TRAILBLAZER
By 2007 , her talents saw her recognised again and Junqueira was selected for the One-Year Accelerated Programme at the Kellogg School of Management in the US .
The course proved fruitful for Junqueira and 12 months later she returned to Brazil to be hired by the president of Unibanco , then the largest private banking group in the country , to head up the SME credit sector with a team of 20 executives .
In 2009 , Unibanco merged with Brazil ’ s second-largest private bank , Itaú , to create a financial giant , And by 2012 , she had risen to the position of portfolio manager for the Itaúcard .
However , by now , Junqueira had her own opinions about how banks should be operating and what was needed in the marketplace . A keen advocate of customer servicing – and concerned about the way incumbents were often dismissive of financial inclusion issues , she did the unthinkable and resigned from her stellar position .
The crunch came when she became disillusioned following her proposals for commission-free credit cards and direct communication for clients were ignored .
Junqueira meets NuBank co-founder Thankfully , she was not alone in her opinions , and while considering her next move , Junqueira met David Vélez , who was then working for the venture capital giant Sequoia Capital .
Vélez was also fed up with the banking culture in Brazil , which he saw as an incompetent and over-charging system . It was at this point that the concept for a new type of banking entity began to form .
She and Vélez then partnered with a third co-founder Edward Wible – and the fundraising for their new venture began .
It was a time of huge transition for Junqueira , who at the time was heavily pregnant with her first child . By the time her daughter Alice was born , the pressure had ramped up as the Series A round drew
Net worth
US $ 1.1BN