Banking on Data: Great Possibilities, Great Responsibilities

Diane Ellis is the Director of the Division of Insurance and Research at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Division is responsible for maintaining the adequacy of the Deposit Insurance Fund and an effective and fair risk-based premium system. It also leads the FDIC’s efforts to assess economic and financial sector risks to the banking industry; directs policy-oriented research, both in-house and through the FDIC’s Center for Financial Research; conducts analysis for Corporation rulemakings; and manages the collection and publication of bank financial information and statistics, including the Quarterly Banking Profile. The Division disseminates research and analysis through a variety of channels, including published and online reports, as well as conferences and roundtables

Ms. Ellis has extensive executive-level experience in deposit insurance pricing and insurance fund management. She led the FDIC’s efforts to implement the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005, which resulted in comprehensive changes to the FDIC’s risk-based pricing system. During the last financial crisis, she oversaw the FDIC’s efforts to recapitalize the deposit insurance fund and provide for its liquidity needs. Following passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Ms. Ellis led the development and implementation of a comprehensive, long-term deposit insurance fund management strategy.

Ms. Ellis started her FDIC career as a bank examiner in the Orange County, California field office where she examined numerous troubled banks and thrifts during a severe recession. She then joined the Division of Insurance in Washington, D.C. where she analyzed emerging risks to the banking and thrift industries, with particular emphasis on the consumer sector and credit conditions. Other roles Ms. Ellis has served in at the FDIC include Deputy to the Vice Chairman, Special Assistant to the Chief Operating Officer, Associate Director for Financial Risk Management, and Deputy Director for Financial Risk Management and Research.

Ms. Ellis holds a BBA in Finance from Texas Christian University, Ft. Worth, Texas, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. She currently serves on the Executive Council of the International Association of Deposit Insurers.

John Pitts is the Head of Policy for Plaid, a financial services technology company. Plaid helps consumers connect their financial services accounts to popular apps like Venmo, Betterment, and Acorns. In his role as Head of Policy, John advocates for consumers' right to access, share, and control their financial data. He also advocates for financial data practices based on consumer-first principles of transparency, permission, and privacy. He has consulted on financial data and consumer protection laws and regulations in the United States, Canada, the UK, the European Union, and Australia.

Before joining Plaid, John served as the Deputy Assistant Director for Intergovernmental Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. At the Bureau, John worked with the state Attorneys General to promote cooperation and coordination between the states in enforcing the Dodd-Frank Consumer Financial Protection Act. He was a regular speaker on NAAG, CWAG, and State Center panels on topics including student lending, payday lending, and emerging financial technologies like cryptocurrencies. John started his career as an attorney with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Angela Strange is a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz where she focuses on investments in financial services including fintech infrastructure, insurance, real estate, and increasing financial inclusivity. She is currently a board member of Addi, SynapseFi, and Tally, and board observer for: Earnin, HealthIQ, Mayvenn, PeerStreet, and Point. Angela joined the firm in 2014.

Prior to joining a16z, Angela was a product manager at Google where she launched and grew Chrome for Android and Chrome for iOS into two of Google's most successful mobile products. Previously, she was the director of product management and business development at Ruba.com (acquired by Google) and a senior associate partner at Bay Partners where she focused on the consumer internet sector. Prior to that, Angela was a consultant at Mercer Management Consulting in Toronto. Angela is a proud Canadian and served as co-chair of the C100, a non-profit that bridges Canadian entrepreneurs with Silicon Valley, and on the Canadian Finance Minister Morneau's Economic Growth Council. Angela has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Queen's University, in Canada, and an MBA from Stanford. Angela is a world-class athlete and spent two years training professionally as a runner; she has won several marathons and achieved a seventh place national ranking in Canada.

Bill is currently Head of Open Banking at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the main competition authority in the UK. He is member of the Government’s Smart Data Working Party and served on the FCA’s Open Finance Advisory Group.

Prior to joining the CMA he was with what is now Thomson Reuters, playing a variety of senior commercial roles in their information businesses and before that he was Deputy Director of Which? (the UK equivalent of the Consumers’ Union) where he was responsible for the magazines, laboratories and associated commercial operations.

Karen G. Mills is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Business School, where she is part of the entrepreneurship faculty. She served in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet as the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration from 2009 to 2013 and was a member of the President’s National Economic Council. Mills is the President of MMP Group and a longtime venture capitalist and private equity investor, having built companies that range from tech platforms to Annie’s macaroni and cheese. Her current research focuses on small businesses, U.S. competitiveness, and innovation. Mills is the author of the book Fintech, Small Business & the American Dream, as well as several papers on small business lending and supply chains.