San Francisco Bay Area
Bradley Leimer is a globally respected financial services, fintech, and innovation leader, connecting emerging technologies, startups, and venture capital with financial institutions. He serves as a Founder and Principal at Leimer One Advisors and sources early-stage fintech startups for Darrery Capital. Bradley's currently seeking full time or project-based opportunities. At SMBC, Bradley led Fintech Partnerships and Open Innovation, driving top of funnel ecosystem engagement across fintech, AI, and venture partners. As Head of Innovation and Fintech Strategy at Santander, he helped connect the bank to the fintech ecosystem and shaped strategic insights for global leadership and helped establish Santander InnoVentures (now Mouro Capital). An active angel investor, Bradley advises startups and venture firms with three exits and $160M raised. He co-hosted over 250 episodes of the One Vision podcast and co-founded fintech consulting firm Unconventional Ventures. Bradley brings decades of experience in marketing, analytics, AI/ML, and digital transformation from across banks, credit unions, and across the fintech ecosystem. Bradley is the co-author of Beyond Good, public speaker, and contributor to publications like American Banker, International Banker, The Economist, Forbes, Financial Brand, and New York Magazine. He has collaborated on projects with corporate leaders including IBM, Samsung, Adobe, AT&T, Ant Financial, Accenture, PwC, Bain, Oracle, TCS, and Omidyar Network. Bradley's work spans strategic planning, product development, and ecosystem design across startups, financial institutions, accelerators, and enterprise partners. Bradley continues to explore how AI, embedded finance, and platform innovation will shape the future of financial services. A passionate advocate for inclusive design, ethical technology, and systems thinking, Bradley brings a human-centered lens to the future of finance. He believes that collaboration between startups and legacy institutions is essential to solving the industry’s biggest challenges, from climate risk and data transparency to financial wellness and inclusion. Whether building new partnership models, mentoring founders, or designing innovation programs across borders, Bradley's driven by one goal: Make banking better. Speaking/Consulting/Writing: [email protected] Resume: https://tinyurl.com/Leimer-Resume Executive Portfolio: https://tinyurl.com/4y4ctfvu
• Leimer One Advisory helps the financial services industry navigate change, advises banks, fintechs, and VCs on growth strategy, partnerships, and emerging technologies like AI and digital assets. • Lead strategic consulting and ecosystem advisory for banks, credit unions, fintech startups, and global enterprises, including IBM, Ant Financial, PayPal, SAP, Tata, Salesforce, Adobe, Samsung, Fundera, Accenture, PwC, Bain, Capgemini, MX, and Oracle. • Co-Founded Unconventional Ventures leveraging global audience (120,000+), newsletter (40,000+ subscribers), and One Vision podcast (250+ episodes; 15,000+ monthly/downloads) to shape industry conversations. • Published Beyond Good (Kogan Page, 2021), selling 5,000+ copies and advancing the “Tech for Good” narrative in financial services, featuring fintech case studies and founder stories that matter; • Sought-after keynote speaker at Money20/20, Sibos, Finovate, and other global events. • Principal Consultant June 2017 - September 2022 and June 2025 - Present See Projects on LinkedIn for more detail.
• Partner & Advisor to VC Funds Darrery Capital, Explorer Advisory & Capital (seed-stage fintech/enterprise SaaS), Gauss Ventures (early-stage fintech; Curve, Zilch, Verse, Capitalise), SMBC Ventures, and Mouro Capital (formerly Santander InnoVentures; early-stage global fintech; Ripple, Kabbage, iZettle). • Lead and advise venture capital funds, accelerators, and early-stage startups on scaling and GTM strategies, branding development, venture funding rounds, regulatory navigation, and partnership development; bridging founders, investors, and financial institutions to create enterprise value. • Drive strategic alliances between startups, venture firms, and global banks, aligning product capabilities with market needs in payments, AI/ML, alt-credit, crypto, and embedded finance. • Support founders with market entry strategies, branding development, regulatory navigation, and partnership development, accelerating time to revenue and investor readiness. • Active thought leader and connector in the fintech ecosystem (keynote speaker, moderator, and contributor to industry panels and publications; community of 100K+ followers, partners, and connections). See Projects on LinkedIn for more detail.
• Active angel investor with three exits, $160M raised, and a track record of identifying high-potential founders and scaling go-to-market strategies. • Fintech portfolio includes Geolava, Union Credit, Bond AI, CuNeXus (exit), Stoovo (exit), Zero Financial (exit), Meniga, Rocket Dollar, AlphaRank, KnowYourCorp, and Peotic. See Projects on LinkedIn for more detail.
• Led our global engagement strategy across fintech, venture capital, and AI ecosystems, driving innovation to accelerate digital transformation, product development, and value creation. • Drove our pilot program and enterprise rollout for Microsoft 365 Copilot, aligning use cases across corporate banking, capital markets, and more. Developed strategy for AI enablement to support scaled adoption across global business units, resulting in 759% ROI, $35M annualized Americas Division savings and projected global enterprise value of $230M. • Architected SMBC’s Fintech Partnerships Strategy and Partnerships-as-a-Service platform, including KPIs, sourcing frameworks, and co-creation models, establishing innovation as a driver of commercial outcomes and enabling primary and secondary research into frontier technologies such as AI/ML, embedded finance, digital assets, advanced analytics, and low/no-code platforms. • Ran our Digital Innovation Accelerator, collaborating with Plug and Play, StartX, NY Innovation Lab, and top VCs (a16z, Insight, GIC), alongside SMBC Silicon Valley Labs, Jeffries, and our global venture teams to source and pilot startup solutions. • Created and scaled the Innovation Communications Platform, developing our Innovation Portal, AI Portal, Partnerships Hub, Copilot Central (CoE), and published global Innovation News to highlight insights and wins across the bank. • Led SMBC's first open innovation program focused on AI and unstructured data, surfacing 90+ business use cases and guiding selected teams through design workshops and prototyping, culminating in a Shark Tank-like demo day. • Drove strategic co-development initiatives with emerging technology partners and hosted fintech showcases and executive workshops that align strategic startup capabilities with business priorities, fostering a culture of experimentation and long-term platform thinking. SMBC is Japan’s second-largest bank, $2T in assets, 12th largest in the world.
As Senior Vice President, Head of Innovation and Fintech Strategy, Santander U.S., the primary focus of my role was identifying new business and technological trends affecting global financial institutions and the broader financial services industry. My innovation team helped build ventures and alliances with start-ups, third party solution providers, VC firms, and key forums in the fintech space. Working within the framework and direction of the global innovation group, my team served as an observatory for the Santander global organization for trends originating in the U.S. that had potential to expand and accelerate globally. • Led Santander fintech strategy and open innovation agenda, serving as the primary observatory for U.S.-originated trends with global scaling potential, reviewing 450+ startups annually and advancing partnerships in robo-advising, marketplace lending, RegTech, and cryptocurrency / distributed ledger technology. • Built strategic alliances and guided proofs-of-concept with partners including Ripple, Microsoft, MX, Moven, Fidor, Kabbage, and Affirm, delivering scalable, customer-centric solutions across Santander’s business units. • Launched digital banking programs such as Always-On Offers, Worry-Free Checking, and Mobile Banking 3.0, integrating future revenue streams, next-gen money movement, and branch transformation initiatives. • Designed and executed innovation culture frameworks—including hackathons, accelerator collaborations, and the Santander Universities program—to embed fintech engagement into global product and platform strategy. • Advised Santander InnoVentures (now Mouro Capital) on venture investments and ecosystem engagement, strengthening the bank’s cross-border innovation network and accelerating adoption of U.S.-driven fintech trends across global markets. The Madrid-based Santander Group, with 180 million customers and $1.986 trillion in assets, is the 14th largest bank in the world, and 4th largest in Europe.
• Led digital strategy and user-centered design for online/mobile banking, online account opening (OAO), A2A/P2P payments, mobile deposit, and PFM tools, driving double-digit growth in adoption and satisfaction. • Directed cross-channel marketing, analytics, and personalization initiatives, boosting online banking users by 23.9%, mobile banking adoption by 599.6%, and bill pay usage by 10.3% year-over-year. • Managed key vendor partnerships (Digital Insight, Fiserv, Andera, Checkfree, and others) to deliver new capabilities aligned with evolving customer expectations and engagement banking strategies. • Oversaw major platform redesigns, mobile app launches, and integration of social media technologies, enhancing brand presence across mechanicsbank.com, mechanicsbankcares.com, and imamechanic.com. Founded in 1905 and based in Walnut Creek, Mechanics Bank is around $17 billion in assets across 110–130 California branches. They will soon expand via merger with HomeStreet, creating a combined ~$23 billion bank across 168 branches.
• Directed database marketing strategy, customer intelligence, and analytics to drive acquisition, cross-sell, and retention across all business lines—leveraging lifecycle insights to optimize channel performance and ROI. • Launched Mechanics Bank’s first mobile banking services (WAP/browser, app, and SMS) and led a full redesign of mechanicsbank.com, improving digital engagement and conversion. • Managed vendor selection and implementation for online banking (Intuit) and developed Customer Opportunity Advisor (COA), a retail cross-sell application that increased frontline productivity and targeted offers. • Partnered with key vendors (Fiserv, Raddon, Harland, ORCC, WealthEngine) to enhance core data integrity, segmentation, and personalization strategies, driving more effective direct marketing campaigns.
Serving Kaiser Permanente employees and members at Kaiperm Federal Credit Union, I created and executed the overall marketing and business development strategy, including creative development, data analysis, acquisition, lifecycle development, member retention, and sales of credit union products and services. Led marketing strategy, development of marketing campaigns, customer intelligence, digital and channel strategy. • Created and executed marketing strategy for all credit union member segments. Created and enhanced the member experience through innovative marketing programs. • Implemented strategic marketing, business development, and community marketing plans geared toward membership expansion within sponsor Kaiser Permanente. • Led public relations and external advertising meeting strategies to develop public awareness. • Helped develop strategic facility plan to launch new Oakland headquarters in June 2006. • Initiated partnerships with Digital Insight and CheckFree for Online Banking/Bill Pay. • Created and launched kaipermfcu.org and acquisition channel through joinkp.com. • Developed 24x 7 loan call center and 30 second online decisioning platform with Digital Insight. • Launched eStatements to gain efficiencies and increase member convenience. • Launched the Kaiperm Intranet to enhance communication between departments. • Launched VISA Gold & VISA Platinum (Callahan top 10 VISA portfolios in asset class). • Created Kaiperm Financial Group with Mass Mutual to offer investment/insurance services. • Partnered with LocatorSearch to improve member access to Kaiperm’s 27,000 locations. • Received NAFCU Marketing for Excellence Award for FY 2002 Annual Report.