SoFi announced that its board named Twitter executive Anthony Noto as the chief executive officer and a director, effective March 1.
San Francisco-based SoFi last year purchased Zenbanx, which has operations in Claymont and had announced plans to expand operations to 400 positions. (See story below).
Zenbanx which offered an app that allows currencies to be transferred is part of the company’s plans to become a full-service financial company.
Interim CEO Tom Hutton, who also has been serving as executive chairman, will become non-executive chairman of the board.
The vacancy occurred when co-founder Mike Cagney stepped down amid allegations of sexual harassment.
“We are simply thrilled to have found someone of Anthony’s expertise and knowledge to lead SoFi,” Hutton said. “The SoFi board unanimously agrees that Anthony’s deep understanding of technology, consumer, and financial businesses make him the perfect fit to be SoFi’s CEO. We could not be more excited to have someone of his caliber on board.”
Noto joins SoFi from Twitter, where he has served as the chief operating officer since November 2016. Noto joined Twitter as chief financial officer in July 2014.
Before Twitter, Noto served for almost four years as co-head of global TMT investment banking at Goldman Sachs. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1999, was named partner in 2004, and served as the head of communications media and Internet equity research.
Before returning to Goldman, Noto spent almost three years as the chief financial officer of the National Football League. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Noto has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
“I’m grateful to the SoFi board for this extraordinary opportunity to lead one of the most important new companies at the intersection of technology and finance,” Noto said. “SoFi has a significant opportunity to build on its leadership position in student and personal loans to revolutionize consumer finance and build a next-generation financial services company. I’m excited to work with Tom and the rest of the SoFi team.”
SoFi has $25 billion in funded loans since inception and over 430,000 members. Its student loan refinancing product has helped people save over $2 billion, a release stated.
Hutton was named interim CEO in September 2017. An initial investor in the company, he joined the SoFi board in June 2012. Hutton serves as managing director of XL Innovate, a venture capital firm focused on insurance and financial technology.
