Zolve, a neobank providing cross-border financial services, has appointed Steve Freiberg to its leadership team in the United States. In the past, he served as co-chairman and CEO of Citigroup’s Global Consumer Group for 30 years, where he was responsible for all business lines serving consumer & commercial customers spanning 53 countries and 230 thousand employees.
Prior to that, as CEO of Etrade, Freiberg stewarded the company back to profitability following the 2008 financial crisis. He is also vice chairman of the board at SoFi, a US-based fintech, a board member of Compas Digital Acquisition Corp., board chairman of Portage Financial Technology Acquisition Corp and retired board member of MasterCard.
At Zolve, Freiberg will advise on overall growth and business strategy, focusing on enhancing the product and value proposition of the neobank’s offerings internationally. His deep understanding of the US market and regulatory nuances would be key in strengthening the company’s presence in the US.
Furthermore, he will also play a key role in bringing the right technology and product partners onboard. Before Zolve, Freiberg was chairman of the board at Fair Square Financial, a Delaware-based financial services start-up, which was later sold to the online auto lending giant Ally for $750 million. He is also the founder of Grand Vista Partners and a senior advisor to Boston Consulting Group and TowerBrook Capital Partners.
Welcoming Freiberg, Raghunandan G, Founder and CEO at Zolve, said, “Freiberg’s rich experience and expertise in the sector will help Zolve achieve new heights at a global level. Steve’s unparalleled understanding of the market, regulatory landscape, and networking expertise will help unlock new avenues for Zolve.”
On his appointment, Freiberg said, “I am extremely excited to be joining a highly energetic and dynamic team at Zolve and am hopeful that I will make valuable contributions to the company’s business and growth in the international market. I am looking forward to new learnings and challenges.”
This is the third strategic appointment at Zolve within a month, following the onboarding of Anandapadmanabhan Ramabhadran from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Douglas T Hamilton as the Chief Compliance Officer.
Apart from bolstering the core leadership team in India and the United States, the start-up is also looking for dynamic professionals to fill several roles. These include Customer Support Head; Customer Support Agents; Senior Product Analyst; Product Manager, Fraud & Risk, Collections Lead and Credit Risk Data Science.
In February 2021, Zolve raised $15 million in seed funding, led by Accel and Lightspeed. In October 2021, it raised another $40 million in a Series A funding round.
