Good morning. Seun Sodipo is the new chief financial officer at Plaid, a fintech startup that connects financial institutions. Sodipo brings a seasoned background in guiding high-growth businesses through strategic transformation and scaling.
Previously, Sodipo served as CFO at Glossier, where she led the company’s evolution from a direct-to-consumer pioneer to a fast-growing omnichannel beauty brand across North America and Europe. Before Glossier, Sodipo was head of product finance and strategy at payment service provider Stripe, partnering with the chief product officer and senior leadership. She began her career in investment banking at Centerview Partners and later worked as a private equity investor at Helios Investment Partners and Insignia Capital Group. At Plaid, Sodipo succeeds Eric Hart, who has returned to Expedia Group.
In April, Plaid completed a $575 million funding round led by Franklin Templeton, with participation from major investors including Fidelity and NEA. The round valued the company at approximately $6.1 billion.
Notably, the deal included a tender offer, allowing investors to purchase existing shares and provide liquidity to Plaid employees. It also helped address tax obligations tied to expiring stock units.
While this valuation reflects a drop from Plaid’s $13.4 billion peak in 2021, after its failed acquisition by Visa, the funding signals renewed investor confidence following the broader “fintech winter,” Fortune reported. Looking ahead, Plaid CEO Zach Perret hinted to Fortune‘s Leo Schwartz earlier this year that an IPO could be on the horizon in the next few years, calling the failed Visa deal a “blessing in disguise.”
At Plaid, Sodipo will lead the company’s global finance function as it moves beyond core data infrastructure to a broader suite of intelligence services, offering products in identity, payments, credit, and fraud. Her appointment highlights Plaid’s commitment to building a multi-product platform at the center of digital finance, according to the company.
Entering the next era of digital finance
I asked Sodipo about her top priorities as Plaid expands in a competitive fintech landscape.
“Plaid sits at the center of a financial system that is rapidly evolving as a result of data, AI, and modernization,” she told me in an email. “Today, more than half of Americans with a bank account have used Plaid to connect to an app or service. Over the past few years, we have expanded beyond bank connectivity into new areas like credit, anti-fraud, and payments, and revenue from these products has more than doubled this year.”
As CFO, her priority is driving sustainable, long-term growth. That means investing in areas of strong customer demand, strengthening data and analytics capabilities, and maintaining disciplined execution to balance innovation with profitability, she said. Adding: “Our focus is to power the infrastructure that enables this next era of digital finance while building a durable, independent company positioned for decades of growth.”
Sodipo’s blend of fintech, investment, and operational experience is set to support Plaid’s readiness for its next phase.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
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Leaderboard
Andre Ramos was appointed U.S. CFO of TD Bank, effective Dec. 1. Ramos will lead the U.S. finance organization, driving financial strategy, performance management, and treasury management. He joins TD from JPMorgan Chase, where he spent 11 years in business CFO roles. Most recently, he served as consumer banking CFO. Before that, Ramos held senior leadership roles in finance (cards, auto, business banking and payments), treasury and pricing, at JPMorgan Chase, American Express, HSBC, and Citi.
Renae Cormier will resign as CFO from Semler Scientific Inc. (Nasdaq: SMLR), effective Oct. 30, to pursue another opportunity, according to an SEC filing. Douglas Murphy-Chutorian, who currently serves as president and CFO, to serve as interim CFO and principal financial officer. Murphy-Chutorian will assume these additional duties alongside his current responsibilities starting Oct. 30.
Big Deal
Next year will be pivotal for technology leaders, marked by the rapid rise of AI, mounting cyber threats, and a race to modernize legacy systems, according to ISACA, a global professional association that advances digital trust
The 2026 Tech Trends and Priorities Global Pulse Poll is based on ISACA's a survey of 2,963 professionals in digital trust fields such as cybersecurity, IT audit, governance, risk, and compliance.
Sixty-two percent of respondents identified AI and machine learning as top technology priorities for 2026. The most significant cyber threats for next year are AI-driven social engineering (63%), ransomware/extortion attacks (54%), and insider threats (35%).
However, only 13% say their organization is “very prepared” to manage generative AI risks, while 50% are “somewhat prepared” and 25% “not very prepared.”
Talent is also a concern: 62% expect to hire for digital trust roles, but 44% anticipate difficulty filling them with qualified candidates, and only 18% have a strong talent pipeline. More than a third (39%) expect to hire for more digital trust roles in 2026 than they did in 2025.
ISACA also offers advice on how organizations can prepare for the coming year, such as preparing for regulatory complexity and international compliance requirements.
Going deeper
"Jensen Huang says Nvidia went from 95% market share in China to 0% — ‘I can’t imagine any policymaker thinking that that’s a good idea’" is a Fortune report by Jason Ma.
From the report: "Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang urged nuance when it comes to regulating China’s access to U.S. technologies that are critical to developing artificial intelligence. In an interview with Citadel Securities on Tuesday, he warned that what harms China can often harm the U.S., and sometimes even in worse ways.
“Before we leap towards policies that are hurtful to other people, take a step back and maybe reflect on what are the policies that are helpful to America,” Huang said. You can read the complete report here.
Overheard
“I would tell you it’s a lot, probably three or four times a week. Sometimes it might be breakfast. Sometimes it might be lunch. But hey, one of the perks of the job—you get to eat at McDonald’s a lot.”
—McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a post on Instagram last week how often he eats at the iconic fast-food chain.
