Chris Keaveney is a mission-driven CEO, financial services expert and recovering economist who is passionate about the intersection of education, human capital, and finance. He is the CEO and founder of Meritize, an education finance company that unlocks career opportunities by expanding educational access, awareness and advancement. Since 2016, Chris and the Meritize team have been pioneering a new way to pay for education and training by creating an alternative to the credit score using data and risk modeling. The company’s unique, three-sided marketplace serves more than 30,000 students and trainees participating in 5,000 in-demand training programs covering industries such as manufacturing, transportation, health care and technology.

He brings more than 25+ years of financial services industry knowledge, covering student lending and credit, risk analysis, portfolio analytics, forecasting, and business intelligence. Prior to founding Meritize, Chris held senior roles with SoFi and other major financial institutions, including time as one of the top credit and risk analysts with Chase Bank’s student loans division in the lead up to the 2008-2009 Great Recession. A sought-after expert and speaker on education finance, Chris has published commentary on trends in education finance, student loans, and workforce development, published or quoted in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Newsday, CNBC, RealClearEducation, HR Dive, Inside Higher Ed, and Chief Learning Officer Magazine.