Executive Officers

Philippe De Backer, 61 [Resigned 7/22/20]
CEO and Director

Mr. De Backer is a Co-Founder and Chairman of Clearly, a native integrated digital bank. Mr. De Backerhas worked since 1992 with Bain & Company, a leading global consulting firm, in various roles in the financial services sector in all segments of banking and capital markets. Mr. De Backer served as an Advisory Partner at Bain & Company from January 2016 until August 2017. Previously, Mr. De Backer was the Senior Partner in charge of Bain & Company’s Global Financial Services Group from 2010 to 2015 and the Managing Director in charge of Bain & Company’s European Financials Services Group from 2004 to 2007. Mr. De Backer’s experience includes all facets of strategy and development, ranging from corporate strategy to operations improvement. In particular, Mr. De Backer has extensive personal experience in mergers and acquisitions while working with client banks on repeated acquisitions in numerous different geographies. Prior to joining Bain & Company, Mr. De Backer was the CEO of ADB, an electronics company which is part of the Siemens Group from 1983 to 1988. This CEO role provided Mr. De Backerextensive experience in high-tech particularly in the field of artificial intelligence. Following Mr. De Backer’s service at ADB he was the Managing Partner at Carre, Orban & Partners (later Korn Ferry) (NYSE: KFY), a European based consultancy firm from 1988 to 1993 as well as the Head of Organizational practice from 1989 to 1993. Mr. De Backer has co-authored four books on management which include Maximum Leadership, Go East, Management Audit and most recently Reinvent Retail Banking. Mr. De Backer has authored many articles in specialized financial services publications and is a frequent keynote speaker at global business conferences. Mr. De Backer is a graduate of Colgate University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in economics with high honors, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. De Backeralso holds an MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College.

Scott Reed, 48 [Appointed CEO, Resigned as CFO 7/23/20]
President, CFO and Director 

Mr. Reed is the co-founder of BankCap Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on investments in the U.S. commercial banking space, and has served as a Partner and Director of BankCap Partners since May 2006. Mr. Reed has over 20 years in the financial services and strategic consulting industries. As a Partner at BankCap, Mr. Reed focuses on transaction sourcing, structuring and processing, capital raising activities and oversight of BankCap’s portfolio investments. Mr. Reed began his career as a derivatives trader at Swiss Bank Corporation from 1992 to 1995. Mr. Reed worked as a consultant at Bain & Company from 1997 to 2000. Mr. Reed was an investment banker in the Financial Institutions Group at Bear Stearns from 2000 to 2002. Prior to founding BankCap, Mr. Reed was Senior Vice President, Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning of Carreker Corporation, a financial technology company based in Dallas. Mr. Reed is a graduate of the University of Virginia with a B.S. in Commerce and a B.A. in History. Mr. Reed received his MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College, where he was an Edward Tuck Scholar. Mr. Reed currently serves as a director of Silvergate Capital Corporation and Vista Bancshares (as well as a director of each of the two institutions’ underlying commercial banks) and previously served as a director of Xenith Bankshares and the institutions underlying commercial bank.

Alberto Bianchinotti, 43 [Appointed CFO 7/23/20]
CFO

Mr. Bianchinotti is a Certified Public Accountant and has been assisting in the oversight of the finance and operations of the Company since December 2017 through his firm AM Knight Financial Services. Mr. Bianchinotti has over 20 years of experience in the financial services field and started his career at Anchin Accountants and Advisors in 1999, where he ran audit and tax engagements for hedge fund and private equity fund clients. He became controller of Merlin Biomed Investment Advisers in 2004 and in 2007 became Chief Financial Officer of Merlin Biomed Private Equity Advisers. He founded AM Knight Financial Services in 2013, focusing on startup and smaller financial services companies. He received his B.S. in accounting from Binghamton University in 1999 and became a Certified Public Accountant in 2001.

Board of Directors

Baudouin Prot, 73
Chairman of the Board

Mr. Prot served as the Chairman of BNP Paribas SA, one of the largest banks in the world, from June 2011 to December 2014. Previous to that Mr. Prot served as a member of the Board at BNP Paribas SA from June 2000 to June 2011 prior to his appointment as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Prot served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of BNP Paribas SA from June 2003 to June 2011. Between 2003 and 2014 the French bank tripled its shareholders’ equity (from €25.7B to €77.1B), doubled revenues (from €18B to €39B) and doubled headcount (from 89,000 to 185,000 employees). During his tenure as Chairman and CEO of BNP Paribas, implemented a successful expansion strategy in the U.S. via its U.S.-based subsidiary, BancWest, including: (i) $1.2B acquisition of Community First Bankshares, Inc.; (ii) $1.36B acquisition of Commercial Federal Corporation and (3) $245M acquisition of USDB Bancorp. Mr. Prot served as Chief Operating Officer at BNP Paribas SA from 1996 to 2003. Early in his career, Mr. Prot was at the French Treasury, from 1976 to 1980. Mr. Prot had the rank of inspecteur des finances in the French Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of industry until 1983. Mr. Prot joined Banque Nationale de Paris in 1983 where he served in various positions until 2014, including Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Prot currently serves as an Independent Director of Veolia Environment, S.A. (EPA: VIE), Kering SA (EPA: KER), Foncia Group S.A. and BGL BNP Paribas S.A. Mr. Prot previously served as an Independent Director of Lafarge S.A., and as a Director of Erbe SA (Belgium) and Pargesa. Mr. Prot previously served as Chairman of Association Francaise des Banques. Mr. Prot was named “Financier of the Year” for the successful integration of BNL in 2006 and again in 2009. Mr. Prot was the recipient of the Foreign Policy Association award (USA) for “Corporate Social Responsibility” in 2007. Mr. Prot was named “Strategist of the Year” by the financial daily newspaper La Tribune for the integration of the Fortis in 2009. In 2010, the Institutional Investor magazine named Mr. Prot “Best European Banking CEO”. Mr. Prot has been named Officer of the Legion of Honor and Officer of the National Order of Merit. Mr. Prot is an alumnus of the HEC Business School where he received an MBA in 1972 and the National Scholl of Administration (ENA) from where he graduated in 1976.

Elias Farhat, 51
Director

Mr. Farhat is the Chief Strategy Officer for Candriam Investors Group, an asset management company with over $120 billion under management and has served in this role since October 2016. He is also member of Candriam’s Group Strategy Committee and of its Executive Committee. From 2003 to 2016, Mr. Farhat was a Partner of Capital E, a private equity and real estate firm, and held several board and advisory positions at portfolio companies with ties to Capital E. Mr. Farhat was also the Founder and Managing Partner of Velocity Advisors, a Private Equity advisory which sourced and structured transactions on behalf of institutional investors. From 1990 to 2002, Mr. Farhat was Vice President and Partner at Bain & Company where he spent 12 years as a management consultant across Europe, the US and Latin America. At Bain, Mr. Farhat has advised boards, CEOs and senior management of Fortune 1000 companies as well as several buyout funds on a broad range of strategic, operational, financial and organizational issues. He has led Bain’s Private Equity Group activities in the Southern US region and was involved in its Investment Committee. Mr. Farhat currently serves as a Director of Lakeside Advisors. Mr. Farhat previously served as a Director of Huron Inc. and CBI. Mr. Farhat is a graduate of Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) in Paris.

Gregory P. Wilson, 65
Director

Mr. Wilson has served since January 2006 as Founder and President of Gregory P. Wilson Consulting, a consulting firm focused on policy and regulatory reform efforts since the financial crisis, including implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act and international financial regulatory developments. Mr. Wilson serves as a Senior Adviser to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Financial Regulatory Reform Initiative as well as the Financial Services Roundtable (FSR) and its Chief Risk Officer Council. He was Co-Director of the FSR’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Financial Competitiveness in 2007. Mr. Wilson serves on the International Institute of Finance’s Special Committee on Effective Regulation, and he has been a past lecturer at the National Defense University’s Industrial College of the Armed Services (ICAS). From January 2015 to April 2018, Mr. Wilson served as an independent director of the Atlantic Trust Company, N.A., based in Atlanta, Georgia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE: CM) (CIBC). Mr. Wilson also serves on the Board of Advisers to the American Association of Bank Directors. Previously, Mr. Wilson was an Expert Partner and Senior Adviser at McKinsey & Company in its financial services practice based in Washington, D.C. During almost twenty-five years at McKinsey, Mr. Wilson served both private sector and numerous public sector clients around the world, including central bankers, ministers of finance, and financial regulators on issues of financial crisis management, regulatory reform, financial sector restructuring, and financial center competitiveness. Prior to joining McKinsey in 1989, Mr. Wilson served Secretaries of the Treasury James A. Baker III and Nicholas F. Brady as their Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy from 1986 to 1989, where he focused on resolving the savings and loan crisis and developing regulatory reforms. Mr. Wilson has authored or co-authored numerous books, including Managing to the New Regulatory Reality?—?Doing Business under the Dodd-Frank Act, Dangerous Markets: Managing in Financial Crises, and has been a frequent contributor to the American Banker, the McKinsey Quarterly, and other publications. Mr. Wilson graduated magna cum laude from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1974 with a B.A. in history as well as politics and government. Mr. Wilson has authored or co-authored numerous books, including Managing to the New Regulatory Reality?—?Doing Business under the Dodd-Frank Act, Dangerous Markets: Managing in Financial Crises, and has been a frequent contributor to the American Banker, the McKinsey Quarterly, and other publications. Mr. Wilson graduated magna cum laude from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1974 with a B.A. in history as well as politics and government.

Djemi Traboulsi, 51
Director

Djemi Traboulsi is President of Capital E Advisors, Capital E Private Equity Group’s US research arm. Mr. Traboulsi has been active in the firm’s private equity business since 2002. He currently serves on boards and advisory boards of companies with ties to Capital E. From 1991 to 2001, Mr. Traboulsi was Managing Director of Kenmar International, where he was instrumental in helping develop the firm’s alternative investment group. Prior to 1991, Mr. Traboulsi held various M&A and Corporate Finance positions with Mabon, Nugent & Co. in New York. Mr. Traboulsi holds a B.A. in Business Administration from the American University of Paris, and he has attended the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.

James Erwin, 73
Director

Jim Erwin has been a Managing Partner in Erwin, Graves & Associates, L.P. (now Erwin, Graves & Jones, L.P.) since its founding in 2001. In this role he has participated in the organization, capitalization and direction of several private and public companies. Prior to 2001 he had a 30-year distinguished career in banking and finance. In 2007 Mr. Erwin was an organizer and a lead investor in First Private Bank of Texas which opened for business with $30 million initial capital on May 1, 2007. He continued active involvement as a director of First Private until its sale to IberiaBank in 2014 and remained on advisory board of IberiaBank Texas until 2016. He also currently serves as a member of the investment advisory committee of Teakwood Capital and on the Advisory Board of CrossFirst Bank of Texas. Previously he served as a director of Trammell Crow Company from its IPO in 1997 until its sale to CB Richard Ellis Co. in December, 2006 and was a director of Carreker Corporation from May 2001 until its sale to CheckFree, Inc. in April, 2007. His involvement on these boards included serving as lead director and chairman of audit, compensation, governance and nominating committees. He previously served as a director of Texas Capital Bancshares from May, 2001 to May, 2005 including active involvement in its IPO during this period and he also served on the boards of Select Payment Processing, Inc. and DeviceFidelity, Inc. Mr. Erwin retired from Bank of America in June, 2000 after a career that began at First National Bank in Dallas in 1970 and continued through a series of acquisitions and mergers to conclude with his role as Vice Chairman Texas and Senior Client Executive Southwest for Bank of America. His experience spans a diverse range of domestic and international banking and corporate finance and executive management including four years of living and working in London and responsibilities that included: London Branch Manager; chief financial officer of First National Bank in Dallas; chairman of the London merchant bank, First Dallas, Ltd; president and director of InterFirst Bank Dallas; vice chairman and director of FirstRepublic Bank; and Head of Operations and Technology for NationsBank Corporation. Mr. Erwin has a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Oklahoma (May 1967) and an M.B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin (May, 1969). Prior to his career in banking he was a Project Engineer for Shell Oil Company in Houston and Assistant to the President of National Western Life Insurance Company in Austin. He has also has an extensive civic service record, including serving as Chairman of the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce and The Dallas Opera, on the Board of the Dallas Foundation, and on the Board of Visitors of the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering. He continues to serve on the Finance and Audit Committee of the Dallas Regional Chamber and on the Board of Trustees of The Dallas Opera.

Karen Wendel, 59
Director

Ms. Wendel served as the Chief Executive Officer and board member of IdenTrust from May 2003 to February 2016, a global identity solutions company, from 2003?–?2016. Ms. Wendel led IdenTrust through a major transformation in a complex, fragmented market. In her corporate and board roles during her 13 years at IdenTrust, Ms. Wendel was instrumental in the corporate strategy for growth through mergers, capital restructuring and technical due diligence associated with integrated acquired companies, successfully completing and delivering an exit for IdenTrust’s investors. Prior to IdenTrust, Ms. Wendel was Chief Executive Officer and a board member for eFinance Coporation from 2001?–?2003. Ms. Wendel led the strategic planning, market positioning and execution tactics for eFinance and delivered an exit for her investors. Ms. Wendel is a former partner at the Capital Markets Company (CAPCO), a Belgium-based consulting firm. Ms. Wendel is the former head of the U.S. Financial Services Practice at Gemini Consulting. Ms. Wendel has expertise in Cyber Security, Identity Solutions, Security Regulations, ISO Global Standards, e-Commerce, e-Healthcare, PKI Digital Certificates and Blockchain. Ms. Wendel is an author on financial management, payments and supply chain integration; an advisor to U.S. government agencies and the European Union on emerging technologies for payments and transaction processing; and a keynote speaker at major international banking conferences. Ms. Wendel earned degrees in International Relations and Economics from Brigham Young University.