Nubank was born in 2013 with the mission of giving people back control over their financial lives. Since then, we work tirelessly to develop products that are easy to use, without abusive tariffs and that have incredible customer service.
Over the years, our innovative model and our way of treating customers have been recognized in several national and international awards.
Today, September 2nd, 2020, we are proud to share another recognition: Cristina Junqueira, co-founder of Nubank, was elected by Fortune as one of the leaders under 40 years old that are transforming the world of business. She is the only Brazilian to be granted this recognition in the 2020 edition of Fortune 40 under 40.
With this list, Fortune celebrates the work of young leaders that are transforming different industries. In a year of monumental change in which the coronavirus pandemic has touched every aspect of people’s lives, the American media outlet highlights 40 influential people in five categories. Junqueira is featured on the finance list.
This is the first time that a Brazilian executive has been nominated by Fortune on the Under 40 list, published since 2012.
Leadership and diversity
Cristina Junqueira founded Nubank, the largest independent digital bank in the world, in 2013 alongside David Vélez (CEO) and Edward Wible (CTO), while she was pregnant with her first child.
“Nubank has swept Latin America while providing a model for a fintech challenger bank that could thrive worldwide, undercutting Brazil’s sky-high interest rates and banking costs with a fee-free credit card and a customer-friendly mobile banking app”, claims Fortune.
Today, Nubank is the largest financial institution in Brazil and currently has more than 25 million customers across Brazil and Mexico.
According to Fortune, Nubank is the only company with a valuation of over $10B to be founded by a woman and Junqueira “has been a model of success in the face of gender bias and discrimination” as a woman raising venture capital while seven-months pregnant.
To build strong and diverse teams is one of Nubank’s core values. Today, 43% of the 2,700 employees are women, across all seniority levels and areas. Regarding engineering, around 20% of Nubank’s team are women – while the market’s average is 12%.
Powerful in Brazil
Junqueira was the first woman to be featured pregnant on the cover of a business magazine in Brazil. Earlier this year and only a few days before giving birth to her second daughter, she was recognized as one of Forbes’ Most Powerful Women in Brazil. In 2019, she was granted the Visionary Entrepreneurs of the Year Award by BRAVO.
Cristina holds an Engineering Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree from Universidade de São Paulo (USP), and also an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She started her career in strategic consulting and worked at traditional banks before founding Nubank.
About Nubank
Considered the largest independent neobank in the world, Nubank was founded in Brazil 7 years ago and currently has 25 million clients. The fintech launched its first product in 2014, a no-fee credit card that is fully managed by a mobile app and currently has more than 13 million customers. In 2017, Nubank launched its proprietary loyalty rewards program (“Nubank Rewards”), as well as a digital account which is currently used by more than 20 million people in Brazil. In 2019, the company began testing its personal loan product and its account for SMBs. During this year, Nubank started its international expansion and, currently, it has offices in São Paulo (Brazil), Mexico City (Mexico), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Berlin (Germany). More information: http://www.nubank.com.br.