Meet the 13 power players of fintech unicorn Brex as it tries to unseat traditional banks and credit card companies in 2020

Brex; Roli Saxena; Ruobing Su/Business Insider

Michael Tannenbaum, Larissa Rocha, and Roli Saxena are executives at financial services startup Brex.

• Fintech unicorn Brex is one of the most interesting companies in Silicon Valley.
• We identified the 13 employees that Brex assembled to help the financial services startup take on traditional financial institutions in 2020.
• The power players include employees who helped launch its bank account product, Brex Cash, and people working with existing customers and recruiting new ones for the flagship corporate credit card product.
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Brex, simply put, is a startup for startups.

A venture-backed company can have millions in the bank and not get approved for a credit card. That's because the traditional financial institutions want to see a credit history, which few new companies have, before issuing that precious piece of plastic. Brex solved for the problem by giving corporate credit cards to startups based on their available cash balance - including money raised through venture funding - and using data to predict a startup's future ability to pay.

In the last year, Brex grew beyond its roots as a "black card for startups" to include a bank account product that gives customers the ability to send payments, new credit cards with rewards tailored for e-commerce and healthcare businesses, a members-only lounge, and a restaurant.

Each new product brings Brex closer to the financial services leaders it wants to unseat. Henrique Dubugras, the company's 24-year-old cofounder and chief executive, told Business Insider that in the long run, the goal is not to become a bank - but to create an collection of products for saving and spending money, in the same way that Apple owns computing through its product suite.

With a private market valuation of $2.6 billion, Brex has plans to double its staff to 800 employees this year, adding to a powerhouse team of financial services veterans and tech giant alumni.

This list of top employees is focused on staff who are helping the company take on legacy finance institutions, as opposed to the technical talent at the startup. They include the people tasked with raising funding, rolling out new products, keeping customers happy, and signing on rewards partners, as well as the people responsible for plastering San Francisco with Brex advertisements.

Meet the 13 power players of Brex: