MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Progreso Financiero announced today the appointment of Dave Tomlinson, currently President and Chief Operating Officer, as acting Chief Executive Officer of the company, replacing James Gutierrez, who has left the company.
“Dave Tomlinson is an accomplished financial services executive, with 25 years plus experience,” said Carl Pascarella, Lead Director of the Progreso Board of Directors. “Dave has been with Progreso for the past three years in our most senior operating role, during which time our loan volume has increased more than 10 fold.”
“Dave has demonstrated a deep commitment to our core mission of providing affordable credit and financial services to the under-banked Hispanic community in the United States,” Pascarella added. “He has built a community-based lending operation that operates in 77 locations throughout California and Texas with established plans to grow to national coverage. Dave has built and led an outstanding team at Progreso. We look forward to working with Dave and his team in this new role.”
Progreso educates its borrowers, who often have limited-to-no credit history, about the responsible use of credit and offers small dollar loans - typically $1,200 - that can be paid back in fixed installments at rates far below costly alternatives. As customers pay back their loan, they establish a credit history and after three successful small loans can achieve a credit score of 660, opening the doors to mainstream financial services and a brighter financial future.
Tomlinson, 51, has been with Progreso since July 2009, joining the company as COO. He was promoted to President/COO in 2011 and became a board member in 2011. Tomlinson is a seasoned general manager with more than 25 years experience working for leading financial services companies. Prior to Progreso he was Executive Vice President and CMO at Providian with responsibility for $6 billion in revenue on a $28-billion credit card portfolio. Previously, Tomlinson held CMO and general management positions at other leading financial institutions, including JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank and American Express. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.
About Progreso Financiero
Progreso Financiero aims to be the banking partner of choice for the 23 million Hispanics in the United State who need access to empowering financial products and services. Unlike mainstream institutions, Progreso provides loans without collateral to clients who lack credit history with its sophisticated risk scoring system that emphasizes a client's true capacity to afford a loan. Progreso Financiero engages with customers in their neighborhoods, in their language, and with familiar faces from the community in order to build relationships of trust that lead to a lifetime of growth and prosperity. Progreso Financiero is a for-profit institution that believes in the moral collateral of its clients and is committed to providing opportunities to help its clients achieve their dreams. Since its founding in 2005, the company has made more than 200,000 loans, extending $240 million in capital to underserved Hispanic families through over 77 locations across California and Texas and helping improve credit scores for over 87 percent of its loan customers. For more information, please visit: www.progressfin.com.