Parker Group Inc., a financial technology startup that became visible to the public last year, has appointed Matthew Kopko as its chief legal officer. Prior to this, Kopko spent a year working as a senior vice president of legal and compliance as well as the head of proxy services for Strive Asset Management, an investment firm co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, a current Republican presidential candidate, entrepreneur, and Yale Law School graduate. Source 1 Source 2
In response to inquiries about Kopko’s hiring, neither Parker, which specializes in providing corporate credit cards to e-commerce businesses, nor Kopko himself offered any comment. However, Kopko did confirm his new role in a LinkedIn post earlier this month. A representative from Strive thanked Kopko for his contributions and wished him success in his new role at Parker.
Parker, which is headquartered in New York, revealed its formation in March 2023 and has since acquired $157 million in financing, of which over $31 million came from a Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures LLC, a venture capital firm supported by billionaire Peter Thiel. Source 3
Before joining Parker, Kopko spent three years as the VP for public policy at DailyPay Inc., an early wage access startup. From there, he transitioned into an advisory role last year. Kopko gained prior experience in the legal field as an associate at law firms Cooley, Foley Hoag, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. He also worked as a counselor and special advisor to the head of the U.S. Department of Transportation and as the director of public policy for Bird Global Inc., an electric scooter company that recently filed for bankruptcy. Source 4 Source 5
Prior to joining Strive, Kopko was noted for his experience as an attorney, regulator, and executive at venture-backed technology companies, as detailed in an archived biography on the company’s website. Source 6 At present, Ramaswamy no longer serves in an active capacity at Strive, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, and recently announced that it managed over $1 billion in assets. Source 7
Strive initially marketed itself as an alternative to the investment giant BlackRock Inc., but shifted its focus last year. Strive appointed Alexandra Gaiser as its general counsel in October after parting ways with its former chief legal officer, Rachel Paulose, in the midst of two lawsuits concerning its business practices. Source 8 Source 9