About Us

Emmanuel (Manu) Smadja

CEO and Co-founder

Manu is a former Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where he focused on Global Financial Inclusion and U.S. mass-market banking. He has worked with top financial institutions in the U.S., Europe, and Africa. Prior to McKinsey he worked in marketing strategy and operations at Capital One and Vistaprint. Manu holds an M.B.A. from INSEAD, as well as an M.S. in Systems & Information Engineering and a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Virginia.

Fun fact: When he’s not working, Manu can be found on the soccer field, kayaking down a river, or on the dance floor.

Michael Davis

Chief Investment Officer & co-founder

Mike is a serial entrepreneur with 13 startups under his belt, most of which were in the financial services or e-commerce space. As MPOWER’s Chief Investment Officer and Co-founder, Mike uses his superpowers to architect the company’s equity and debt financing rounds. In the past, Mike has been Director of Web Innovation and Strategy for Avon and has worked for Sapient, a leading consulting firm. Mike holds an M.B.A. from INSEAD and a B.S. in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.

Fun fact: Mike is addicted to grid-lined notebooks, Evernote, and productivity technology.

Lana Bronipolsky

Senior VP of Talent and Operations

Lana has more than 12 years of experience in financial services as well as 2 in nonprofit management, and combines her expertise in both fields in her work at MPOWER. Prior to joining MPOWER, she developed new trading models and control processes, managed $6.4 billion in ETF assets, and supervised numerous teams in compliance and operations at ProShares Group in Bethesda, Maryland, and PIMCO in Newport Beach, California. Lana is fluent in Russian and holds a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University and an M.B.A from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.

Fun fact: Lana can’t live without coffee. No, really.

Kin Chung

VP of Credit Innovation

Kin has over 20 years experience in Financial Services. Prior to joining MPOWER, he was Chief Risk Officer at FS Card. Former roles include Chief Credit Officer at Ethos Lending (a start-up mortgage lender), as well as various senior positions at Fannie Mae, Capital One, and AIG. He has expertise in consumer credit, advanced analytics, and structured finance. Kin holds a PhD in Mathematics from Princeton University and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Western Australia.

Fun fact: Kin has a second degree black belt in Taekwondo and is an accomplished pianist. He lives in Northern Virginia with his family and four children.

Terence Chu

General Counsel

Terence has represented financial institutions for 30 years, both in private practice and in house. Terence has extensive legal and compliance experience in banking, regulatory, real estate, commercial, and consumer law. Past clients include HSBC (formerly Marine Midland Bank), JPMorganChase, Bank of America, and Capital One. Terence received his J.D. from the Temple University School of Law and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. As a former entrepreneur himself, Terence relishes the unique legal and business challenges associated with representing startup companies.

Fun fact: When he’s not working as a lawyer, Terence enjoys working with his hands, either in the garage or at the dojo.

Carmen Kienow

Director of University Relations

Carmen brings to MPOWER more than 30 years of experience in the higher education space. She started her career in San Diego in the financial aid office of United States International University (now Alliant International University), where she helped students from Micronesia obtain Pell Grants so they could complete their degrees. She next worked at other colleges, then on the student lending side, and later sold student loan guarantees, financial literacy programs, and net price calculators. You could say she’s seen many sides of the student-serving higher education industry! Carmen holds an M.S. in Leadership from Grand Canyon University.

Fun fact: In her spare time, Carmen is always thinking about where her next international trip is going to take her. Her favorite place so far is Spain (especially Madrid and Barcelona).

Rohan Tibrawalla

Country Director – India

Rohan leads and manages all India-related business and operations for MPOWER. Prior to joining MPOWER, Rohan was CFO at bhane., a fashion apparel brand, as well as a former Investment Banking Analyst at JPMorgan in New York. Rohan graduated with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is passionate about both education and finance and is excited about cultivating new partnerships and student relationships throughout India for MPOWER.

Fun fact: Rohan enjoys playing ultimate frisbee, traveling to tiger reserves, and reading Calvin and Hobbes and The New York Times.

Ashish Agarwal

Manager – Analytics

Ashish has 7 years of experience working in analytics and strategy for startups in India. He specializes in business analytics with experience in data driven business strategy formulation. Ashish has earned the Project Management Professional and Six Sigma Green Belt credentials as well as both an M.B.A. and M.S. in Information Systems (dual degree) at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Fun fact: Ashish is an active practitioner of Vedic mathematics, an ancient Indian way of solving math problems.

Kortney Avadikian

Loan Servicing Manager

Kortney brings extensive experience in customer service, collections, and management to the MPOWER Customer Success Team. Prior to joining MPOWER, she spent more than 13 years developing her skill set for minimizing risks for a large indirect auto financing company. Kortney’s passion to help people in need find financial relief has driven her efforts to develop a solid Servicing foundation at MPOWER.

Fun fact: the first time Kortney was ever on a plane, she jumped off of it!

Sasha Ramani

Manager – Corporate Strategy

Sasha is a CFA Charterholder and seasoned management consultant who recently completed his Masters degree in Public Policy (MPP) at the Harvard Kennedy School. Originally from Canada, Sasha honed his strategy and investment management skills in New York City with Deloitte Consulting and Mars and Co, where he advised investment firms on innovation, business growth strategy, and organizational design. At Harvard, Sasha’s interests included financial technology (FinTech) and the mobilization of financial capital for social impact. He also published a paper with Dr. Christopher Smart, a former Obama Administration senior policy maker, on how technology can help to mobilize capital in emerging markets. Sasha holds a BMath from the University of Waterloo and a BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Fun fact: Outside of work and school, Sasha enjoys traveling, exploring, real estate investing, recreational computer programming, and listening to the Hamilton soundtrack.

Claire Almand

Associate Manager – Marketing

Claire joins MPOWER with 6 years of experience developing digital marketing content and strategies for small businesses, nonprofits, and startups. Her focuses include digital marketing, marketing technologies, design thinking, and business communications. Claire holds a B.A. in Psychology from Swarthmore College and an M.B.A. from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.

Fun fact: When not working, Claire enjoys diving into psychology studies and fantasy novels in equal measure. She is also an avid trail runner and landscape photographer.

Felicia Budiman

Associate Manager – Office Operation and Compliance

Felicia has more than 8 years of experience in case management for international clients. She has a Bachelors of Commerce in Actuarial Studies and a Masters of Applied Commerce in Accounting from the University of Melbourne in Australia. Felicia has previously worked at AXA Australia, Fragomen Worldwide (Singapore), and most recently at Google Asia Pacific. Being a former international student, refugee, and an immigrant herself, she is excited about MPOWER’ing students to achieve their life goals through a borderless education.

Fun fact: Feli competes in ballroom dancing and is an old soul who loves jazz and fine wine, and is a slight coffee snob.

Aditya Suresh

Senior Customer Success Analyst

Aditya has more than 11 years of experience in Support & Operations Management for international organizations such as IBM, Dell, and Plivo. In previous positions, he was actively involved in the pilot and set up of the off-shore Product Support & Partner Operations teams and was also awarded for his leadership skills. He holds a B.E. in Computer Science and Engineering from Siddaganga Institute of Technology in Tumkur, India, and is also a Certified Scrum Master, PRINCE2 Practitioner, and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Aditya is fluent in four Indian languages.

Fun fact: Aditya loves his coffee, food, automobiles, and no-holds-barred laughter!

Brittany Coppola

Senior Customer Success Analyst

Brittany comes to MPOWER with experience in the education and international development sectors. Prior to joining MPOWER, she worked in both research and product support at the Education Advisory Board, a higher education consulting firm. Before coming to D.C., Brittany worked at a low-cost private school in India developing extra-curricular projects and curricula, and conducted research for the Indian School Finance Company. She also spent time in Buenos Aires as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, where she studied non-profit management and worked for the social enterprise incubator, NESsT. Brittany holds a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish from Centre College.

Fun fact: Brittany knows how to dance tango.

Gizem Girgin

Senior Customer Success Analyst

Gizem has an M.S. in Finance from Florida International University and worked for the university as a teaching assistant and focused on financial analysis. Gizem has more than 7 years of experience in customer service and management, including leading regional training as a retail manager for 5 years. She has also worked as a relationship banker at M&T Bank, assisting clients with loans and life insurance, and as a financial adviser at Edward Jones, helping clients achieve their long-term financial goals. As a former international student, Gizem is passionate about helping global students achieve their goals and receive great support while away from home.

Fun fact: Gizem loves cooking from scratch (especially Turkish food), playing computer games, and sipping different types of wine.

Keegan Kelley

Senior Loan Operations Analyst

Keegan has a background in both financial services and international higher education. Prior to joining MPOWER, Keegan worked in the Portfolio Administration department at ProShares, located in Bethesda, Maryland. She graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.A. in International Studies, with minors in History and Anthropology. Throughout the entirety of her undergraduate career, she worked part time at the University of Missouri International Center assisting J-1, J-2, and H-1B students.

Fun fact: Keegan has graced the cover of a music album, “Guard Your Heart” by Mama’s Pride, a moderately-known southern rock band. In the photo, she is the person with hair; the bald one is her sister.

Kyean Clore-Byrd

Customer Success Analyst

Kyean is the newest Analyst on the D.C.-based Customer Success team. He has worked in several agencies under the U.S. Department of State, including Consular Affairs and Passport Services. Kyean also served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member, where he worked on a community development project that connected urban store owners with local farmers and fresh food vendors to introduce healthy food inventory in corner stores in low-income areas. He credits his work ethic and appreciation for MPOWER to his community service background and study abroad experience. Kyean received his B.A. in History from Temple University.

Fun fact: Kyean was a member of his high school’s quiz bowl team and enjoys going to trivia and game nights.

Mahendra Vitrianto

Software Engineer

Mahendra has 3 years of combined experience working in financial services and consulting. He has previously worked at Citibank, Accenture, and most recently at R/GA New York as a consultant. Mahendra holds an M.S. in Management Science from Columbia University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Bandung Institute of Technology.

Fun fact: Mahendra has a deep passion for music arrangement and orchestration. Check out his work on https://soundcloud.com/iantoo

Moiz Zhara

Customer Success Analyst – Underwriting

Moiz has more than 5 years of experience in financial services and is currently studying Information Systems at the City University of New York School of Professional Studies. He has personally experienced the stress of education financing and seeks to work towards simplifying the process by removing financial barriers to higher education. Moiz began his career in retail and community banking and has held roles in personal and business banking. Before joining MPOWER, Moiz worked as an underwriter for Wells Fargo Dealer Services and Atlantic Federal Credit Union.

Fun fact: Moiz enjoys riding motorcycles and hiking on trails in his free time.

Mohammad M. Nazar

Customer Success Analyst

Nazar has more than 9 years of customer service and banking experience. Prior to joining MPOWER, he worked at Urban Ladder Home Decor Solutions in processing consumer loans. He also worked with companies like Accenture, Firstsource, and Ocwen Financials. Nazar graduated from Dr.C.V.Raman University with a Bachelor’s in Commerce.

Fun fact: Nazar is an insane movie buff, primarily of animated & Fantasy movies.

Nicole Hall

Senior Customer Success Analyst – Underwriting

Nicole has more than a decade of loan operations and customer service experience. Prior to joining MPOWER, she worked in the Wealth Management division of SunTrust Bank. There, she partnered with credit analysts and coordinated the loan closing and documentation process for wealth, legal, and medical clients. Nicole graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. in Economics.

Fun fact: Nicole is a skee-ball champion. In 2011, she won the grand prize in a 64-person charity skee-ball tournament.

Ronald Rego

Credit Risk Analyst

Ron comes to MPOWER with experience in education, workflow management, and finance. Prior to joining MPOWER he worked at a low-cost private school in India as a consultant and at Amazon as a workflow analyst. He received his B.S. in Technology in Electrical Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad and received his M.S. in Finance from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Fun fact: Ron is currently learning how to pilot a plane.

Scott Metcalfe

Senior Credit Risk Analyst

Prior to joining MPOWER, Scott worked in the Credit Risk department at BNY Mellon, covering financial institutions across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. in Finance and Accounting. In his free time between work and school, Scott has spent two years collectively traveling across 30 countries.

Fun fact: Scott spends much of his free time cycling, practicing yoga, or working on DIY projects.

Tania Salaza

Customer Success Analyst

Tania comes to MPOWER with more than 4 years of financial services experience, which includes time working as a Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch. She received a B.A. in Political Science with minors in French and Economics from Temple University in Philadelphia. She also holds an M.B.A. in Insurance and Reinsurance from Escola Nacional de Seguros and has completed post-graduate coursework in Strategic Management at Mackenzie University, both in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Tania is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute D.C. alumni chapter, a nonpartisan organization focused on providing leadership development programs and educational services to young Latino leaders.

Fun fact: Tania enjoys hikes and baking. Also, she’s named after a song by Colombian salsa singer Joe Arroyo.

Charles Zheng

Corporate Strategy Intern

Charles is an incoming M.B.A. candidate at Columbia Business School, starting in August 2018. In his most recent professional role, Charles worked at Partners Group, a global asset manager, focused on private equity investing. Previously, he worked as an investment banking analyst in the Financial Services Group at Raymond James & Associates. Charles graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Economics.

Fun fact: Charles has traveled to over 20 countries and has lived in six states across the U.S., though still thinks no cuisine can beat some good old Chinese food.

Mandar Kashikar

Marketing Intern

Mandar joins MPOWER from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, where he is currently pursuing a dual Masters in Business Administration(MBA) and Marketing Analytics. He was recently awarded the Hisaoka Fellowship for his efforts pertaining to entrepreneurship within the school and outside. He currently leads the Marketing Club and is on the board of several other clubs including Entrepreneurship Club.

Before business school, Mandar received his Bachelors in Manufacturing from India and worked for several years as a Product Development Engineer. However, he always wanted to explore marketing and hence transitioned to marketing for a startup. He loved the energy at startups and has worked at 2 startups ever since.

Fun fact: Mandar can’t live without Indian food for more than a day.

Nishant Shetty

Corporate Strategy Intern

Nishant joins MPOWER as a Corporate Strategy Intern from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, where he is pursuing his M.B.A with a focus on Finance, Marketing, and Strategy. Prior to pursuing his M.B.A., Nishant consulted major financial institutions in India on aspects related to process improvement and compliance management. He also worked on the planning and execution of Marketing initiatives for Ernst & Young’s Americas Region.

Fun fact: In his free time, Nishant enjoys playing soccer, hiking, and listening to music.

Rakhi Dubey

Corporate Finance and Accounting Intern

Rakhi has been a public accountant in India and has worked as a Corporate-tax Consultant with PwC and KPMG in the past. She has also worked on the business expansion strategy with a professional services firm in India and a startup in Canada. Rakhi holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting from Bangalore University in India and is currently pursuing her M.B.A at McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University.

Fun fact: In her spare time, you can find Rakhi scribbling poems and verses over a writing app and her public Instagram page. She also loves doing cross-cultural cooking, dancing, travelling and adventure sports.

Shrawan Saraogi

Capital Markets Intern

Shrawan is currently pursuing an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Prior to this, he was an investment banker for 7 years with DBS Bank in Singapore. As part of the bank’s leadership development program, Shrawan worked in a variety of teams including Capital Markets, Loan Syndications and TMT client coverage. His last role was as Vice President in the Debt Capital Markets team, helping clients across Asia issue Bonds to global debt investors. He has also completed all levels of the CFA Program and graduated from the Singapore Management University with a B.S. in Economics and Finance.

Fun fact: During his undergraduate years, Shrawan was a competitive debater, traveling the world to represent his university at prestigious competitions. After seeing success as a debater, he went on to judge competitions and was also the national championship winning coach for Singapore Polytechnic.

Zian Ke

Engineering Intern

Zian is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, majoring in Computer Science. Most recently, he worked for Huawei Technologies in Shanghai, China as a Full-Stack Engineer and led the development of an Online Appraisal System. Zian is also the Engineering Team Leader of the University of Michigan Chinese Students and Scholars Association, and is taking charge of the development and deployment of the Professor Evaluation System and Online Freshman Handbook.

Fun fact: During his weekends and holidays, Zian enjoys travelling around U.S. and Europe to visit museums and go to concerts.