Varo Bank appoints ex-Google Jon Alferness as CPO
He has a proven track record across Ads (Google Search, Display, Apps), Commerce (Shopping & Travel), and Rideshare
Varo Bank has appointed Jon Alferness as its new Chief Product Officer to help expand its digital banking offerings with a focus on enabling wealth creation for underserved communities that have been left behind by the traditional banking industry.
As part of his role, he will lead Varo across Product, in tandem with engineering, business, and operations, to strategize, build, operate and optimize its marketplace system at scale.
12 years at Google in Ads and Commerce
Jon Alferness has more than 20 years of experience in building, scaling, and optimizing consumer products, having most recently served as VP of Rideshare at Lyft, where he led the engineering, product, and revenue teams of the company’s core consumer and enterprise ride sharing businesses.
Prior to Lyft, Jon served as SVP, Ads and Commerce at Pinterest, leading the company’s revenue operation after spending twelve years at Google, where he held a number of leadership roles on the ads and commerce teams. He has a proven track record across Ads (Google Search, Display, Apps), Commerce (Shopping & Travel), and Rideshare.
Colin Walsh, founder and Chief Executive Officer at Varo Bank, commented: “We are thrilled to have Jon join Varo. To win in an increasingly competitive environment, Jon and his team will focus on an integrated product strategy that delivers significantly greater core product value and engagement with our customers. They will leverage Varo’s unique assets to drive product innovation and rapidly accelerate customer growth and profitability.”
Jon Alferness, Chief Product Officer at Varo Bank, said: “Throughout my career, I’ve worked closely to focus development teams on the critical needs of users in order to build long-term, high-growth, sustainable businesses. I’m thrilled to join Varo, and with our very capable development teams, to unlock the power and opportunity of banking for all.”
Varo Bank, which has recently raised $510 million in a Series E round taking its valuation to $2.5 billion, has doubled its customer accounts to four million and tripled revenue since being awarded its charter.
In October 2021, the firm appointed Amy Ferris as Chief Growth Officer. The marketing veteran has served at a number of leading consumer technology companies including Apple, Spotify, and Amazon.
