Good day. Stash, the $1.4 billion fintech company that offers banking and investment apps, has a new chief financial officer.
In an exclusive interview with new CFO Stephen Hodgman and Stash CEO Lisa Landsman, we discuss their roles at the company, what Landsman was looking for as CFO, and how their strategic partnership will work.
So why did Hodgman join the hideout? "You're helping the average citizen, the average woman in America, create and build wealth," he explained. “This market is often underestimated and overlooked. It's exciting to join a company where you'll have a real impact on people across the country and hopefully one day around the world."
Stash is certainly not alone in the world of retail investing apps, focusing on long-term wealth creation and allowing for micro-investing. It charges users $3 to $9 per month, depending on the service required and account type, and has a robo-advisor. Stash has almost 2 million subscribers.
In its 2021 venture round, Stash raised $125 million at a $1.4 billion valuation. The company then raised $40 million in October to scale the business. Stash investors include T. Rowe Price and LendingTree.
Hodgman joins Stash from Getir, which recently acquired FreshDirect, and served as Global Chief Financial Officer, overseeing financial responsibilities in the US and across Europe. Hodgman was also the global chief financial officer of Gorillaz, the company's $1.2 billion acquisition of European and American rival Getir.
Landsman, who has been Stash's CEO since February 2023, is creating an all-new senior leadership team: Hodgman, CMO Jackie Stern, formerly of E-Trade and Citibank, joins Dave and Flexport's CTOs To Chien-Liang Zhou and Shannon Allman. Experience working as a CEO at Venmo and PayPal. His diversity of background, experience and leadership skills attracted him to the company, Hodgman added.
According to Hodgman, the business trip was very interesting. "This is a low-resource business," he said. "It's a profitable business with recurring revenue and high growth that I think will really put us on a path to profitability in the near term."
Strategic partnership
Does Landsman want to add Hodgman to his senior squad? "I really needed someone who was financially disciplined and willing to grow," he said.
It's similar to how Stash works with customers and subscribers, he said. "We want you to always make healthy choices on your path to financial security, and we want the same for us."
Could Stash's next move be public? Landsman said it was "one of the options available to us," adding: “I believe it takes as much work to prepare a company to go public as it does to build a profitable, growing business. Sustainable Development".
I asked Hodgman and Landsman about their views on the CEO-CFO partnership.
"I think the CFO is the co-pilot who sits there and really makes sure all the decisions are made and there's financial discipline and accountability," Hodgman said. Additionally, “executives often need a partner, someone who can help them think outside the box and out of the box.
Landesman agreed, saying that as CEO he wanted someone in the CFO role who would "challenge and challenge my thinking and the entire leadership team."
Cheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com:
Leaderboard
Michelle Carvin has been named CFO of Carbonbuilt, a developer of concrete technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Carvin comes to the company with more than ten years of experience in corporate financial planning, deal structuring and risk management. Neely was previously CFO of solar engineering company Clay Energy. Carwin spent nearly a decade at Goldman Sachs as Vice President of the Global Industrial and Investment Banking Group.
Adam Goldberger has been named chief financial officer of QuantHealth, an artificial intelligence-based clinical trials development company. Prior to joining QuantHealth, Goldberger held various positions in the public and private sectors for more than two decades, working for companies in Israel, the US and Australia. He most recently served as Chief Commercial Officer of RenalSense and Group Chief Financial Officer/CEO of MedHealth.
great deal
Gartner Inc. to understand how budgets and spending will change in 2024. surveyed 302 CFOs and CFOs. Overall, 90% of CFOs expect AI budgets to increase in 2024, but none of the plans will result in cuts. And 71% of CFOs plan to increase AI spending by 10% or more compared to last year. According to Gartner, 80 percent of CFOs will spend more on AI.
"CFOs must offset the increased costs of AI with critical conversations with senior executives about the organization's AI ambitions," Alexander Bunt, head of Gartner's financial research practice, said in a statement.
going deeper
"Sequoia Capital's Roelof Botha Shares AI Predictions and Where to Invest" is an excerpt from Fortune 's Leadership Next podcast. Sequoia was an early investor in OpenAI, which has accelerated the current wave of AI with its creative AI technology, which Botha sees as a fundamental shift for business. Fortune CEO Alan Murray and Editor-in-Chief Michal Lev-Ram discuss why he doesn't think this AI wave is overblown.
to listen
“The IPO market has not been buoyant in recent years due to high interest rates and a tough social environment. However, sentiment is starting to change as more companies file or announce IPOs in 2024.”
- writes Mary Jane McCaughran in an article in Fortune magazine. McCaughran is a member of the ESO Foundation and assists with goal setting, transaction reporting, investment strategy development and new business venture evaluation.
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