David Vélez — SPARQNOW

At-a-Glance

Founder, CEO, and Chairman of Nubank, a leading digital bank in Latin America serving over 100 million customers.
Co-founded Nubank in 2013, launching with a no-fee credit card and later expanding to digital bank accounts and other financial products.
Led Nubank's successful IPO in December 2021, which valued the company at approximately $45 billion on its first trading day.
Ranked 236th worldwide in the Forbes 2025 list with an estimated net worth of US$10.7 billion.
Previously a partner at Sequoia Capital and worked in growth equity at General Atlantic, and investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
Holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor's degree in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University.

Biography

David Vélez, born in Medellín in 1981, is a Colombian banker, engineer, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chief executive officer, and chairman of the Brazilian neobank Nubank. Vélez's motivation to create Nubank stemmed from his personal experience with the bureaucratic and expensive banking sector in Brazil. In 2013, he co-founded Nubank in São Paulo with Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible, aiming to leverage technology to make banking more accessible.