Varo Bank, the first all-digital nationally chartered bank in the US, today announced that it has named Jakub Jurek as Chief Data Officer. Dr. Jurek brings over 18 years of data expertise both in academia and at a number of disruptive fintechs including Figure Technologies and Wealthfront. Under Dr. Jurek’s leadership, Varo will accelerate its data-product vision that leverages Varo’s modern banking platform to design personalized experiences, develop insight-driven products for Varo customers, and support Varo’s dynamic risk management capabilities.
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“Banking represents the foundation of everyone’s financial life, and having a national bank charter puts Varo in a unique position to re-imagine this foundation,” Jurek said. “I am delighted to be joining Varo’s stellar leadership team, and look forward to propelling the next phase of Varo’s growth.”
Dr. Jurek has served in a number of leadership positions in fintech including Chief Data Officer at Figure Technologies, where he was responsible for data analytics, engineering and machine learning for Figure’s blockchain-based lending products. He was also Vice President of Data Science and Analytics at Wealthfront, where he helped lead the firm’s expansion from automated investing to financial planning and banking. He also served as the CEO/CIO of Wealthfront Strategies, LLC, an investment advisory subsidiary. Prior to Wealthfront, Dr. Jurek was a professor of finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Princeton University’s Bendheim Center for Finance. His academic research focused on investments and financial markets, and was published in leading peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Jurek received his A.B. (Bachelors) in Applied Mathematics/Economics, magna cum laude and his PH.D. (Doctorate) degree in Business Economics both from Harvard University.
“The Varo team is thrilled to have Jakub join the company and champion such a critical area for the future of our innovation agenda,” said Colin Walsh, CEO and founder of Varo Bank, N.A. “Jakub’s deep expertise in all things data will help accelerate our data roadmap to bring actionable insights, personalized experiences and an inclusive community to Varo customers.”
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