Renaud Laplanche

Renaud is co-founder and CEO at Upgrade, Inc. a fintech company offering affordable and responsible credit to everyday consumers. Under his leadership, Upgrade has delivered over $20 billion in affordable consumer credit and launched Upgrade Card, an innovative card named the fastest growing credit card in America by Nilson Report in 2021 and 2022, and the only fintech in the top 25 U.S. Card issuers. Upgrade was ranked the fastest growing company in the Americas by the Financial Times in 2021. The company was valued at $6.3 billion in its latest financing round in November 2021.

Prior to Upgrade, Renaud founded and ran Lending Club for 10 years where he pioneered consumer fintech. He took the company public in 2014, reaching a market capitalization of over $10 billion. Renaud holds a speed sailing world record and is a frequent guest lecturer at Columbia Business School.