Leadership
A Leadership Team that Lives & Breathes Our Core Values
Meet the Lineup
John Lie-Nielsen
Chief Executive Officer (Co-Founder)
Mr. Lie-Nielsen has been CEO of FST since its inception. A serial entrepreneur with experience in technology, financial services, and marketing he has scaled multiple start up’s to successful outcomes. Beginning his career in investment banking at Montgomery Securities (now Banc of America Securities), he left banking to start his first business at the age of 25. He is currently serving on the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital board, among several other charitable organizations. Mr. Lie-Nielsen is a graduate of Tulane University.
Ben McCrery
Chief Credit Officer (Co-Founder)
Mr. McCrery is CCO and Co-Founder of FST. He began his career at Citibank helping launch their small business credit card. Next, he moved to Providian Financial, specializing in direct marketing and analytics. In 2005, he left Providian as Senior Vice President of Analytics and joined Mr. Lie-Nielsen at a consumer lender, leading diverse functions including marketing, credit and underwriting, BI and information technology. He later partnered with Mr. Lie-Nielsen in two consumer finance businesses and a digital acquisition business prior to FST. Mr. McCrery is a graduate of Emory University.
John Powley
Chief Technical Officer
Mr. Powley has been a part of the FST since 2020. Mr. Powley spend much of his early career working for GE Intelligent Platforms, eventually becoming Chief Architect – Platform Technologies. In 2012 he moved to an online consumer lending business named Elevate. In that role he had extensive experience and responsibilities for enterprise architecture, customer acquisition, platform services development and application development, among other things. Mr. Powley is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire.
Marcus Holland
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Holland has been CFO of FST since its inception. Mr. Holland began his career in public accounting at Coopers and Lybrand. He eventually came to work at FDIC insured FNBT.COM Bank. He spent 15 years there eventually becoming Executive Vice President and CFO. Mr. Holland then joined Mr. Lie-Nielsen and Mr. McCrery in 2012 as CFO and has been in that function for several companies. Mr. Holland is a graduate of Troy University.
Jose Miguel Vera
Vice President of Acquisition Marketing
Mr. Vera has been a part of the FST since 2018. Mr. Vera began his career running digital acquisitions at agency Optimum7, finishing his time there as Director of Marketing. Moving from the agency to the client side, Mr. Vera joined Dental Plans as a Senior SEM Manager, and his channels comprised over 80% of the marketing budget. During his time there, the private equity backed company grew 2.5x and was sold to Internet Brands. At FST Mr. Vera oversees all aspects of the Company’s marketing and branding efforts.
Jaime Vega
Vice President of Credit Operations
Mr. Vega has been a part of the FST team since its inception. Mr. Vega, a veteran of US Navy, has a strong background in operations. After the Navy, he began his career in the education space. In 2013 he joined Mr. Lie-Nielsen and Mr. McCrery in a consumer finance business as an operation’s executive before transferring to FST. At FST he is responsible for execution of final underwriting and portfolio management. Mr. Vega is a graduate of the University of Phoenix.
Chad Mercer
Vice President of Sales & Operations
Mr. Mercer has been a part of the FST team since its inception. Mr. Mercer began his career in consumer finance leading high performing sales teams’. Joining with Mr. Lie-Nielsen and Mr. McCrery in 2013 he originally joined in an operations role but over time that role grew to include new business sales and operations. With experience in consumer finance, education, and construction in his background, his broad background brings a strong skill set to FST.
Andres Gutierrez
Vice President of Merchant Success
Mr. Gutierrez has been a part of the FST team since 2017. Mr. Gutierrez began his career working for large multinationals in consulting roles either identifying areas for more efficiency or optimizing sales. Using these talents, he helped found an international consulting firm focused on training and optimization of sales teams. Relocating to the United States he was a General Manager overseeing 8 retail locations for MetroPCS before joining FST. At FST his responsibilities include the satisfaction of our existing business clients through multiple teams. Mr. Gutierrez is a graduate of the Catholic University in Venezuela (Andres Bello).
Jonathan Snead
Vice President of Underwriting
Mr. Snead has been a part of the FST team since 2018. Mr. Snead’s career has been in underwriting and credit after receiving an undergraduate degree in accounting. Mr. Snead began his career as an underwriter at Merchants Capital Access in 2013. The firm was later acquired by a private equity firm and merged into Reliant Funding. At FST Mr. Snead works closely with the credit and analytics team to understand trends and adjust accordingly. Mr. Snead is a graduate of the Christopher Newport University.
Justin Cruz-Phillips
Director of Risk & Compliance
Mr. Cruz-Phillips has been a part of the FST team since 2021. He began his compliance career at Bankrate as a Compliance Specialist. Most recently he spent nearly 4 years at LendingTree, where he was one of their initial compliance hires and helped to build many of their processes and systems as a Senior Compliance Manager. At FST he is responsible for compliance and testing of compliance. Mr. Cruz-Phillips is a graduate of Florida International University.
Raymond Garcia
Director of Credit & Analytics
Mr. Garcia has been a part of the FST team since 2018. Studying business and mathematics in college, Mr. Garcia was attracted to the financial services industry. Prior to FST Mr. Garcia worked for a hedge fund doing quantitative research on publicly traded companies. At FST, Mr. Garcia works closely with Mr. McCrery on data, credit and analytics. Mr. Garcia is a graduate of Babson College.
Bonny Orozco
Senior Financial Controller
Mrs. Orozco has been a part of the FST team since 2017. Her experience began in public accounting, eventually rising to a Senior Audit Manager position. Subsequently she spent nearly 6 years working as an Accounting Manager at the Nicklaus Children’s Health System. Mrs. Orozco works closely with Mr. Holland on financial reporting, borrowing base administration, and treasury management services. Mrs. Orozco is a graduate of the University of Miami.
Carlos Novas
Director of IT Infrastructure
Mr. Novas has been a part of the FST team since its inception. He has spent his entire career in IT systems with a specialty in telephony and scalable infrastructure. Mr. Novas is a graduate of the Universidad APEC with advance degrees in information systems and technology from Nova Southeastern University.
Luther Joseph
Director of Digital Marketing
Mr. Joseph has been a part of the FST team since 2018. Mr. Joseph began his career running digital acquisitions campaigns for an agency named Optimum 7, finishing his time there as a Senior Marketing Strategist. Joining the FST team in 2018, he is responsible for all digital marketing as well as more traditional media.
