As CEO at Zest AI, Mike has made it the company’s mission to leverage AI in consumer credit underwriting to build financial equity and create a better, richer, and fuller life for all. In his 30 years prior experience to Zest AI, Mike focused on amplifying the voice of consumers to governments and businesses through organizations like Nielsen, Harris Poll, and JD Power. His experiences converge to show his capacity to lead organizations in translating data into insights that enable the betterment of consumers’ lives.

Mike received his MBA from the University of Southern California (Fight on!) and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge. Mike lives in Southern California with his wife, kids, two cats, and dog.

As COO, Dan plays a pivotal role in shaping company strategy and driving operational excellence, including delivering on the mission to broaden access to equitable credit through AI lending technology. Over the course of his career, Dan has focused on building businesses that serve customers with a personalized approach through organizations like Nielsen and The Harris Poll.

He received his BA in Communications and Advertising from St. John Fisher University and lives in Westport, Connecticut with his wife and children.

Belinda is a firm believer in leveraging business as a tool for creating a better world. This conviction is clearly reflected in her role as CFO at Zest AI. By partnering with lenders big and small, AI technology is used to reduce economic inequality and help build generational wealth across the US. As a leader, she subscribes to the philosophy of servant leadership, providing her teams with the necessary tools and resources to eliminate obstacles and promote growth.

With a rich career spanning over 25 years, Belinda has amassed extensive finance experience working with tech startups as well as Fortune 500 companies, including OpenX, Yahoo!, and The Walt Disney Company. She holds a BS in Commerce from The University of British Columbia. Currently, she resides in Los Angeles with her family and two beloved cats.

Teddy lives in Thousand Oaks, California with his wife, two kids, and cat and is a passionate advocate for financial inclusion. In his role as CLO at Zest AI, he ensures that the company’s technology will not only enable fairer lending outcomes, but also boost the standard of what it means to lend more equitably. Teddy works across Zest AI to manage risk and leads the company’s legal, compliance, and policy teams.

For nearly two decades, Teddy has played a pivotal role as a trusted legal advisor to financial services firms of all sizes. He serves as a founding board member of the Financial Technology Association. Teddy received his Bachelors in Economics and Finance from the University of Maryland and his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.

Aaron is a native of St. Louis MO and currently resides in Atlanta, GA with his two teenagers. He believes people are the core of every business and if you invest in them, you are investing in the long-term success of your company. Aaron has spent over twenty years leading teams that are motivated to win together and partnering with clients to ensure their success. 

As Head of Business Development for Zest AI, his team makes sure credit unions reach their strategic goals. Also, making sure their members, including our nation’s underbanked, achieve financial success. He has held other notable roles at American Express, Equifax and Fiserv.

Patti is a passionate and experienced human resources leader with an extensive foundation in the entertainment industry and private sector including Sony Pictures Entertainment, Comcast, and DirectTV, as well as running her executive leadership development consulting firm for over eight years. She is a certified Executive Coach and also holds a certificate in HR studies from Cornell University, focused on Labor and Industrial Relations.

At Zest AI, Patti leads all aspects of our talent force and stewards Zest’s tight-knit culture. She fosters connection, empowerment, and sustainable action toward individual and team goals, and enables professional development across the company. She also spearheaded the implementation of the Zest Cares and oversees the foundation’s work and impact. Patti lives in Malibu and can often be found at the beach near her home.

As a growth driver and technical executive, Mehul brings extensive experience setting the vision and strategy for delivering innovative and valuable technology, even in the face of ambiguous and sometimes unprecedented challenges. He currently holds 26 U.S. patents, including 9 granted as sole inventor. 

At Zest AI, Mehul oversees several departments engineering, data security, IT, and product development. His leadership has enabled the company to enter new verticals, expand revenue sources to increase market penetration and grow ARR, and increased usage by streamlining integrations for new partners. Mehul lives in northern California, has previous experience at companies like Salesforce and AT&T, and graduated from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Sciences.

Sean leads Zest AI’s efforts in developing cutting-edge financial models and modeling tools, with a near decade-long focus on model performance, explainability, fairness, and automation in credit underwriting — enabling financial institutions to deploy powerful and compliant AI/ML solutions swiftly and easily.

He has a 20+ year history of creating, building, and leveraging state-of-the-art technology, receiving his Ph.D. & M.S. from Stanford University in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering before completing post-doctoral work with NASA Ames/Department of Defense to build advanced mathematical models for unsteady helicopter flight. Prior to Zest AI, Sean also spent time managing large operational projects, including one with over 200 engineers to increase the reliability and safety of aging US natural gas pipelines. Sean and his family reside in Burbank, California, where he attempts to play outdoor tennis year-round, albeit with varying degrees of success.

José has spent over 15 years leading diverse teams as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, where he also served as a helicopter pilot, tactics instructor, and systems development advisor. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the US Naval Academy, a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland, and a MBA in Finance from UCLA.

José is driven by producing positive social impact through the purposeful application of technology, and at Zest AI, this drive helps navigate integrations of strategic partnerships that will best benefit clients and the people they serve.

Adam spends most of his days in conversation with Zest AI’s clients, finding pain points and bringing innovative solutions to the table to push the lending industry towards a more efficient and inclusive future. He’s built his career within the financial services sector and believes that AI can be a powerful tool for building a strong economic ecosystem.

Prior to Zest AI, Adam was an analyst at Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs. He received his Bachelor’s in Finance from Penn State University, and then an MBA from the University of Chicago. He lives in New York City and enjoys reading, traveling, and rock climbing.

Curtis works with some of the world’s most innovative lenders to help them get the most out of switching to AI/machine learning in their underwriting practices. He’s been at Zest in various capacities since 2018 and now leads the Client Engagement function. Previously, Curtis spent several years as an economic consultant at Analysis Group, Inc., where he helped Fortune 500 companies manage multi-billion dollar liabilities across a range of industries including technology, finance, and chemicals.  He holds an MBA from MIT and an economics degree from Santa Clara University, where he was an Academic All-American baseball player.

As Head of Marketing at Zest AI, Judy leads a team focused on delivering high-quality content, exceptional experiences, and value to our customers. She believes in servant leadership and is committed to developing the next generation of leaders. Before Zest, she held marketing leadership roles at two of the largest tech companies, LinkedIn and Adobe. Previously, as a startup founder, she gained valuable experience scaling businesses to the hyper-growth phase.

Judy lives in San Francisco. In her free time, she loves traveling and being an auntie to her two nephews and niece.