Kueski, one of the largest buy now, pay later (BNPL) and online consumer lenders in Latin America, today announced the appointment of Krishna Venkatraman as the company's chief data officer.
In this capacity, Venkatraman will focus on amplifying the scope of Kueski’s data capabilities, from credit risk to other aspects like engagement, personalization and retention.
Venkatraman sees expanding access to Kueski’s financial products as the number one priority in his new role, which will be driven by even faster, more reliable credit-decisioning and risk models. Another equally important focus will be to create customer delight and develop products that feel intuitive to use without imposing additional tax burdens on the consumer. Lastly, he wants to transform Kueski into a learning machine and implement a data culture that enables the entire team to participate and effectively use data-based insights in their day-to-day work.
“With Kueski’s continued expansion of its market presence and product ecosystem in Mexico, I am looking forward to building an even more holistic data ecosystem that impacts and benefits every decision we make,” Venkatraman said. “As technology increasingly transcends boundaries and has the potential to address societal issues, I feel extremely privileged for the opportunity to make a difference in the financial lives of millions of people.”
Venkatraman brings over 25 years of data science experience to Kueski, 15 of which he spent serving in various capacities within the fintech industry. Most recently, Venkatraman served as the chief data science officer at Mission Lane, a fintech company that is dedicated to providing Americans access to fair and transparent financial products. Prior to that, he was the chief data scientist at Brazilian neobank Nubank, where he developed and nurtured a high-performance data culture that directly contributed to the company's growth. Venkatraman’s career also includes leadership positions at IBM, Intuit, and HP.
“We are excited to welcome Krishna to the team and look forward to his contributions to make Kueski even more data-driven and customer-oriented,” said Adalberto Flores, founder, and CEO of Kueski. “Through his work at Mission Lane and Nubank, it is evident that Krishna has a passion for making a difference in the future of the financial services industry. We see eye-to-eye on our vision for Kueski, and adding Krishna to our team will allow us to expand financial access to even more Mexican consumers.”
In addition to Venkatraman, Alex Schleifer has joined Kueski’s Board of Advisors. Schleifer was previously chief design officer at Airbnb and is now a venture partner at Rise Capital, as well as the founder of game design studio Universal Entities. Drawing on his experience working on global digital consumer products, he will be advising on customer user experience, as well as brand and marketing strategy.
“Kueski has been on an important mission to expand access to financial products in Mexico for nearly 10 years, and I am excited to be making a contribution to the way millions of consumers interact with its services on a daily basis,” Schleifer said.
This announcement comes on the heels of Kueski’s $202M Series C funding round, which was led by StepStone Group and Victory Park Capital, in December 2021. Kueski will leverage this funding to continue expanding its financial product ecosystem, including fueling the growth of its BNPL product, Kueski Pay.