Austin, Texas, Oct. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Self Financial (Self), a leading credit building fintech company that makes credit accessible to U.S. consumers, has announced that after an extensive search, Julie Szudarek is its new CEO. She brings to Self valuable experience leading highly-regulated and mission-driven companies that have customer empathy at their core. Founder James Garvey will continue to support Self and Szudarek through his role on the board.
“I’m so proud of the work we’ve done since 2015 to bring innovative credit solutions that empower millions of Americans to accomplish their financial goals,” said Garvey. “I have full confidence in Julie’s leadership and commitment to Self’s mission in this next phase of the company.”
For over 20 years, Szudarek has focused on building, growing, and scaling global businesses. Most recently, she served as the CEO of Atida, one of the largest online pharmacies in Europe. Under her leadership, the company expanded its footprint from a German-only business to one serving 75% of the European market. This was accomplished through organic growth and extensive M&A.
Szudarek also held various leadership roles at Groupon including President, International, where she managed a team of over 700 people and $2 billion in gross billings across 15 countries in Europe and Asia. She was instrumental in restoring growth, both in revenues and active customers, to Groupon’s international operations. Prior, she ran Groupon’s North American Local business, where she professionalized the Go-to-Market operations and transformed the business to a marketplace offering.
Since 2022, Szudarek has served on the Board of Directors for Root, Inc., an insurtech company known for its efforts to make car insurance more fair, affordable, and easy.
Earlier in her career, she held a variety of senior management roles at online travel company Orbitz Worldwide (now Expedia Group) and in consulting at Accenture, a global professional services company.
“James’ leadership and dedication to finding more pathways to lower the barrier of entry for credit has made Self the company it is today, " said Szudarek. “With millions of customers nationwide and an expanding list of new products underway, I’m excited to use my experience as a growth leader to guide the incredibly talented team at Self.”
For more information, visit self.inc.
About Self Financial
Self Financial is a credit-building platform working to increase economic inclusion and financial resilience through products that make building credit accessible. With no hard credit check to get started, Self's signature Credit Builder Account and secured Self Visa® Credit Card issued by its partner banks are designed to enable people to build credit and savings simultaneously. The company also offers rent and utility payment reporting. Download the Self app at the Apple App Store (245,000+ reviews and an average 4.9 rating) or Google Play or visit Self. inc for more information.
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