Zach Marks, CEO of Jia, is an accomplished financial services professional with over 10 years of experience in scaling financial technology companies and delivering financial services in emerging markets. Prior to Jia, he served as Director of Business Development at Tala,  a leading fintech lender in emerging markets, where he led the India credit business as General Manager, developed partnerships to launch new finance products across Africa, Asia and Latin America. He worked on microfinance initiatives in South Sudan and across East Africa as a management consultant with McKinsey & Co.  Zach began his career as an English teacher in India, Brazil and Ethiopia, and has been a Fulbright fellow, a journalist and a prep cook. He holds a Bachelors in Ethics, Politics and Economics from Yale University.

Cheng Cheng, Jia’s Chief Product Officer, has deep experience building financial technology and credit products for emerging markets. Prior to Jia, she served as Senior Director of Product at Tala, developing a new line of affordable, flexible credit products for borrowers across Africa, Asia and Latin America. She holds global finance experience with institutions such as WorldVision, where she led the provision of wholesale financing to village community banks in Tanzania. She holds a Masters of Public Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelors in Law and International Relations from Renmin University of China.

Michael Dettmar, Jia’s Head of Credit Risk and Data, previously managed a $1B small business lending portfolio at Stripe Capital, and oversaw emerging markets credit portfolios at Tala. He holds a BA from the University of Virginia.

Jia’s Kenya business is led by Mark Mwaniki, who has led digital financial services and credit companies including Mono, Lipa Later, Platinum Credit and Samchi Credit.

In the Philippines, Jia is led by Krizanne Ty, who previously led digital financial services product, partnerships and operations for Tonik, a leading digital bank in the Philippines. She previously worked in investment banking and currencies trading at DeutscheBank and Metropolitan Bank, and in treasury management at PDAX, the Philippines’ leading digital asset exchange.
