LendUp Announces Strategic Investment from PayPal, Additions to Leadership Team

SAN FRANCISCO, June 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LendUp, a socially responsible financial services firm for the emerging middle class, today announced that PayPal PYPL has made a strategic investment in the company, for an undisclosed sum.

"PayPal has long been considered at the forefront of fintech innovation, reinventing payments for the modern world. They've since built one of the most successful fintech companies of all time," said Sasha Orloff, LendUp co-founder and CEO. "We share a common vision of how technology can democratize industries, and that's exactly what LendUp is doing. We're building our own technology to create new financial products and experiences for the 56 percent of Americans shut out of mainstream banking due to poor credit or income volatility—right on a mobile phone. We're thrilled to count PayPal among our esteemed investors, and look forward to leveraging their insights as we continue to build a multi-product company."

LendUp also announced that seasoned CFO Carrie Dolan is now a LendUp board advisor, and several key executives have joined the company's management team.

Dolan, who recently became CFO of Metromile, has a storied financial career spanning more than 25 years, and a proven track record of scaling high-growth consumer brands. She was previously CFO of Lending Club, and during her six-year tenure annual revenue increased more than 7000 percent. In 2014 she managed the company's IPO, one of the top 10 U.S.-based internet public offerings of all time. Before Lending Club, Carrie was Treasurer for The Charles Schwab Corporation and CFO of Schwab Bank, which she helped launch in 2003. Earlier in her career Dolan held several financial positions at Chevron. She's been recognized by American Banker on its "Most Powerful Women in Finance" ranking and by Financial Women of San Francisco as "Financial Woman of the Year."

"I'm thrilled to become a board advisor to LendUp. I'm impressed with the company's dedication to the mission of expanding credit access, lowering the cost of credit and improving financial health for people who need it most," said Dolan. "I'm confident that my experience can help them as they evolve from a fast growing startup into the industry leader, defining a new category of purpose-driven fintech."

"Carrie is so well-respected as a highly ethical leader and strategic thinker, and I couldn't be more excited for LendUp to benefit from her experience as the founding CFO of Lending Club and from leading one of the largest tech IPOs ever," said Orloff.

LendUp also announced that Vijesh Iyer, a 20-year financial services veteran, including nearly 15 years at Capital One and PayPal, has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer of LendUp Global. Iyer, who joined LendUp in 2015, has been instrumental in a number of areas, from developing the company's product ecosystem across loans and credit cards, to increasing focus on profitability, to being a strong advocate of the LendUp mission. He's also been very involved in strengthening the company's legal and compliance teams and growing the company, which is currently more than 220 strong.

Jotaka Eaddy, LendUp's Head of Government Affairs and previously Senior Advisor for the NAACP, is expanding her responsibilities to now oversee LendUp's Social Impact Team. Eaddy's team is responsible for measuring how LendUp's products benefit consumers, such as saving customers nearly $75 million in fees and interest to-date, and creating a series of financial education courses that have been viewed more than one million times.

Continuing LendUp's strong commitment to excellence in compliance and risk management, Mandeep Walia joined LendUp Global's executive leadership team as Chief Compliance Officer earlier this year. Walia has more than 15 years of financial services and technology risk management and compliance experience. He will oversee the implementation of a program that goes beyond minimum requirements, sets a new industry standard and exceeds LendUp's stakeholder expectations. He leads a team with extensive experience from the CFPB, FDIC, Federal Reserve, Paypal, First Republic, PricewaterhouseCoopers and others. Walia joined from PayPal, where he was a Senior Director of Global Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance. He previously held leadership roles at State Street, Bank of the West, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young.

In further bolstering its management, the company recently added Jordan Olivier as Vice President, Finance, and Karry Bryan as Vice President, Controller.

Olivier has more than 20 years of financial leadership experience in the brokerage, asset management, banking and marketplace lending industries. He was most recently VP of Finance at Lending Club, after spending 13 years as a finance leader at Charles Schwab & Co. Earlier in his career, Olivier held consulting and analyst positions with Deloitte & Touche and the United States Treasury.

Bryan has nearly 25 years of experience in accounting, including positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Charles Schwab & Co., Bank of Marin, Tamalpais Bank and Lending Club. She was most recently VP, Controller at LendingHome Corporation.

About LendUp
LendUp is a socially responsible online lender on a mission to redefine financial services for the emerging middle class—the 56% of Americans shut out of mainstream banking due to poor credit or income volatility. It builds technology, credit products and educational experiences that haven't existed before for this consumer segment, which includes more than 131 million Americans.

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SOURCE LendUp