MPOWER Labs has built a team of both experts and entrepreneurs whose innovation, leadership, and passion fuel the rapid acceleration of both portfolio companies and new product ideas. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, we have operations around the globe, including offices in Mexico City, Mexico and Dublin, Ireland.

Global Leadership Team

Roy Sosa
Founder & Chairman, MPOWER Ventures; Founder & CEO, MPOWER Labs

As Founder and Chairman of MPOWER Ventures and Founder and CEO of MPOWER Labs, Mr. Sosa is the visionary and primary force behind the companies' mission of empowerment. Mr. Sosa's philosophy of venture investment, which is centered on the end consumer, fueled by the entrepreneur, and supported by partnerships, forms the foundation for both companies' approach to social capitalism.

Mr. Sosa began providing financial services to the underserved in 1999 when he and his brother founded NetSpend Corporation. NetSpend was the first prepaid card processor to specifically target the unbanked and today the company serves more than 2 million customers. NetSpend's success has been recognized by multiple awards, including the 2004 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the 2003 NASBIC Portfolio Company of the Year Award.

Mr. Sosa's unique entrepreneurial style is rooted in his diverse areas of expertise, including technology, strategy, design, finance and economics, and media. In addition to his tenure in the private sector, Mr. Sosa also served with distinction in the United States Marine Corps where he received numerous meritorious citations and promotions, including the Navy-Marine Corps Achievement and National Defense Service medals.

Bertrand Sosa
Founder & Partner, MPOWER Ventures; Founder & President, MPOWER Labs

As Founder and Partner of MPOWER Ventures and Founder and President of MPOWER Labs, Inc., Mr. Sosa shares the passion, vision and day to day responsibilities of carrying out a mission of empowering the world's underserved. In his role as President of MPOWER Labs, Mr. Sosa is responsible for the planning, development, and execution of the organization's business strategies, including global management of product development, advertising and marketing initiatives.

Prior to founding MPOWER Ventures and MPOWER Labs, Mr. Sosa co-founded NetSpend Corporation ­ one of the world's largest marketers and processors of prepaid debit cards for the underserved. As Vice President of Brand Development of NetSpend Corporation, Mr. Sosa was responsible for all consumer and corporate positioning of products and services, providing keen insight on the markets served, and leading the planning and execution of corporate communications strategies for the company. In 2004, in recognition of NetSpend's success, Mr. Sosa was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Mr. Sosa is passionate about consumer branding, marketing, and entrepreneurship. He is also an active supporter of community organizations and non-profit programs nationwide.

Daniel Resendiz
CEO, MPOWER Labs Mexico

As CEO of MPOWER Labs Mexico, Mr. Resendiz leads MPOWER Labs’ Mexico City regional office. He is responsible for supporting the incubation and growth of Mexico-based portfolio companies through services, including technology, business development, strategy, and administration.

Prior to joining the MPOWER team, Mr. Resendiz was a Partner for McKinsey & Company, Inc. where he was an expert in international finance and worked with financial institutions in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Poland, Czech Republic, Korea, and Singapore. In Mexico, Mr. Resendiz played a key advisory role in several national initiatives of critical importance, including the privatization of the Mexican banking system in 1992; the industry-wide rescue program after the Mexican macroeconomic crisis of 1995; and the successful turnaround of large troubled banks in Argentina and Mexico in the 1990s. In 2002, Mr. Resendiz founded Axan, a boutique consulting firm focusing on investment banking advice. In his role as strategic advisor and consultant at Axan, Mr. Resendiz led many initiatives that contributed to the long-term reshaping of the banking system in Mexico.

Mr. Resendiz completed his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and his Ph.D. in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. With a long and successful history of innovation in the financial sector, he is passionate about the development and delivery of tools that empower the world's underserved.

Suzi Sosa
Chief of Staff, MPOWER Labs

As Chief of Staff of MPOWER Labs, Ms. Sosa is responsible for special projects and policy development for the MPOWER Group. She acts as one of the primary advisors to the CEO and is involved in a number of strategic initiatives, including creation and deployment of the group's social impact measures and global advocacy for expanding financial access to the underserved. She leads the group's key policy partnerships, including those with the Clinton Global Initiative and the World Economic Forum.

Prior to joining MPOWER Labs, Ms. Sosa served in the U.S. Department of Commerce as an economic development specialist, identifying multi-million-dollar investments to foster economic growth. She has also served in the governments of Lebanon and Bermuda as a special advisor to the Prime Minister and Premier.

Ms. Sosa's areas of expertise include: alternative financial services, legal institutions and economic growth, organizational development, social entrepreneurship, and the non-profit sector. She has a Masters in Public Administration in International Development from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and a B.A. in Plan II Honors from the University of Texas at Austin.

Arif Ahmed
Senior Vice President, Technology

As Senior Vice President of Technology of MPOWER Labs, Inc., Dr. Ahmed is responsible for leading strategy, planning, and development of innovative technologies for all of MPOWER Ventures’ portfolio companies, services, and products.

Prior to joining MPOWER Labs, Dr. Ahmed was Executive Vice President and Group Head of Strategic Initiatives & eCommerce at United Bank, one of the largest banks in Pakistan with over 1,000 branches throughout Pakistan and the Middle East. At United Bank, he worked closely with regulators to introduce several groundbreaking financial services products in the region, and he established Pakistan’s leading online banking, online remittances, direct marketing, and mobile banking businesses. Previously, Dr. Ahmed served in various senior strategic marketing, engineering, and business development capacities playing an integral role in the launch of first-to-market telecom and networking innovations for leading companies including Motorola, Inc. (now Freescale Semiconductor), 3Com Corporation, USRobotics, and Sharp Electronics Corporation.

Dr. Ahmed holds a Bachelor of Science and a Ph.D in electrical engineering from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Carlos Barragan
Senior Vice President, Data Strategy

As Senior Vice President of Data Strategy of MPOWER Labs, Inc., Mr. Barragan is responsible for the design of MPOWER Labs' data collection, processing, integration, and mining infrastructure, as well as the implementation of the analytical models and business processes necessary to support the company's customer relationship management (CRM), risk management, and fraud prevention strategies. Mr. Barragan's main area of technical expertise is the formulation and implementation of risk models, particularly for the financial services industry. Mr. Barragan has an extensive understanding of customer-centric data models, business intelligence, and artificial intelligence applications related to customer behavior analysis.

Prior to joining MPOWER Labs, Mr. Barragan was the Founding Partner and CEO of Hermes Systems, a software development company providing application development outsourcing, and more recently, Customer Centric, a technology company focused on CRM and analytics and pattern detection for customer information and transactions. From 2000 to 2001, Mr. Barragan was Artificial Intelligence Director of TrueCentric, a technology company focusing on personalized content delivery and a distributed agents platform. Before that he was Information Technology Coordinator for Alcance Corporation, a business and IT consulting firm, and New Technology Subdirector for SPS Consulting Group.

Mr. Barragan holds a joint MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas atAustin and el Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). He also earned a Master of Engineering in Computer Science from Cornell University and an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from ITESM.

Andrés Peña
Vice President, Finance and Operations

As Vice President of Finance and Operations of MPOWER Labs, Inc., Andrés Peña is responsible for the financial and administrative management of MPOWER Labs’ and MPOWER Ventures’ portfolio companies. He also oversees program implementation and enables MPOWER Ventures’ portfolio companies to execute their business plans through strategic support and financial modeling.

Mr. Peña comes to MPOWER Labs with over eight years of experience in financial services. Most recently, he was International Business Development Manager at NetSpend Corporation, where he led the implementation of strategic programs with top-tier partners. Before joining NetSpend, Mr. Peña was an Assistant Director at the International Treasury of Banco Santander Serfin in Mexico City, where he performed thorough financial and risk analysis in order to guarantee compliance with applicable regulations.

Mr. Peña holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.A. in Economics from el Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. He is convinced that technology, innovation, and market knowledge can promote a more equal income distribution worldwide.

Diane McCartney
Vice President, Compliance

As Vice President of Compliance of MPOWER Labs, Inc., Diane McCartney is responsible for leading MPOWER Labs’ regulatory compliance team. She and her team work closely with the technical staff at MPOWER Labs and also with the entrepreneurs and executives of MPOWER Ventures’ portfolio companies to ensure that all programs and products are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Prior to joining MPOWER Labs, Ms. McCartney was Vice President of Compliance for ACE Cash Express, the largest check-cashing chain in the U.S. Ms. McCartney previously worked for the law firm of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP as a Financial Institutions Regulatory Compliance Consultant. She has held vice president positions in compliance and in commercial lending at both state and national banks. Ms. McCartney’s experience includes time as an entrepreneur having started and grown her own bank regulatory compliance consulting firm which she later sold.

Ms. McCartney believes strongly in giving back to the community and has held leadership positions in organizations such as Dallas Social Venture Partners, the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Galaxy Counseling Center, the YWCA of Metropolitan Dallas, the Southern Dallas Development Corporation, and the Garland Girls Slow-pitch Softball Association. She has also held leadership roles in numerous professional associations, such as the National Association of Women Business Owners, Financial Women International, the Women’s Franchise and Distribution Forum, and the Federal Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group, Privacy/Security Subcommittee. Ms. McCartney served on the faculty of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking and Western States School of Banking and holds an MBA in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Individual and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University.