The Fintech Open Source Foundation (FINOS) announced that it has named Brad Levy of IHS Markit and Alejandra Villagra of Citi as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the FINOS board of directors. The FINOS board includes 20 senior executives from a spectrum of leading financial services firms, information services companies, technology providers and fintech companies.
“Alejandra and Brad both have a wealth of experience working in a cross-industry capacity on the most complex technology challenges in financial services, and we welcome them to these leadership positions on our board,” said Gabriele Columbro, executive director of FINOS. “Not only do these two industry leaders bring a strong vision for open source as a critical component of building innovative solutions, they have also been truly leading by example in terms of personal and corporate engagement, fully embodying the governance-by-contribution model on which open source communities are built. There couldn’t have been a more deserved nomination, and I am truly excited to work even more closely with Ali and Brad.”
“Open technology, shared standards and open source software are the three pillars of not only innovation itself, but innovation at the velocity needed in the financial services industry today,” said Brad Levy, chairman of FINOS. “I am honored to help advance the important goals of FINOS and work with leading firms across financial services to accelerate the pace with which innovative technology is developed and deployed in our industry.”
Brad Levy is managing director, global head of Loans at IHS Markit and CEO of MarkitSERV, the firm’s post trade service for OTC derivatives. Prior to the formation of FINOS, Brad was a board member of the Symphony Foundation and is currently a member of the CFTC’s Technology Advisory Committee.
“I’m honored to join the FINOS leadership team in their efforts to deliver tangible business value with open source collaboration in financial services,” said Alejandra Villagra, vice chairperson of FINOS. “From cost reduction to talent retention, the benefits of open source are becoming increasingly visible at the senior-most levels across the industry. I’m thrilled to be a part of FINOS and look forward to bringing together the most talented and forward-thinking people in financial services to solve problems and establish open collaboration as the driving force behind innovation in the industry.”
Alejandra “Ali” Villagra is a managing director in the markets and security services division of Citi and head of North American sales and global product development for Citi Velocity. Since joining Citi in 2001, she has held positions in investment grade debt origination, institutional sales, and Citi Velocity management.