.
Job Titles:
- VP, Talent Management & Acquisition, Compensation
Trevor brings a wealth of experience from the agency world to her day-to-day operations as Oportun's vice president of brand and content. In her previous position at branding and design firm Landor, she built and led the global marketing and public relations team and oversaw the company's award-winning website, social media activity, content development, and communications. A Fulbright fellow with a PhD from the University of Chicago, Trevor loves a good tagline and has been spotted geeking out over grammar.
Job Titles:
- Chief Information Security Officer
- Industry Leader
Tyson is an industry leader with more than 20 years of experience in cybersecurity and technology. Since 2014, he has led Oportun's information security, global security, and investigations teams. Previously, he was cofounder of the cybersecurity practice at Slalom Consulting and held leadership positions at Applied Materials and Convergent Computing. In addition to navigating the ever-changing security landscape, Tyson traverses mountains, rivers, and oceans as a devoted outdoorsman.
Job Titles:
- Corporate Communications Leader
- VP, Corporate Communications
As Oportun's corporate communications leader, Usher brings more than 25 years of experience to the role, including more than a decade of leadership in public and private companies, including BlackBerry, Chegg, and eBay. Usher is passionate about helping those around him develop their own talents; he volunteers outside of the company as a mentor to professionals and students alike. Outside of work, Usher enjoys the company of his family, a long walk with his dog, and the comedic stylings of Will Ferrell.
Job Titles:
- VP, Technology & Cloud Operations
Since joining Oportun in 2014, Veejay has helped build Oportun's network, cybersecurity, telephony, cloud, and technology operations teams. Before coming to Oportun, he honed his network engineering expertise at Art.com and Walmart.com. Veejay is also a foundation-level member of the FinOps Foundation. When not serving his teams, you can find Veejay on a hike with his boys or chasing a puck at the local rink.