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Earlier this year, when the FDIC approved fintech start-up Varo Money\u2019s application to become a national bank, Thibault Fulconis\u2019s latest CFO career chapter suddenly appeared to make perfect sense. \xa0\xa0

Still, it was only two years ago that Fulconis\u2019s entry into the land of fintech start-ups no doubt raised a few eyebrows among his former colleagues at BancWest Corp., where he most recently served as vice chairman and COO.

\u201cI was coming from a position where I had about 3,000 direct reports when I was COO to an entity where I had three people reporting to me,\u201d says Fulconis, whose banking resume, rich with senior leadership roles, spans nearly 30 years with roots inside BancWest\u2019s parent company, BNP Paribas.\xa0

While certainly not the first banker to find a door-of-entry into the realm of fintech start-ups, Fulconis, in light of the FDIC\u2019s recent approval, became the first CFO of a fintech start-up that is able to hold customer deposits\u2014much the same as in the world he left behind.

Until recently, fintech firms have partnered with community banks to actually hold customers\u2019 money, while start-ups like Varo have traditionally handled only the consumer interface and mobile app technology portion.

Who better than a seasoned banking leader to help architect a finance function capable of responding to the breadth of consumer activities on a national scale? \u201cWhen I arrived at Varo, we were at version 76 of our financial model. Now, a year and a half later, we are at version 180,\u201d says Fulconis, who routinely expresses his fondness for Varo\u2019s nimbleness.\xa0\u2013Jack Sweeney