Aspiration names a new CEO

Aspiration, one of the first challenger banks to focus on the environment, has a new CEO.

On Thursday the Los Angeles company announced that Olivia Albrecht, formerly the company's chief sustainability officer, will take over this role from Aspiration co-founder Andrei Cherny. Cherny will continue to serve on the board of directors and assist with the transition.

In a press release announcing her new role, the company said that Albrecht will "continue to build Aspiration's carbon origination, project finance, and trading desk, while developing unique distribution channels across retail, small business, and large enterprise clients."

"This past decade of building Aspiration has been a roller coaster of ups and downs, twists and turns," wrote Cherny in a post on Medium on Oct. 13. "Today, that ride as Aspiration's leader comes to an end for me, but though my head's a little dizzy and my legs a bit wobbly, I hop off with pride knowing that we have done what we set out to do."

Climate fintechs have multiplied in recent years, from environmentally focused challenger banks to fintechs that help financial institutions integrate green features into their apps. Aspiration offers bank accounts where deposits are not used to finance oil and gas projects. It also offers a credit card that rewards users for neutralizing their carbon footprints, a sustainable investment fund, and other tools that help users offset their environmental impact. Another arm of the company partners with businesses to customize sustainability programs. Two months ago, Aspiration named its first chief of innovation. 

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In August 2021, Aspiration announced that it would go public by merging with InterPrivate III Financial Partners Inc., a special-purpose acquisition company. The merger has not yet closed.

In her role as chief sustainability officer, which she took on in June 2022, Albrecht led the carbon markets business, which designs carbon reduction programs for enterprise clients. Previously, she spent ten years at investment management firm Pimco, where she most recently served as head of environmental, social and governance business strategy. She was also global head of ESG for the asset management firm TCW Group.

"Andrei built a talented team at Aspiration that will continue, under Olivia's leadership, to achieve the development of innovative products that are unlocking this rapidly emerging category of climate solutions," Nate Redmond, chair of the Aspiration board of directors, sad in the release.