As the second largest financial hub in the United States with a growing workforce, the Charlotte Region has the foundation to become a fintech industry leader.
The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance® is bringing together the business community this month to hear from LendingTree CEO Doug Lebda and Carolina Fintech Hub Executive Director Tariq Bokhari, who also serves on Charlotte City Council, about emerging trends, opportunities and obstacles the region faces on its road to becoming a top fintech market.
“More than 25 years ago, I chose Charlotte as the birthplace of LendingTree since it was a well-known financial center with massive growth potential,” Lebda said. “Since that time, technology has rapidly evolved along with the financial services industry, and Charlotte has positioned itself at the intersection of finance technology.”
Lebda and Bokhari agree the Charlotte Region should continue to leverage its unique position as a financial services hub into becoming a top fintech market.
“Over the last 50 years, Charlotte and North Carolina have risen to become known as a financial powerhouse nationwide on the backs of innovators and public/private partnerships,” Bokhari said. “Over the last two decades, a fintech evolution has occurred. Slowly at first, with companies like LendingTree and Avidxchange paving the first roads, and then aggressively reaching new levels of growth over the last five years.”
Bokhari and Lebda plan to take a deep dive into those trends, and then focus on describing what they believe the next decade of fintech will look like.
Also at the event Sept. 29, CLT Alliance researcher Corey Correll, will reveal key industry data insight from his latest publication, “Coining the Future.”
The research explores the region’s strengths, trends, and opportunities in the fintech industry.
From an economic development standpoint, the fintech industry is critical to the growth of the region.
“The financial services industry has historically been and continues to be the core to our ecosystem in the Charlotte Region,” CLT Alliance Chief Business Recruitment Officer Danny Chavez said. “As we look to the future, fintech is a high-growth industry for us to strengthen and build upon. Our region has the ability to source next generation talent, and that will be core to our future as a leader in the global innovation economy.”
To take part in this important conversation, join us at LendingTree headquarters on Sept. 29.
