Vélez is co-founder and CEO of Nubank, a Sao Paulo-based digital bank that offers credit cards, checking accounts, and life insurance. Founded in 2013, Nubank has a $25 billion valuation and 35 million customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Vélez started Nubank after seeing that five Brazilian banks controlled 80% of the market and charged high fees for basic financial products. Under his leadership, Nubank has grown to be the region’s largest bank by value and the fourth-largest company in all of Latin America, bringing an array of financial services to tens of millions of under-served Latin Americans who previously had no bank accounts or access to credit.

Prior to Nubank, Vélez was a partner at Sequoia Capital where he headed the firm’s Latin American investments. Before joining Sequoia, he worked in investment banking and growth equity at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and General Atlantic.

Vélez received his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Stanford University. He has joined Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, Warren Buffett, and others in signing The Giving Pledge, a commitment by successful members of the business community to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.

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