Bank-owned company, Early Warning Services, LLC, today announced the appointment of Albert “Al” Ko as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective May 13, 2019. He assumes day-to-day leadership of the company and will also join Early Warning’s Management Committee, comprised of ownership representatives from Bank of America, BB&T, Capital One, JP Morgan Chase, PNC, US Bank, and Wells Fargo. Ko succeeds Paul W. Finch, Jr. who retired from the company in March 2019.
“Al is an exceptional leader, with a deep product management background and a strong track record of operational discipline,” said Bill Wallace, chairman of the Early Warning Management Committee, and head of digital for Consumer and Community Banking (CCB) at JP Morgan Chase & Co. “He is especially adept at leading businesses at scale, helping them reach their maximum potential. We look forward to him making a positive impact on Early Warning, and on the banking industry at large.”
Ko, most recently, served as Chief Transformation Officer at Intuit. In this role, he drove Intuit’s operating rhythm and oversaw cross-company change initiatives. Over his 13+ year career at Intuit, Ko held numerous executive positions, including General Manager of Mint, the company’s consumer-facing personal finance app, and Head of Product for Intuit’s Small Business Group, where he was responsible for the global expansion of QuickBooks, Payments, and Payroll.
Prior to joining Intuit, Ko was a management consultant at both the Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey, where he advised technology and industrial clients on strategy, organizational effectiveness, and supply chain management. He holds a bachelor’s (B.A.) in History and International Studies from Yale University, and a juris doctorate (J.D.) from Harvard Law School.
Early Warning is best known for its popular Zelle Network®, which financial institutions, both large and small, use for fast, safe, and easy payments. In Q1 2019, $39 billion was sent through the Zelle Network on 147 million transactions. But, it is the company’s rich portfolio of deposit and payments risk management, identity verification, and authentication solutions for banks that has been foundational to its nearly 30 years of success.
“I’m honored, humbled, and excited to lead a company that has been at the epicenter of some seismic shifts in the banking industry,” said Ko. “Early Warning is in a phenomenal position to lead the next wave of change. The team, its technologies, and its partners are transforming financial services, removing friction from experiences, and making life easier for millions of consumers. I look forward to continuing our tradition of innovation, and unlocking future growth opportunities.”
About Early Warning Services, LLC
Early Warning Services, LLC is a fintech company owned by seven of the country’s largest banks. For almost three decades, our identity, authentication and payment solutions have been empowering financial institutions to make confident decisions, enable payments and mitigate fraud. Today, Early Warning is best known as the owner and operator of the Zelle Network®, a financial services network focused on transforming payment experiences. The combination of Early Warning’s risk and payment solutions enable the financial services industry to move money fast, safe and easy, so people can live their best financial lives. To learn more about Early Warning, visit www.earlywarning.com
