TORONTO and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vancouver-based financial technology lender Progressa announced today that the Board of Directors has recently appointed Dave Nickel, founder of Snap Financial Group, as the Company’s new Executive Board Chairman. Mr. Nickel will succeed former Board Chairman David Gens who will continue to serve on the Board of Directors.
Mr. Nickel has a noteworthy career in the North American banking and specialty finance industry spanning over 26 years, where he has built and managed teams in complex operating environments. He has overseen $1B+ in small ticket lease and loan transactions across a wide range of asset and credit classes.
Mr. Nickel founded SNAP Financial Group, guiding it to become one of North America’s most successful specialty finance companies, on track to lend in excess of $1 billion per annum to businesses and consumers across North America. In 2017, Mr. Nickel worked through a successful CEO transition in SNAP, where he continues to hold a large equity stake and director seat. Mr. Nickel assembled a potent executive team, and led the business through a continuing evolution which now has the Company active in two distinct product markets of insurance premium financing, and consumer financing for home improvement loans across North America.
“Progressa is extremely fortunate to have an Executive Board Chair with such an array of experience and talent,” said Ali Pourdad, CEO of Progressa. “His passion for ensuring the success of Progressa is unmatched, and I look forward to continue my strong working relationship with him.”
Mr. Nickel will succeed David Gens, who will remain on the board. Mr. Gens commented, “It’s been a pleasure watching Progressa grow at the rate it has these last four years. The entire Board of Directors is confident that Dave Nickel is the right Board Chair to take the business forward from here and we all look forward to working with him and Ali to execute on Progressa’s mission.”
The Company is also pleased to announce the addition of Jeffrey Furtado, Vice President of Lending Operations, based out of its North York, Toronto location. Mr. Furtado brings over 17 years of experience in implementing, growing and managing both businesses and call centres, along with an extensive background in developing and leading cross-functional teams on a global level in: Fintech/Financial Services, Energy, Service, IT, BPO-Call Centres, Government Sectors and Telephony/VoIP. Mr. Furtado has held executive and senior roles with organizations such as: CCI, GoEasy, and has consulted in the Fintech space for Gerson Lehrman Group. Progressa COO Tony Vardy comments: “We are excited to have Jeffrey join our Toronto operations, his experience in building high performance teams will be very critical in this period of rapid growth.”
About Progressa
Progressa is Canada's fastest growing financial technology lender focused on helping non-prime and near-prime Canadians seeking to improve their financial health. Recognized by CB Insights in 2017 as one of 38 companies worldwide helping the underserved, Progressa was the only Canadian company on the list and one of only several in North America.
Progressa’s mission is to build a socially responsible consumer finance company that encourages borrowing for the right reasons and that Canadians can be proud of. We pride ourselves on offering a solution to almost half of Canadians who live pay cheque to pay cheque. To date, we have helped over 15,000 Canadians ‘Borrow for the Right Reasons’ and pay back their overdue bills that may have gone into collections.
By building a loan that fits their budget and using it to pay their overdue bills directly, we help our customers reduce their debt load and establish or rebuild their credit score and offer automatic interest rate reductions over the course of all our loans. With the help of advanced data science and analytics we can effectively and efficiently evaluate credit risk and provide loans where traditional institutions are not willing. For more information, visit www.progressa.com.
Contact:
Nancy Powroznik
Phone Number: 604-424-8953
Email: nancy.powroznik@progressa.com