Cristina Junqueira
Cristina Junqueira is the Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Nubank, the world’s largest independent digital bank and one of Latin America’s most valuable fintech companies. Widely recognized as one of the region’s most successful female fintech leaders, she has played a pivotal role in transforming financial services in Latin America and expanding Nubank’s reach to more than 80 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Before co-founding Nubank alongside David Vélez and Edward Wible in 2013, Junqueira built her career in Brazil’s traditional banking sector, holding key roles at Unibanco and Itaú Unibanco, where she specialized in consumer credit, card products, and marketing. Beyond finance, she is also a vocal advocate for financial inclusion, gender diversity in leadership, and workplace policies that support balancing motherhood and executive life.
Cristina Junqueira Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer
Academic History
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M.B.A., Business
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M.S., Industrial Engineering
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B.S., Industrial Engineering
Cristina Junqueira co-founded Nubank in 2013 with David Vélez and Edward Wible, with the mission of disrupting Brazil’s traditional banking industry by providing simpler, lower-cost, and more transparent financial services.
Under her leadership, Nubank became the world’s first company with a female founder to surpass a $10 billion valuation, and has since expanded into Mexico, Colombia, and other markets, serving over 100 million customers across Latin America.
As Chief Growth Officer, Junqueira oversees marketing, communications, ESG (environmental, social, and governance), public policy, legal, and product growth, helping to drive Nubank’s continued expansion and innovation.
EARLY CAREER
Junqueira began her financial career as an associate consultant at Boston Consulting Group while completing her master’s degree in economic and financial modeling.
She went on to hold roles at Booz Allen Hamilton and later at Itaú Unibanco, where she focused on consumer credit, card products, and marketing.
At Unibanco, she rose to become head of the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) sector, gaining firsthand insight into both corporate strategy and customer needs.
This diverse professional foundation laid the groundwork for her entrepreneurial success at Nubank, where she continues to champion financial inclusion and innovation across Latin America.
RECOGNITIONS
2024 Financial Times' Top 25 Most Influential Women
2020 Fortune's Most Powerful Women International
2020 Fortune 40 Under 40
2020 FinTech Magazine's Top 10 Women in FinTech
2019 BRAVO Visionary Entrepreneur of the Year