Marqeta Taps Stripe, JPMorgan Vet Patti Kangwankij as New CFO

OAKLAND, CA – January 07, 2026 – Modern card issuing platform Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ) has appointed Patti Kangwankij, a seasoned executive with deep experience at Stripe and JPMorgan Chase, as its new Chief Financial Officer. The move, effective February 9, 2026, completes a significant leadership transition aimed at steering the fintech company toward a new era of enhanced profitability and strategic growth.

Kangwankij will take over the CFO responsibilities from Mike Milotich, who was permanently appointed Chief Executive Officer in September 2025 after serving in an interim capacity. The appointment places a proven financial leader at the helm of Marqeta’s finances as it navigates a competitive and rapidly expanding embedded finance market.

“We are thrilled to welcome Patti to the Marqeta team,” said Mike Milotich, CEO of Marqeta. “She brings deep payments industry expertise, and her leadership will be a critical asset as we continue to execute our strategy, scale our platform, and enable customer innovation in card issuing.”

A Strategic Hire for Profitable Growth

Patti Kangwankij’s career spans over two decades and features pivotal roles at the intersection of traditional finance and disruptive technology. She joins Marqeta from real estate tech company Roofstock, where she served as CFO. Her background is particularly notable for her tenure at payments giant Stripe, where she was Head of Payments Finance and Strategy. During her four years there, she was instrumental in scaling the finance functions during a period of explosive growth, an experience directly relevant to Marqeta’s current ambitions.

Before entering the fintech arena, Kangwankij spent nearly 15 years at JPMorgan Chase & Co., rising to Managing Director & CFO for both the Co-Branded Credit Card and Merchant Services divisions. This unique blend of experience—managing the immense scale and rigor of a global bank while also navigating the agile, high-growth environment of a fintech leader—positions her to guide Marqeta’s financial strategy.

Her appointment comes as Marqeta sharpens its focus on financial discipline. Under Milotich's leadership, the company has made significant strides toward profitability. After reporting a 25% year-over-year decrease in net revenue for 2024, largely due to accounting changes from its Cash App renewal, the company has shown a strong rebound. In the third quarter of 2025, net revenue grew 28% to $163 million, and its net loss narrowed dramatically by 87% to just $4 million. The company has raised its full-year 2025 guidance and set a clear target of achieving GAAP breakeven by 2026. Kangwankij’s expertise in financial scaling and profitability management will be central to achieving these goals.

“I’m honored to join Marqeta at such a pivotal moment,” said Ms. Kangwankij. “I’m excited by Marqeta’s vision, technology foundation, and talented team, and I look forward to advancing our shared goals to drive sustainable growth and deliver long-term value for shareholders."

Completing a C-Suite Refresh

Kangwankij’s arrival marks the final step in a year-long executive refresh at Marqeta. The transition began in February 2025 when Mike Milotich, then CFO, stepped in as Interim CEO. His steady hand during a seven-month search led the board to appoint him to the permanent role in September, citing his success in strengthening the company’s financial foundation and unlocking new growth opportunities.

With Milotich firmly in the CEO chair and Kangwankij now leading the finance organization, the new leadership team is fully in place to execute a refined corporate strategy. A key pillar of this strategy is revenue diversification. While its relationship with Block’s Cash App remains important, Marqeta has actively worked to reduce its reliance on its largest client, which fell from 73% of revenue in 2022 to 45% by mid-2025.

Geographic expansion is another critical focus. The 2025 acquisition of TransactPay, a European electronic money institution, significantly bolstered Marqeta’s capabilities in the UK and Europe. The region has become a major growth engine, with Total Processing Volume (TPV) growing over 100% year-over-year in Q3 2025. This international push, combined with investments in its credit platform and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions, underscores a multi-pronged approach to capturing a larger share of the global payments market.

Navigating a Competitive Fintech Landscape

The new leadership team takes the helm as the market for modern card issuing and embedded finance is experiencing explosive growth. The global embedded finance market is projected to surge from approximately $148 billion in 2025 to over $1.7 trillion by 2034. This massive opportunity has attracted intense competition.

Marqeta faces formidable rivals, including Kangwankij’s former employer, Stripe, with its deeply integrated “Stripe Issuing” product, as well as Adyen, Galileo Financial Technologies, and Lithic. These companies, along with traditional players and a host of emerging startups, are all vying for dominance in enabling businesses to seamlessly embed financial services into their platforms.

To stand out, Marqeta is leveraging its proven, API-first platform, which processed nearly $300 billion in annual payments volume in 2024 and is certified to operate in over 40 countries. The company’s ability to offer customized, data-driven card programs at scale remains a key differentiator. The strategic appointment of a CFO with direct experience competing at the highest level of the payments industry signals Marqeta’s intent to not only defend its market position but to aggressively pursue leadership in this dynamic and lucrative sector.