Pathward

She works with banks, fintechs, and the card networks on program structuring, product strategy, and commercial execution, helping institutions decide what role they want to play in embedded finance and building the partnerships, economics, and compliance frameworks to support it.

Alex brings more than 20 years in payments, fintech, and banking, including senior roles at American Express, Cross River, and Pathward, two of the banks that shaped how fintech partnership, issuing, and banking as a service work in the U.S. market.

Having sat on both sides of the sponsor-bank relationship, she brings a practical view to today's charted debate, why fintechs are pursuing their own licenses, what they still rely on partners for once they have one, and how sponsor banks need to evolve in response.

She has been named one of American Bankers' Most Influential Women in Payments and is a recipient of ETA Transact's 40 Under 40 Award.

So, uh, very-- and then you can kind of see a chart of these banks here.

Uh, highest price to tangible book value, Esquire Financial Holdings right here, uh, Bank FirstCorp, JPMorgan Chase, City Holding, Pathway, PathWard, PathWard Financial, uh, The Bank Corp, Community Financial Systems, Triumph Financial, First Financial Bank Shares, and Nicolette Bank Shares.

Now, the lowest price to tangible book values, BCB Bank Corp, First Northwest Bank Corp, First Internet Bank Corp, uh, Flagstar Bank, AmeriServ Financial, First Guarantee Bank Shares, Eagle Bank Corp, Fifth District Bank Corp, uh, Hoy- Horn- Hoyne, Hoyne Bank Corp, and FinWise Bank Corp.

So very interesting.

Absolutely.

It's what allows experiments like MetaBank's one hundred eighty/one hundred model.

That's a four-day workweek where workers get one hundred percent pay for eighty percent time while still delivering one hundred percent output.

Or Google's famous eighty/twenty rule, which birthed some of their biggest innovations.