We look forward to seeing you for a lively panel discussion with some of America's most successful fintech startups. Join us to hear from them directly about breaking ground with new technologies to better serve consumers, as well as their thoughts on how financial innovation may impact public policy.
Affirm is a financial services company that offers installment loans to consumers at the point of sale.
Circle builds products that enable greater ease-of-use in online and in-person payments.
LendUp is a lender for the 56% of Americans shut out of mainstream banking due to low credit or volatile income.
Petal is a simple, no fee credit card designed to help consumers learn how to manage their first credit card and offers a digital-first experience.
Stripe is a software platform for running an internet business that handles billions of dollars every year for businesses around the world.
THE PANEL
Moderator:
Jo Ann Barefoot is CEO of Barefoot Innovation Group and co-founder of Hummingbird Regtech. She formerly served on the staff of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, was Deputy Comptroller of the Currency, and was a member of the CFPB's Consumer Advisory Council. In addition to hosting the podcast show Barefoot Innovation, Jo Ann is Senior Fellow Emerita at the Harvard Kennedy School Center for Business and Government and chairs the boards of FinRegLab and the Center for Financial Services Innovation.
Panelists:
Manny Alvarez serves as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer to Affirm, Inc., a San Francisco-based technology company providing online point-of-sale consumer financing solutions. Before joining Affirm, Manny worked at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Manny is also an alumni of the Consumer Law Section of the California Attorney General’s Office. Before joining the AG’s Office, Manny was an associate at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP in San Francisco.
Christina Spiliakos is Regulatory Counsel at Circle, a fintech company that develops consumer payments and cryptocurrency products. Christina’s work focuses on guiding the company’s cryptocurrency and blockchain-based products through federal and state regulatory and licensing structures. Prior to joining Circle, she held internships in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division, as well as the offices of the Massachusetts State Treasurer, Senator Scott Brown, and Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Christina holds a JD from Boston College Law School and a BA in Political Science from Boston College.
Jotaka Eaddy currently serves as Vice President of Policy; Strategic Engagement, and Impact for LendUp, a Silicon Valley based financial technology company. Jotaka is a passionate advocate for increased diversity and social impact metrics in the tech sector and represents LendUp's regulatory, legislative, and social impact initiatives at the federal and state level. She serves as a board advisor to several tech start-ups including Maker’s Row, Inc.; Gauge, Inc., and Hustle, Inc.
David Ehrich is Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Petal, a fintech credit card dedicated to simple, honest and accessible credit. Petal is pioneering “cashflow underwriting” to expand credit access and lower pricing for an estimated 65 million thin-file, unscoreable, and credit invisible consumers. Previously, David worked as a Management Consultant at McKinsey, a General Manager at American Express Prepaid, and led Credit Card Strategy at JPMorganChase. As the national lead for Bank On, David was the architect of the Bank On National Account Standards and negotiated the product offering with the four national banks. David holds a BS in Biochemistry from Cornell University, and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
Melissa Strait is the US Compliance Officer for Stripe, Inc., a technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet. Businesses of every size — from new startups to public companies like Salesforce and Facebook — use the company’s software to accept online payments and run technically sophisticated financial operations around the world. Prior to joining Stripe in early 2016, she was a Compliance Operations Manager for Square, Inc. Melissa joined Square in 2013 from Kroll, Inc., where she was a Director in the Due Diligence practice. She graduated from American University with degrees in International Studies and Spanish.