Blog Archives
INNOVATING IN COMPLIANCE, CITI CCO KATHRYN REIMANN AND WELLS FARGO CCO YVETTE HOLLINGSWORTH CLARK
My guests today are two of the most thoughtful people in the United States on the topic of regulatory compliance. They are the chief compliance officers of Citigroup and Wells Fargo – Kathryn Reimann and Yvette Hollingsworth Clark.
CFPB’S FIFTH ANNIVERSARY: DIRECTOR RICHARD CORDRAY
Welcome to today’s episode with my very special guest. He is the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray.
FINTECH FOR EVERYONE : VINAY PATEL AND MAX GASNER FROM BEE
I enjoy all my guests on Barefoot Innovation, but if someone forced me to choose my favorite episodes, this one would be on the list. It’s partly because my guests, the co-founders of Bee, were so fun to talk with, and so thoughtful. And it’s also because they are addressing one of the objections people raise to fintech – the notion that it’s only for millennials.
COST CUTTING WITH THE BLOCKCHAIN – BLYTHE MASTERS, CEO OF DIGITAL ASSET HOLDINGS
Barefoot Innovation usually explores technology that touches financial consumers – new products and new ways of managing money. Today’s episode pivots 180 degrees and looks internally, inside financial companies, at the equally transformative change underway in how financial products are made and delivered. My conversation is with Blythe Masters, CEO of Digital Asset Holdings, and our topic is the blockchain — distributed ledger technology, or DLT.
THE LAST HELICOPTER PIONEER – INNOVATION INSIGHTS FROM MY FATHER, GLIDDEN S. DOMAN
He was 95 years old. His name was Glidden Sweet Doman. And he was a remarkable innovator. He’s being widely remembered as the last of the great helicopter pioneers, and he was also an important inventor in wind energy. Those two industries share the same technology – the wickedly complex science of rotor dynamics.
FINANCIAL INCLUSION: RAUL VAZQUEZ OF OPORTUN
I am constantly amazed by the fascinating and unpredictable course of our conversations on Barefoot Innovation – and what a fun one I had with Raul Vazquez, CEO of Oportun. I always like to ask my guests to tell us how they, themselves, keep up with technology. With Raul, I asked this just as I thought we were wrapping up, and the question launched us on a whole new conversation.
EFFORTLESS INVESTING : JON STEIN OF BETTERMENT
Welcome to Barefoot Innovation and to a new dimension in the topics we explore. We’ve talked with many startups in lending, payments, and managing personal finance. Today, we’re looking at the most exciting change underway in the investment space – “robo-investing.” My guest is Jon Stein, the founder and CEO of Betterment.
ITS STILL SIMPLE : JOSH REICH ONE YEAR LATER
This episode updates one of the very first ones we did in our Barefoot Innovation series, last year. Episode Two featured the two co-founders of Simple, Josh Reich and Shamir Karkal. A year later, we all found ourselves back at the same conference where we’d recorded that program. Shamir has now taken on a new role, leading the open platform innovation of the very innovative bank that bought Simple, BBVA. Josh, though, is still CEO of Simple (a fact that he says tends to surprise people). So on a very rainy afternoon in Southern California, he and I found a place where we could duck out of the weather (you may hear the deluge in the background), and talked about how Simple has progressed in the year just past.
CFSI’S INNOVATION CONTEST
My guests are Ryan Falvey, who heads the lab, plus three of last year’s 9 winners. They are Sheri Atwood of SupportPay; Jerry Nemorin, of LendStreet, and Quinten Farmer of Even. They explain how the competition works, what they are looking for this year, and, from the standpoint of last year’s winners, what they have gotten from participating in the program.
AT THE FRONT WITH NFCC’S SUSAN KEATING
I have known Susan Keating, NFCC’s President and CEO, for about 30 years. I’ve been wanting to record a Barefoot Innovation episode with her, because the NFCC is on the front lines of the topics we’re exploring here. They work directly, personally, with the people who are not thriving in our consumer financial system. The reasons people don’t thrive are complex. We’ve talked about a lot of them, and I find it’s easy to get excited about new technologies or regulatory challenges impacting them, and to lose sight of the real people who are immersed in these struggles.
CONSULTING THE SOURCE – LEONARD CHANIN OF MORRISON & FOERSTER
I’m calling this episode “Consulting the Source.” My guest would be the first to say he is not the source of our consumer financial protection rules — that would be Congress. Still, no one has had more to do with translating law into regulatory form than Leonard Chanin.
TRANSFORMING PAYMENTS: CIRCLE CEO JEREMY ALLAIRE
Welcome to our first episode focused on Bitcoin, digital currency, and the blockchain. My guest is one of the most thoughtful people anywhere on this topic and on payments overall: Circle CEO and Founder Jeremy Allaire.
EFFORTLESS SAVING: DIGIT CEO ETHAN BLOCH
This is one of my favorite episodes we’ve ever done – my conversation with Digit founder and CEO, Ethan Bloch.
INNOVATING AT A BANK : DOMINIC VENTURO OF US BANCORP
Visiting Dominic Venturo is a little like walking onto a James Bond movie set during the Q gadget briefing scene. There is a wonderful “wow” factor in encountering the most fascinating new technologies in banking.
INSIGHTS FROM MICHAEL BARR
I am absolutely delighted to share today’s episode — my conversation with Michael Barr. Most of our listeners know Michael as the former Assistant Treasury Secretary for Financial Institutions who shepherded the Obama administration’s efforts on the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. Fewer people may know of his role in developing the proposal for, and negotiating the enactment of, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is when I got to know him.
THE REGULATORY SANDBOX : BMO’S NITISH PANDEY
We are kicking off 2016 with a wonderful guest, Nitish Pandey of BMO, and also with exciting momentum for Barefoot Innovation. In December, we were named one of the top 9 fintech podcasts by FintechNews Switzerland. We are delighted to be counted among the best in the world, including the Breaking Banks show of my friend Brett King.
CHUCK HARRIS, PRESIDENT OF NETSPEND
My conversation with Chuck Harris, President of NetSpend, is our final episode for 2015. Thinking back on the brief eight months since we launched Barefoot Innovation, I’m struck by the enormous terrain we’ve covered. As we start into the new year, I’ll be sharing my own thoughts on what I’ve been learning from these discussions.
REGULATION INNOVATION: A CONVERSATION WITH COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY THOMAS J. CURRY
I’m delighted to be able to share with you this very special episode of Barefoot Innovation, because my guest is the 30th Comptroller of the Currency, Thomas J. Curry.
THE SECRETS OF FINTECH: JESSE MCWATERS AND ROB GALASKI, WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
My guests are Jesse McWaters of the World Economic Forum and Rob Galasky of Monitor Deloitte, who co-led the WEF’s landmark research project on financial technology. Switzerland-based WEF focuses on public/private collaboration and is best known for hosting the annual global forum in Davos.
COURTNEY KELSO – INNOVATION & INCLUSION AT AMERICAN EXPRESS
This episode adds a new dimension to our discussions with innovators, by taking us inside a huge company – American Express. My guest is Courtney Kelso, who leads the Amex product and marketing team in Enterprise Growth.
JENNIFER TESCHER, PRESIDENT & CEO OF THE CENTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES INNOVATION
A decade ago there was nothing called Fintech. And yet Jennifer Tescher – who when she first entered the financial services industry couldn’t balance her checkbook – joined with former OTS Director Ellen Seidman and others who had a remarkable insight: that technology trends would create innovative ways to improve the lives of financial consumers. A former journalist, Jennifer became interested in financial services via reporting on urban poverty and inequality issues.
THE POWER OF COMMUNITY BANKS – BRIAN GRAHAM, CEO OF ALLIANCEPARTNERS & BANCALLIANCE
This episode takes us fully into grappling with how innovation is impacting community banks and how to respond, through a conversation with one of the most thoughtful and thought-provoking people in the field. The community bank is a unique feature of the U.S. financial system, and Brian Graham, CEO of Alliance Partners, is both one of its most eloquent advocates and an innovator with new ideas on how small banks can compete in the digital age.
RICHARD DAVIS, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF U.S. BANCORP
Richard Davis grew up in Hollywood and entered the banking world on his 18th birthday as a teller. Today, at age 57, he leads America’s 5th largest bank as Chairman and CEO of U.S. Bancorp – parent company of U.S. Bank. Headquartered in Minneapolis, U.S. Bancorp has over $410 billion in assets and businesses across the United States, Canada and Europe, including over 3,000 full-service banking offices and 5,000 ATMs in 25 states.
INCREASING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOR THE UNDERSERVED – LUZ URRUTIA, GLOBAL HEAD OF RETAIL AT OPORTUN
Luz Urrutia, the global head of retail at Oportun, has been carrying the same credit card in her wallet for 30 years. Having moved from her native Venezuela to the U.S. to study finance at Georgia State University, Luz was thrilled when she landed her first job in the banking industry – only to have her credit card application rejected by the same bank where she worked!
STRIVING FOR WORRY-FREE FINANCE – STOYAN KENDEROV OF INTUIT
Stoyan Kenderov and I had a truly rich and candid conversation about the evolution of banking innovation and regulation, and though he appears ten episodes into Barefoot Innovation, it was Stoyan who first suggested I record our thought-provoking discussions and offer them as a series of podcasts. Thank you, Stoyan, for your encouragement!
STEVE CARLSON, FOUNDER & CEO OF ASCEND, WINNER OF THE CFSI FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LAB COMPETITION
I’ve known Ascend’s Co-Founder and CEO Steve Carlson since we both joined the Consumer Advisory Board of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) when it first was formed in 2012. Ascend has benefited – and so does our podcast – from Steve’s double background in banking and technology.
GREEN DOT CEO STEVE STREIT AND PROFESSOR DOG ON NO-BITE BANKING
Once known as Streiter the Heater, Steve Streit is now often called the Prepaid Card King. He is the founder and CEO of Pasadena-based Green Dot Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary bank, Green Dot Bank, described as a “pro-consumer financial technology innovator with a mission to reinvent personal banking for the masses.”
BRINGING CHARACTER LENDING INTO THE 21ST CENTURY WITH VOUCH FOUNDER & CEO YEE LEE
Yee Lee is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur and investor. In our conversation he says he grew up in the Bay Area and it was just “in the water” there to do an internet startup during the dot-com bubble – he quit his PhD program at Stanford to go after his first idea. Since then he’s been involved with everything from PayPal to TaskRabbit, and in 2013, founded Vouch.
THE INNOVATIVE BANK – BBVA COMPASS CEO MANOLO SANCHEZ
Can banks be innovators? If so, how? In Episode 6, we tackle that topic with one of the most innovative bank executives in the world – Manolo Sanchez, the chairman and CEO of BBVA Compass.
RENAUD LAPLANCHE, FOUNDER & CEO OF LENDING CLUB
Lending Club and its founder, Renaud Laplanche, rank high on nearly every list of fintech disruptors. They are the biggest player in “marketplace lending” – online matching of borrowers with people and institutions willing to lend to them.
WHO WILL WIN THE CONSUMER’S TRUST WITH SUSAN EHRLICH
When we recorded this short episode with Susan Ehrlich, she was head of global credit for Amazon. She oversaw the Amazon Rewards Visa and Amazon Store Card in the U.S., as well as Amazon credit programs in Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. Most of our conversation focused on this very unique perspective.
ARJAN SCHUTTE OF CORE INNOVATION CAPITAL ON VENTURE CAPITAL IN FINTECH
Arjan Schutte (pronounced Ar-yon Shoot-eh) is Founder and Managing Partner at Core Innovation Capital in Los Angeles.
“THE CHEERFUL DISRUPTORS” WITH JOSH REICH AND SHAMIR KARKAL FROM SIMPLE.COM
Episode 2 is my lively conversation with the irreverent co-founders of Simple – CEO, Josh Reich, and Shamir Karkal, the company’s CFO. Simple is a Portland, Oregon start-up offering a simplified, consumer-friendly account for saving and making payments. Last year it was acquired by the global Spanish bank, BBVA, which has been making bold moves in tech innovation.
RAJ DATE, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR OF THE CFPB AND NOW MANAGING PARTNER AT FENWAY SUMMER LLC
Raj has given us the ideal launch into our series, because these podcasts are designed to be a search — for ideas on how to do better for financial consumers. We’re seeking out better products and practices, smarter regulation, new kinds of business models and cultures, new ways to empower consumers, and above all, new technology, which is suddenly making it both possible, and necessary, to rethink today’s system.