**Plaid Names New CFO as Company Expands Its Footprint in Digital Finance**
*Courtesy of Plaid*
Plaid has appointed a new Chief Financial Officer, marking a significant step as the fintech firm broadens its suite of offerings amid a rapidly evolving financial landscape. The new CFO, Sodipo, brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles, including serving as CFO at Glossier and leadership positions in product finance and strategy at Stripe.
At Glossier, Sodipo was instrumental in transforming the beauty brand from a direct-to-consumer pioneer into a fast-growing omnichannel presence across North America and Europe. Her background also includes investment banking at Centerview Partners, alongside stints in private equity investing at Helios Investment Partners and Insignia Capital Group.
Sodipo succeeds Eric Hart, who has returned to Expedia Group. Her appointment underscores Plaid’s commitment to building a multi-product platform at the center of digital finance.
**Plaid’s Recent Funding and Future Outlook**
In April, Plaid completed a $575 million funding round led by Franklin Templeton, with participation from major investors including Fidelity and NEA. This round valued the company at approximately $6.1 billion—a notable decrease from its $13.4 billion peak in 2021 following a failed acquisition attempt by Visa.
The funding round included a tender offer, allowing investors to purchase existing shares and provide liquidity to Plaid employees. It also addressed tax obligations tied to expiring stock units. Despite the valuation drop, the investment signals renewed confidence from investors after the broader “fintech winter,” according to *Fortune*.
Plaid CEO Zach Perret hinted earlier this year that an initial public offering (IPO) could be on the horizon within the next few years, calling the failed Visa acquisition a “blessing in disguise.”
**Zainab Sodipo’s Vision as Plaid’s CFO**
In her new role, Sodipo will lead Plaid’s global finance function as the company expands beyond core data infrastructure to offer a broader suite of intelligence services—spanning identity, payments, credit, and fraud products.
Plaid’s strategic focus, according to the company, is to power the infrastructure enabling the next era of digital finance, building a durable, independent company positioned for long-term growth.
When asked about her top priorities, Sodipo noted:
> “Plaid sits at the center of a financial system that is rapidly evolving due to data, AI, and modernization. Today, more than half of Americans with a bank account have used Plaid to connect to an app or service. Over the past few years, we have expanded beyond bank connectivity into new areas like credit, anti-fraud, and payments, and revenue from these products has more than doubled this year.”
Her focus as CFO will be on driving sustainable, long-term growth by investing in areas of strong customer demand, strengthening data and analytics capabilities, and maintaining disciplined execution to balance innovation with profitability.
> “Our focus is to power the infrastructure that enables this next era of digital finance while building a durable, independent company positioned for decades of growth,” Sodipo added.
Sodipo’s combined expertise in fintech, investment, and operations is expected to support Plaid as it prepares for its next phase of growth.
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### Upcoming Event: Emerging CFO Webinar
Join us on **November 13, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET** for the next *Emerging CFO* webinar, **Optimizing for a Human-Machine Workforce**, presented in partnership with Workday.
This session will explore:
– How leading CFOs are rethinking the future of work amid agentic AI
– When to deploy AI agents to accelerate automation
– Balancing ROI tradeoffs between human and digital talent
– Upskilling strategies to optimize workforces for the future
[Register here](#).
For questions, email us at **[email protected]**.
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### Leaderboard Updates
– **Andre Ramos** has been appointed U.S. CFO of TD Bank, effective December 1. Ramos will lead the U.S. finance organization, driving financial strategy, performance management, and treasury management. He joins TD from JPMorgan Chase, where he held various senior roles over 11 years, most recently as consumer banking CFO.
– **Renae Cormier** will resign as CFO of Semler Scientific Inc. (Nasdaq: SMLR), effective October 30, to pursue another opportunity. Douglas Murphy-Chutorian, currently president and CFO, will assume the interim CFO role along with his existing responsibilities starting October 30.
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### Big Deal: Tech Trends for 2026
The upcoming year will be pivotal for technology leaders, marked by AI’s rapid rise, increasing cyber threats, and efforts to modernize legacy systems, according to ISACA—a global professional association advancing digital trust.
The *2026 Tech Trends and Priorities Global Pulse Poll* surveyed 2,963 professionals in areas including cybersecurity, IT audit, governance, risk, and compliance, revealing:
– **62%** identified AI and machine learning as top technology priorities for 2026
– The most significant cyber threats anticipated are:
– AI-driven social engineering (63%)
– Ransomware/extortion attacks (54%)
– Insider threats (35%)
– Only **13%** say their organizations are “very prepared” to manage generative AI risks
– Talent concerns persist, with 62% expecting to hire for digital trust roles and 44% anticipating challenges in finding qualified candidates
– More than a third (39%) expect to hire more digital trust roles in 2026 than in 2025
ISACA recommends preparing for increasing regulatory complexity and international compliance challenges in the year ahead.
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### Overheard
> “I would tell you it’s a lot, probably three or four times a week. Sometimes it might be breakfast. Sometimes it might be lunch. But hey, one of the perks of the job—you get to eat at McDonald’s a lot.”
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*Sheryl Estrada*
[email protected]
https://fortune.com/2025/10/20/plaid-seun-sodipo-cfo-next-phase-fintech-growth/
