Lending Club CFO Carrie Dolan Named Commencement Speaker

Carrie Dolan, an influential financial leader and advocate for women in finance who managed Lending Club’s $1 billion IPO as its CFO, has been chosen to speak at the combined Full-time and Evening and Weekend MBA Program graduation.

Commencement will be held May 20 at the Greek Theater.

In her speech, Dolan, BS 87 and MBA 97, will cover the impact of crowdfunding on the financial industry as well as share her experiences working in new ventures.

She’ll also address the importance of creating greater gender balance in finance and technology.

Dolan joined San Francisco-based Lending Club in 2010 as its first CFO, helping to build the company into the world’s largest online marketplace that connects borrowers and investors. In an interview, Dolan told industry publication American Banker that she wasn’t entirely sure what peer-to-peer lending was when a recruiter first called her about the Lending Club position.

But she did her research, met with company CEO Renaud Laplanche, and ended up convinced about its future. “My gut feeling was that this business model would change financial services,” she told American Banker. “So I decided to take a risk.”

That risk paid off. Over the past five years, Dolan has shepherded Lending Club’s revenue growth from $2 million in 2010 to $81 million by 2015. In Dec. 2014, she managed  the company’s IPO—one of the top 10 US-based Internet public offerings of all time. The company raised $1 billion, a first for a peer-to-peer lender.

Dolan has received a growing number of accolades in recent years from leading financial organizations.

In 2013 and 2014, she was named the Bay Area CFO of the Year for Emerging Companies by the San Francisco Business Times, which honored her as a leader who advises women seeking to advance their careers.

In 2015, the Financial Woman of San Francisco named Dolan as Financial Woman of the Year, an honor for demonstrating remarkable commitment to her profession, service to her community, and support for the advancement of women.

And last September, American Banker named her one of  “The Most Powerful Women in Finance.” The list recognizes women who have had the most impact across the financial industry.

“At Haas we have a tradition of inviting our most distinguished alumni to speak at commencement, and Carrie certainly fits that bill,” said Dean Rich Lyons.

Prior to Lending Club, Dolan was senior vice president and treasurer for Charles Schwab and CFO for the Schwab Bank, which she helped launch in 2003. Earlier in her career, she held various financial positions at Chevron, where she launched the Chevron Credit Bank to simplify Chevron’s credit card business.

Dolan is a member of Financial Executives International (FEI), CNBC’s CFO Council, and Watermark’s CFO network.

 

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