Capitalists on a mission
There is nothing more dangerous than someone who wants to make the world a better place.
Philosophical at heart, Arjan grew up in the Netherlands and came to the US when he was 16 (Minnesota).
He spent the first ten years of his career building software for a couple of EdTech startups (a dud, IPO and sale).
He helped start CFSI (now the Financial Health Network), where he started investing in fintech off the side of his desk (with several exits and an IPO). Collectively, these experiences helped him to launch Core.
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
Edwin is a numbers guy with a big heart. Mexican-American, born and raised in Burbank, he grew up watching family and neighbors rely on payday loans and check cashers and now spends his days in search of companies that can drastically improve the lives of low- and moderate income families.
Prior to Core, Edwin was part of GCA Advisors' M&A and Private Capital practices, with a partial focus on fintech. Edwin graduated from Princeton University with honors. He is an avid real estate investor and die hard Lakers and Yankees fan.
Money talks. Treating people right talks louder.
Silicon Valley through and through, David’s interests run the gamut. Public policy and macro economics led him to an early career as an interest rate trader on Wall Street. His passion for mission-driven startups was born from his operating roles at an early-stage fintech company in Nigeria and a marketplace startup in New York.
David holds a BS in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard. He's a fervent golfer, avid triathlete, and a devoted Bay Area sports fan.
The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
Susan helped form Core in 2009 while serving as Chair of FHN’s board. Filled with joie de vivre, Susan is a seasoned C-suite pro. She’s spent over 25 years leading fintech, ecommerce, payments and financial services businesses from Citi to Simple & Lending Club, and from Sears to Amazon & Earnest.
She brings a passion for–and track record of–expanding access to affordable financial products and improving consumer financial health. Susan is an avid golf player and wine enthusiast who brings her can-do, business-building insights to every conversation.
You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.
Methodical and very funny, Zev is Core’s backbone. He used to be a white shoe lawyer in New York, focusing on tax and private equity, after working in Blackrock’s taxable financial institutions group.
He’s a Chartered Financial Analyst, a member of the New York State bar, and a Dodgers fan who loves to play basketball. Zev has long been active in microfinance, economic development, and several nonprofit boards.
That's here. That's home. That's us.
Entrepreneurial by upbringing, Kyle grew up in his family’s machine shop in Wisconsin and around internet businesses started by his mom. He started his first company while at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, an education startup used in hundreds of schools.
He later started a VC-backed climate finance company, stepping back into the trenches as a mission-driven founder. Kyle now lives in the Bay Area with his wife and daughter and proudly cheers on the Green Bay Packers from 49ers country.
A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked.
Jack is a software guy at heart who loves to build. Drawn early to the marriage of creative thinking and coding, he found his way to machine learning and AI, where he designed and productionalized software at several public companies.
He’s driven by pairing technical rigor with real-world impact. When he’s not building, he’s a film enthusiast, avid basketball player, and reader of science fiction and fantasy.
Earn your success based on service to others, not at the expense of others.
Diane was raised right outside Seattle in a Korean immigrant family who placed immense value on service for others. Before Core, she spent several years building early-stage climate tech startups, most recently helping Charm Industrial pull carbon out of the atmosphere. She graduated from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
Outside of work, Diane is a certified yoga instructor who's happiest planning her next trip, hosting friends, or curling up with a good book.
Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.
Celine is a tenacious and thorough native Angelino. She supports the founder and keeps Core running on all cylinders. Long active in local politics with a wide network of personal and professional friends, Celine gets things done.
Prior to joining Core, Celine assisted a former Los Angeles City Council member for seven years. She dotes over her family and is passionate about financial health.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Mike served as Acting Comptroller of the Currency, where he helped steer the U.S. banking system through fast-moving changes in technology, payments, and financial regulation. Before that, he held senior roles across the Federal Reserve, Treasury, SEC, and IMF, building a career out of solving complicated problems in the financial world.
He’s a Brown, GW, and NYU Law alum who’s spent more than two decades making banks safer — and occasionally proving that regulators can have a sense of humor, too.
Engineering is the closest thing to magic that exists in the world.
Adam loves solving puzzles, ranging from how to align fintech innovation with regulation to the New York Times crossword. He started his career as a regulator in the UK.
After moving to the US to see if he and his (now) wife could stand each other if they spent more than 2 weeks in the same place, he ran Promontory Financial Group's Fintech practice and was Head of Strategy for BBVA's Open API Platform. When not helping Core and its portcos, he is a Co-Founder and Partner at Klaros Group.
That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
Kitt is Core's AI teammate, built to help the investment team get to know founders beyond what's on a LinkedIn profile.
Anyone can read a LinkedIn profile. Kitt is interested in the stories behind it: the hard decisions, unlikely wins, resourceful solutions, and the moments that reveal how founders think and build. Through thoughtful conversations, Kitt uncovers curiosity, resilience, judgment, and ambition, the qualities that rarely fit on a resume.
Core Councils
Wealth Council
Melissa Koide
Brian Hughes
Rahul Gupta
Lisa Mazur
Dr. Bryant Lin
Dr. James Lynch
Health Council
