We are LendKey

We empower credit unions and community banks to better serve their consumers.


LendKey is a financial technology firm and leader in providing "lending-as-a-service" solutions to credit unions, community banks, and customers. We work with clients by providing digital loan origination and servicing capabilities, and delivering a loan trading marketplace platform for financial institutions and fintechs. 

 

LendKey pioneered the concept of "digital lending networks," which harnesses the collaborative nature of community-based financial institutions to build standard lending programs for private student loans, student loan refinance, and home improvement loans. These programs utilize LendKey's lending-as-a-service platform to provide customer acquisition, online decisioning, loan origination, loan servicing, customer service, and back-office support. 

 

ALIRO is LendKey's loan trading marketplace where financial institutions and other market participants can easily transact. Loans are offered for sale and purchased in either whole loan or fractional loan participation format, and the platform supports both one-time and forward-flow transactions. ALIRO delivers the technology, tools, and ongoing service that financial institutions need to evaluate, execute, and manage loan trades to optimize their balance sheet and risk, focusing on improving net interest income. 

 

Since 2009, we have empowered more than 350 financial institutions to offer competitive loan programs and increase their digital presence across various customer acquisition channels and marketplaces, helping clients deploy more than $7 billion in loans and servicing more than $3.5 billion in consumer loans. Let us do the same for you.

Leadership Team

Vince Passione
CEO & Founder

Vince Passione

COO, CFO & Co-Founder

Mike Stallmeyer

Headshot of Michael "Hawk" Hawkins
Chief Technology Officer

Michael Hawkins

Bhanu Arora
Chief Risk Officer

Bhanu Arora

Chief Legal Officer & Head of Compliance

David Mark

Chief Information Security Officer

Keith Frank

Karen French, SVP, Product
SVP, Product

Karen French

SVP, Engineering, Production Support and QA

Dorothy Chan

SVP, Client Success

Ryan Giffin

SVP, Human Resources

Sara Robertson

SVP, Lending Operations

Broc Sleek

Will Sneed, SVP Lending Partnerships
SVP, Lender Partnerships

Will Sneed

SVP, Infrastructure

Anoop Thyagarajan

Amanda Bardonner
VP, Account Management

Amanda Bardonner

Bruce Hounsell
SVP of ALIRO Development

Bruce Hounsell

VP, Point-of-Sale Lending

Paul Borghi

VP, Client Services

Matthew Duffey

Jon Enders
VP, Finance & Accounting

Jon Enders

VP, Business Development

Devin Hughes

VP, Data Engineering

Jiten Pai

Kemba Penn
VP, Loan Originations

Kemba Penn

Mike Wyers
VP, Loan Servicing

Mike Wyers

CEO & Founder

Vince Passione

Vince is the founder and CEO of LendKey, the market’s most advanced lending platform and network, and a veteran technologist for financial services companies. Before LendKey, Vince was the COO of DealerTrack, the nation’s first and largest automotive credit portal. He has also been the President of Ameritrade’s Institutional Client Division, the CEO of OnMoney.com, the CTO of Citigroup’s US Consumer Bank and a Business Unit Executive at IBM. Vince received his B.S. from Polytechnic University.

COO, CFO & Co-Founder

Mike Stallmeyer

As COO & CFO, Mike is responsible for all financial management, lending operations, credit and risk analytics, and client service. He brings 20 years of experience across financial services. Previously, Mike worked for a number of global organizations in investment banking, fixed income structured finance, portfolio management, and capital markets—including UBS where he served as Executive Director of the Investment Bank and as Vice President at Credit Suisse. Mike began his career in banking at Fifth Third and received his BA in economics from Duke University.

Chief Technology Officer

Michael Hawkins

Mike is the Chief Technology Officer. As CTO he leads LendKey’s product, product operations and technology teams. Prior to LendKey, Mike served as CTO of SoMoLend, a crowdfunding startup and Product Line Director for a General Electric business unit. He is the co-author of two patents in resource prioritization and electronic health records. 

Chief Risk Officer

Bhanu Arora

Bhanu Arora is a seasoned executive leader with over 15 years of experience in Fintech Startups and Financial Services driving growth and managing risk in a dynamic, fast paced environment. As Chief Risk Officer at LendKey, Bhanu will be focusing on improving credit and fraud risk management practices, bolstering collections strategy and leading advanced analytics function. Prior to joining LendKey, Bhanu was the Chief Risk Officer at Avant. At Avant, Bhanu established strong credit and fraud risk management foundation built on data science, test-and-learn, strong collections strategy and recession readiness planning, drove innovation using machine learning and alternative data sources, and built robust risk analytics and monitoring. Prior to Avant, Bhanu was a VP of Financial Engineering at PIMCO. Bhanu has an MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business and B.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Delhi.

LendKey is a pioneer of network lending and a trusted partner of hundreds of credit unions and small banks enabling them to compete with the national banks and larger fintechs in online lending. I am super excited to contribute my expertise to empowering these community financial institutions to better serve their consumers digitally while providing consumers access to low-cost and transparent borrowing options.

Chief Legal Officer & Head of Compliance

David Mark

David is responsible for managing all legal and regulatory affairs for LendKey, with an emphasis on consumer financial services. On the regulatory side, David’s focus is on compliance with consumer lending laws and regulations as they pertain to LendKey’s loan origination and servicing platform.  David is an active member of the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services Committee, Association of Corporate Counsel, and he serves as a Subject Matter Expert for the CUNA Councils Community (Regulatory/Legislative/Compliance Community). David is admitted to the New York Bar, and he holds a Bachelor of Arts degrees in Business Administration from the University of Florida, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Florida International University College of Law.

Chief Information Security Officer

Keith Frank

Keith is the Chief Information Security Officer at LendKey and leads his team to develop and implement leading security initiatives that prioritize data loss risk, enhance business performance, and strengthen business offerings. Prior to LendKey. Keith worked as Business Information Risk Manager at Conduent and Director of Information Security at Xerox Services.

He holds Bachelor of Arts Computer Animation from Ohio State University and holds a CISSP certification.

SVP, Product

Karen French

Karen is LendKey’s head of Product and will lead our product strategy and roadmap, with a focus on developing innovative lending solutions and enhancing customer experiences.  Before LendKey, Karen had over a decade of experience in launching multi-billion dollar lending programs at Citizens and Customers Bank along with a proven track record of partnering with fintechs to innovate and expand financial products. Karen holds a J.D. from Boston College and a B.A. from Duke University.

SVP, Engineering, Production Support and QA

Dorothy Chan

Dorothy oversees the LendKey Engineering, Production Support and QA team, bringing a leadership style focused on setting vision and outcome expectations while embracing transparency, accessibility, and team empowerment.  Her past, extensive experience with software engineering, data/analytics and product management spans start-up, mid-size, and multinational Fortune 50 size organization across multiple industries including the higher education online learning space.  Dorothy believes in exploiting emerging trends and technologies to create innovative, leading-edge products that deliver high experience, outcomes, and value.

Dorothy received her Executive MBA from Washington State University and her Bachelor’s in Information System and Operation Management from the University of Toledo.  She also served on the advisory boards of a couple SaaS platforms supporting Financial and Education industries

SVP, Client Success

Ryan Giffin

Ryan oversees the Client Success team, comprised of account management, client services, and implementations. These teams are responsible for the growth, development, and on-going support of our lending partners to ensure program success and profitability. Ryan has spent his career in financial services and was a credit union lending executive prior to joining LendKey. Ryan majored in finance at Indiana University, Bloomington, and received his Master’s in Business Administration from Ohio State University.

SVP, Human Resources

Sara Robertson

Sara is responsible for LendKey’s people strategy running point on strategic human resources initiatives that improve performance, growth and engagement. She has over 15 years of experience, most recently as a Global HR Business Partner with GE and Luxottica Retail. Sara received her Bachelor of the Arts in Personnel and Industrial Relations from the University of Cincinnati and is certified as a Sr. Professional in Human Resources through HRCI.

SVP, Lending Operations

Broc Sleek

Broc is responsible for originations operations and customer acquisition for education lending. Broc manages our direct customer acquisition channels, helping connect our lenders with new borrowers and serve their existing customers. 

Prior to LendKey, Broc worked as Chief Digital Officer at CHROME Federal Credit Union and multiple start-ups focused on fintech and consumer lending. He holds a business degree from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Salisbury University. 

SVP, Lender Partnerships

Will Sneed

Will leads LendKey’s lender partnerships team where he helps clients to execute profitable digital lending and capital distribution strategies. Will joined LendKey as one of the first employees where he served as a business analyst and later manager. Will has been instrumental in creating LendKey’s partnerships throughout the financial services industry and growing LendKey’s client base of community banks and credit unions. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Real Estate and Mortgage Finance with a minor in Economics from Mississippi State University. 

SVP, Infrastructure

Anoop Thyagarajan

As one of the founders of LendKey, Anoop leads Platform Engineering, Information and Data Security, and Infrastructure. With over two decades of technology and leadership expertise, he plays a crucial role in steering the organization’s technical operations and initiatives. Anoop holds a Bachelor of Computer Engineering degree.

VP, Account Management

Amanda Bardonner

Amanda leads LendKey’s account management team which is responsible for providing our lending partners with ongoing strategic support and program development to ensure performance and profitability. Prior to joining LendKey, Amanda worked as AVP, Marketing and Communication at TruStone Financial Federal Credit Union and Director, Product Development at Connexus Credit Union. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business from St. Cloud State University.

SVP of ALIRO Development

Bruce Hounsell

Bruce Hounsell is a finance and fintech veteran with 35 years of experience, specializing in revolutionizing loan trading. As the Founder of DebtX and Executive VP, he transformed the industry with an online marketplace. Now, as CTO of ALIRO at LendKey, Bruce leads the development of a cutting-edge loan trading platform. With a BA in Economics from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA in Finance from the University of Colorado, Bruce combines academic expertise with practical innovation.

VP, Point-of-Sale Lending

Paul Borghi

Paul is the general manager of LendKey’s nationwide home improvement loan program and point-of-sale financing efforts. He is responsible for overseeing program development, business development, HIL operations, and contractor partnerships. Paul joined LendKey in 2012 and served in various roles over his tenure, including playing an integral part in the launch of LendKey’s home improvement program. Prior to re-joining LendKey in 2020, Paul served as the Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Kapitus. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration from Pace University – Lubin School of Business.

VP, Client Services

Matthew Duffey

As the Vice President of Client Services, Matthew assumes a pivotal role overseeing the Client Services Support team, ensuring the delivery of unparalleled service to our lending partners. His leadership extends from previously heading Learning and Development, Loan Origination, and Loan Servicing departments at LendKey. 

Before joining LendKey, Matthew served as an Assistant Vice President at Fifth Third Bank, where he effectively managed diverse teams within collections, covering areas such as credit card, mortgage, home equity, and default support. His wealth of experience contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the financial industry. Matthew holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Shawnee State University. 

VP, Finance & Accounting

Jon Enders

As VP of Finance & Accounting at LendKey, Jon is responsible for all finance and accounting functions, including budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and overseeing accounting operations.

Jon has a passion for analyzing financial performance, discovering operational efficiencies, and developing his team.

Prior to joining the team at LendKey, Jon worked in public accounting, where he obtained his CPA and CFE credentials.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Science in business from Xavier University.

VP, Business Development

Devin Hughes

A ten+ year veteran of LendKey, Devin leads direction and growth for ALIRO, the company’s innovative loan trading network that seamlessly enables financial institutions and Fintechs to buy, sell and broker loans. Devin is dedicated to creating sustainable and scalable networked lending programs across all asset classes by leveraging best in class technology and winning partnerships between hundreds of financial institutions and marketplace lenders.  

A seasoned business development leader, Devin previously drove partnerships and growth for an education technology company and currently acts as advisor to several Fintechs. Devin holds a degree in Finance with a focus in Entrepreneurship from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. 

VP, Data Engineering

Jiten Pai

Jiten leads the data engineering team at LendKey. This team is responsible for building and maintaining the data platform that drives LendKey’s analytics and machine learning capabilities. Crunching data from disparate sources, the data platform empowers LendKey and their partners in making informed decisions and measuring the effects of these decisions. He holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from Oregon State University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Osmania University.

VP, Loan Originations

Kemba Penn

Kemba leads LendKey’s Loan Originations team, which includes the Loan Analyst and Contact Center teams. These teams support applicants during the process of applying for educational and home improvement loans, including all steps from pre-application to taking and analyzing applications, through the disbursement of funds.

Kemba has over 20 years of management experience. Prior to joining LendKey, she worked at Citi where she led various teams, including customer service, sales, collections, and recovery teams. Kemba holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Cincinnati.

VP, Loan Servicing

Mike Wyers

As the Vice President of Loan Servicing at LendKey, Mike leads the post-origination customer service and collections, dedicated to providing a best-in-class customer experience for consumers. His focus is on assisting borrowers with all their needs, ensuring a seamless and positive interaction throughout the servicing process.

Bringing over 25 years of experience in Financial Services, Mike’s professional journey includes holding senior leadership positions in Servicing, Collections, Contact Centers, Customer Support, and Vendor Management. He has contributed his expertise to notable companies such as US Bank, Navient, JP Morgan, and Synchrony. Mike earned a BS degree from both the University of Akron and the University of Phoenix, underscoring his commitment to excellence in financial management and customer care.