Scott Bakelman is a Marine veteran with multiple combat tours to Afghanistan and Iraq. Through his nine years of active service, he worked within the intelligence services space focusing on international terrorist organizations and contributing to combating terrorist financing. His transition to the private sector occurred in 2009.

Since then, Bakelman has continued to support the global war on terrorism by working with various government contracting companies. This work brought him back to Afghanistan and Iraq, where he directly supported the general staff of five separate divisions of the U.S. Army. In these roles, Bakelman served as a subject-matter expert and a mentor to hundreds of soldiers, individual augments and civilian contractors.

In 2014, Bakelman moved into the realm of anti-financial crime. Since then, he has worked with MoneyGram, Capital One and Texas Capital Bank, and is now leading Oportun’s financial intelligence unit (FIU). While leading Oportun’s FIU, Bakelman has pledged to empower, improve and invest in the team through innovation, care and service.

Bakelman has adopted a “servant leadership” approach, where leadership by example and support is paramount. Bakelman is also a lifelong learner; he is currently completing coursework in preparation for his Ph.D. program. In addition, he has earned two master’s degrees—one in business administration and one in Christian ministries.