A former Tesla Motors executive has been named the first-ever finance chief at LendUp.
Bill Donnelly previously served as vice president of global financial services at the Palo Alto, Calif.-based electric car maker, as well as president of Tesla Finance LLC. Earlier in his career, he was president of an industrial bank owned by the German automaker BMW.
“Tesla is one of the most innovative companies in the world, and completely disrupted the sleepy auto industry,” LendUp CEO Sasha Orloff said in a press release. “Bill’s experience leading complex global financing programs, and build first-of-their-kind, mobile-first platforms, will be invaluable to us as we continue to build out our product ecosystem.”
The privately held LendUp offers small-dollar loans and credit cards to individuals who lack access to mainstream credit. The San Francisco firm’s loans often carry triple-digit annual percentage rates, but borrowers who establish a history of making on-time payments can qualify for lower rates over time. LendUp also offers credit cards through a partnership with Beneficial State Bank in Oakland, Calif.
LendUp has raised $111.5 million in three venture capital financing rounds, and an additional $250 million in debt financing. The company’s backers include both PayPal and Google’s venture capital arm.
LendUp also announced Tuesday that it hired Leonard Roseman as its chief data scientist and Anu Shultes as general manager of its loan business.
Roseman has previously worked at Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Capital One Financial. Shultes was most recently the chief operating officer at Swych, which developed a mobile app that allows consumers to use various gift cards.
LendUp has made more than $1.25 billion in loans since it was founded in 2011.
