Operating Partners
Maria Veltre
Maria is a Senior Advisor to Lightyear Fund V, L.P. and its parallel investment vehicles.
She brings more than three decades of experience in marketing, customer experience, digital platform development, pricing strategy, and product development, as well as regulatory compliance.
She has a penchant for delivering business results based on an understanding of consumer demand and analytics, business dynamics, and P&L management. She is deeply experienced in complex change management while remaining focused on delivery of business outcomes.
Previously, Maria was the US Head of Digital and Innovation at Santander, a role she took on from 2018 to 2020. She was responsible for the alignment of Santander’s US businesses with Santander Group’s digital and product platform development. In addition, she oversaw Santander’s digital, marketing, and brand initiatives.
She joined Santander in September 2016 as Santander’s Chief Marketing & Digital Officer for Santander’s Consumer and Business Banking organization.
Prior to joining Santander, Maria was the Chief Marketing Officer at both Fifth Third Bank and Citi’s Small Business unit, and before that held senior marketing and digital roles at various financial institutions, including J.P. Morgan Chase.
One of American Banker 2019’s Women to Watch, Maria has been a long-standing supporter of women’s advancement in the workplace. She now serves as an Advisory Board member for Reserve Squad, a new venture enabling companies to retain women in the workforce, advance gender equality, and maximize labor investment through its in-house talent management solution. She is also a Board Director at Allworth Financial, a Lightyear Fund V Portfolio Company.
Maria holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, and an MBA, with Marketing Concentration from NYU, Stern School of Business.
Operating Partners (i) are not exclusive and may provide similar services to other third parties, including portfolio companies of investment funds affiliated with Lightyear and (ii) are not employees or affiliates of Lightyear or its affiliates but are independent contractors. The composition of the network of Operating Partners is subject to change.