Brex Abandons Co-CEO Model

Fintech startup Brex has announced that it has abandoned its co-CEO model, with co-founder Pedro Franceschi becoming the sole CEO.

• Co-founder Henrique Dubugras will now serve as the chairman of the board.
• The company believes that having two CEOs could be a bottleneck to growth and that investors will be more attracted to a traditional model of just one CEO.

Compliance Head Joins Andreessen Horowitz

Ali Rathod-Papier, the former global head of compliance at Brex, has joined venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) as a partner and compliance officer.

• Rathod-Papier will oversee a16z’s foreign expansion and policy efforts, supporting the government affairs team, managing financial crime and national security risk, as well as overseas operations.
• Her departure from Brex was amicable, and she was at the startup for 2 ½ years, serving in a variety of roles, including head of financial crime compliance.

Brex CFO Comments on Departure

Brex CFO Ben Gammell stated that Rathod-Papier made invaluable contributions to financial management and compliance during her time at Brex and that she helped position the startup for growth.

• The company is currently hiring a backfill for her role.
• Bruce Wallace, a long-term advisor to Brex, has taken on the role of interim head of compliance.

a16z's Recent Fintech Investments

The hiring of Rathod-Papier comes at an interesting time for a16z, which had invested in Synapse, a banking-as-a-service startup that filed for bankruptcy in April.

• Synapse has been under fire for an estimated $85 million worth of missing customer funds.
• a16z has been silent on the controversy around Synapse.
• The firm’s non-crypto high-profile fintech investments include Wise, Affirm, Deel and Greenlight, among others.

Changes at Brex

In addition to Rathod-Papier's departure, Brex has also announced that Doug Adamic is no longer the chief revenue officer.

• Garrett Marker has recently taken over as the new CRO.
• Adamic had been Brex's CRO since May 2022 after Sam Blond left to join Founders Fund as a partner.
• Blond later stepped down from his role at Founders Fund earlier this year.

The Impact of These Changes

The moves at both Brex and a16z come amid a period of significant change in the fintech industry.

• The rise of banking-as-a-service startups has led to a number of high-profile failures.
• The increasing regulatory scrutiny of fintech companies has also created challenges for startups.
• These changes are likely to continue to shape the fintech landscape in the coming years.