Prosper Appoints New Executive VP of Operations

Former Capital One Executive Kunal Kaul joins Prosper Marketplace.

The US’ second largest marketplace lender Prosper has appointed Kunal Kaul as Executive Vice President of Operations. Kunal was previously Leader of Home Loans Originations Operations Excellence at Capital One, a company that provides individuals and businesses with credit cards, checking and savings accounts, auto loans, rewards, and online banking services.

Kunal has more than seven years experience in personal unsecured loans and he will be responsible for developing all aspects of Prosper’s operations, including verification, business operations, collections and building a world-class customer service experience. Kunal will report to Prosper Marketplace’s Chief Operating Officer Josh Tonderys, who is ecstatic about the hire. He stated:

“Kunal’s experience […] is immensely relevant to our business and we’re thrilled to welcome him as a key member of the Prosper Marketplace executive team. With plans to double our business again next year, we are focused on bringing in experts from across the financial services and technology industries to help us execute on our mission of enhancing financial well being for our customers.”

This new addition follows on from the recent acquisition of BillGuard, a personal finance analytics firm, based in Tel Aviv, which develops apps for the purpose of managing, protecting and amplifying the way that consumers interact with money and with credit. The acquisition provided Prosper with access to Israel’s engineering and product talent pool, whilst its borrowers and lenders are enjoying being able to make more enlightened financial decisions.

A similar addition was made by the UK’s first peer-to-peer lending platform Zopa last year. At the beginning of October 2014, the British platform welcomed Jaidev Janardana – former Capital One Chief Marketing Officer – as Chief Operating Officer. He recently acceded to Chief Executive Officer. Under Jaidev’s stewardship, the platform has gone from strength to strength, relying on his uniquely valuable learning experiences at Capital One.

Much as Jaidev had the task of keeping Zopa atop the UK’s peer-to-peer lending stage, Kanul also must assist Prosper in jostling for position amongst the US’ “big three” – Lending Club, Prosper and SoFi.