Fair Lending Analysis
Identify and overcome tradeoffs between performance and disparity.
FairPlay Team
Team members come from a diverse range of technology and financial services backgrounds including Google, Microsoft, NASA, Elementary Robotic, and the U.S. Government.
Leadership
Kareem Saleh
Founder, CEO
Kareem has been working on financial inclusion and underwriting hard-to-score borrowers his entire career. At ZestFinance (now Zest.ai) he worked with lenders to adopt AI underwriting. At SoftCard he worked with retailers, financial institutions and tech companies to democratize mobile payments. In the Obama Administration he helped manage the team that negotiated the Paris Climate Agreement, and oversaw $3B in annual investments into development-friendly projects in emerging markets. He’s a contributor to Forbes on AI in financial services and loves boxing, poker and hip hop.
John Merrill, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, CTO
John is a mathematician and computer scientist with deep expertise in applying AI to financial services. He spent 10 years at Microsoft creating AI-powered virtual assistants and five years at Google building tools to help advertisers harness the power of machine learning. He was the principal scientist at ZestFinance (now Zest.ai) where he was among the first to apply complex machine learning algorithms to consumer loan underwriting. He holds 10 patents on the application of AI in consumer finance and moonlights as a video game designer and opera singer.
Kareem Saleh
Founder, CEO
Kareem has been working on financial inclusion and underwriting hard-to-score borrowers his entire career. At ZestFinance (now Zest.ai) he worked with lenders to adopt AI underwriting. At SoftCard he worked with retailers, financial institutions and tech companies to democratize mobile payments. In the Obama Administration he helped manage the team that negotiated the Paris Climate Agreement, and oversaw $3B in annual investments into development-friendly projects in emerging markets. He’s a contributor to Forbes on AI in financial services and loves boxing, poker and hip hop.
John Merril, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, CTO
John is a mathematician and computer scientist with deep expertise in applying AI to financial services. He spent 10 years at Microsoft creating AI-powered virtual assistants and five years at Google building tools to help advertisers harness the power of machine learning. He was the principal scientist at ZestFinance (now Zest.ai) where he was among the first to apply complex machine learning algorithms to consumer loan underwriting. He holds 10 patents on the application of AI in consumer finance and moonlights as a video game designer and opera singer.
Our Team
Melissa Lafsky
Comms/Branding
Mark Eberstein
EVP of Data Science
Patrick Cadic
COO
Kim Gerhardt
Partnerships
Rae Hanley
Sr. Technical Product Manager
Mark Jones
VP of Engineering
Our Advisors
David Silberman is a leading expert in consumer financial markets with over 30 years of experience, most recently as Acting Deputy Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) where he led the Bureau’s mission to enforce consumer protection laws. Previously, David was President and CEO of Union Privilege and EVP at Kessler Financial Services. He is an adjunct professor at Harvard University and began his career clerking for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
David Silberman
Advisor
David Silberman is a leading expert in consumer financial markets with over 30 years of experience, most recently as Acting Deputy Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) where he led the Bureau’s mission to enforce consumer protection laws. Previously, David was President and CEO of Union Privilege and EVP at Kessler Financial Services. He is an adjunct professor at Harvard University and began his career clerking for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Sarah Elliott is a financial services expert currently serving as Senior Advisor at FS Vector and Independent Director at Anchorage Digital Bank. Formerly, Sarah was General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at ONE and Azio, and served as Head of Compliance at Blend. She also held senior roles at the OCC and Promontory Financial Group. She is the founder of the 94104 Exchange for fintech professionals and earned her JD from George Washington Law School.
Sarah Elliott
Advisor
Sarah Elliott is a financial services expert currently serving as Senior Advisor at FS Vector and Independent Director at Anchorage Digital Bank. Formerly, Sarah was General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at ONE and Azio, and served as Head of Compliance at Blend. She also held senior roles at the OCC and Promontory Financial Group. She is the founder of the 94104 Exchange for fintech professionals and earned her JD from George Washington Law School.
Stephen Van Meter is the former Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Previously, he was Assistant Director at the OCC and served in the Legal Division of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at the law firm of Ropes & Gray. Stephen clerked for Hon. Francis P. O’Connor of the Massachusetts Supreme Court and holds degrees from U. Michigan and Harvard Law School.
Stephen Van Meter
Advisor
Stephen Van Meter is the former Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Previously, he was Assistant Director at the OCC and served in the Legal Division of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at the law firm of Ropes & Gray. Stephen clerked for Hon. Francis P. O’Connor of the Massachusetts Supreme Court and holds degrees from U. Michigan and Harvard Law School.
Manny Alvarez is a veteran financial services attorney and regulator with notable roles in both the public and private sectors. He currently serves on the Board of East West Bank and is renowned for his impact as California’s Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation, where he launched key consumer protection initiatives, tackled predatory lending and enhanced financial inclusion. Previously, Manny was General Counsel at Affirm and served as an Enforcement Attorney at the CFPB.
Manny Alvarez
Advisor
Manny Alvarez is a veteran financial services attorney and regulator with notable roles in both the public and private sectors. He currently serves on the Board of East West Bank and is renowned for his impact as California’s Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation, where he launched key consumer protection initiatives, tackled predatory lending and enhanced financial inclusion. Previously, Manny was General Counsel at Affirm and served as an Enforcement Attorney at the CFPB.
Amy Crews Cutts holds over 30 years of consumer lending expertise, including roles as the Chief Economist at Equifax and Deputy Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, focusing on mortgage market research and economic forecasting. Amy is celebrated for her forecast accuracy, and was honored with the 2015 Pulsenomics® Crystal Ball Award. She has held academic positions at Syracuse University and Georgetown University, and is an active contributor to leading economic surveys and educational boards.
Amy Crews Cutts
Advisor
Amy Crews Cutts holds over 30 years of consumer lending expertise, including roles as the Chief Economist at Equifax and Deputy Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, focusing on mortgage market research and economic forecasting. Amy is celebrated for her forecast accuracy, and was honored with the 2015 Pulsenomics® Crystal Ball Award. She has held academic positions at Syracuse University and Georgetown University, and is an active contributor to leading economic surveys and educational boards.
Kevin Moss is a consumer lending industry legend with over 38 years of experience. Most recently he served as Chief Risk Officer at SoFi, and previously spearheaded Credit, Compliance, and Operating Risk as Chief Risk Officer for Wells Fargo's Consumer Lending Group. His extensive background also includes roles as Wells Fargo's Chief Credit Officer and leadership in Consumer Risk Management. He now advises fintechs and serves on multiple boards within the lending and payments sectors.
Kevin Moss
Advisor
Kevin Moss is a consumer lending industry legend with over 38 years of experience. Most recently he served as Chief Risk Officer at SoFi, and previously spearheaded Credit, Compliance, and Operating Risk as Chief Risk Officer for Wells Fargo's Consumer Lending Group. His extensive background also includes roles as Wells Fargo's Chief Credit Officer and leadership in Consumer Risk Management. He now advises fintechs and serves on multiple boards within the lending and payments sectors.