Our executive team

Chief Executive Officer

Simon is Marqeta’s Chief Executive Officer, leading the company’s strategic direction, development and delivery of the company’s products. Simon is a veteran product leader, entrepreneur and investor with over 25 years of experience in B2C and B2B companies. He’s passionate about building, scaling and distributing products that have the power to delight hundreds of millions of consumers, businesses and developers. 

Simon has a keen ability to work with diverse teams of all sizes, from small startups to large, multi-thousand-person global teams. He is a team builder and player who is always focused on attracting, mentoring and learning from top talent. Simon invests in the growth and success of his team members and colleagues. 

Prior to Marqeta, Simon played a key role in helping to build four different companies from scratch, including Flurry, Inc, which was acquired by Yahoo, where he was the CEO. He’s also held a number of leadership roles at Twilio, Yahoo, Novell, and Worldtalk. Simon graduated from Syracuse University with a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and also has a Bachelor of Engineering degree with a major in Electrical Engineering from the American University of Beirut.

Senior Advisor – General Atlantic LLC

Mr. Linville has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2020. Since October 2019, Mr. Linville has served as a Senior Advisor at General Atlantic LLC, a global growth equity firm. He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Global Cards and Consumer Services at Citigroup Inc., a publicly traded global financial services institution, from November 2010 to September 2018. Mr. Linville currently serves as a member of the Board of Visitors of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Lafayette College. Mr. Linville holds a Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology from the College of Medicine at Drexel University and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Lafayette College.

Founder and Executive Chairman

Jason Gardner is the founder and Executive Chairman of Marqeta, Inc. He was Marqeta’s founding CEO from 2010 to 2023, leading the company through its IPO on the NASDAQ (Ticker: MQ) in June 2021 before transitioning into the Executive Chairman role in January 2023. In his role as Executive Chairman, Jason provides leadership and direction to Marqeta’s Board of Directors, serves as a liaison between management and the board and as a strategic advisor to the CEO, contributes to product strategy, and acts as a culture carrier and ambassador for Marqeta.

Jason pioneered Modern Card Issuing, and in 13 years as CEO, helped establish Marqeta as the global standard for open platform issuing and processing, empowering some of the world’s most innovative companies to bring game-changing payment card products into the world. In 2020, Jason was named an E&Y Entrepreneur Of The Year and one of the Most Admired CEOs by the San Francisco Business Times. Regularly quoted in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, and Bloomberg and interviewed on CNBC, CNN, and MSNBC, Jason is considered an expert on global electronic payment systems, the fintech ecosystem and entrepreneurship.

Marqeta is Jason’s third company. He co-founded PropertyBridge, which was acquired by MoneyGram International (MGI) in 2007. Before PropertyBridge, he founded Vertical Think, an IT management company that worked with start-ups and larger organizations. Jason grew up in New Jersey, where he had numerous businesses that included making and selling tie-dyed T-shirts. After a stint with Senator John McCain’s office while a college student, Jason made it to California, where he began to pursue his passion for technology. Jason earned a Political Science degree from Arizona State University.

Executive Vice President and Special Advisor People & Culture - Hasbro, Inc.

Ms. Atkinson has served as a member of our board of directors since April 2023. Ms. Atkinson has served as Executive Vice President and Special Advisor People & Culture of Hasbro, Inc., a publicly traded play and entertainment company, since April 2024 and previously served as Hasbro’s Chief People Officer from May 2022 to April 2024 and Executive Vice President of Human Resources from October 2021 to May 2022. From September 2019 to October 2021, Ms. Atkinson served as Senior Vice President of Global HR Services for Dell Technologies, Inc., a publicly traded information technology company. Prior to that, she served in various positions of responsibility at Dell Technologies in the Human Resources, Customer Experience, and Strategy functions since 1999. Ms. Atkinson holds a bachelor’s degree from Fisk University in Political Science and a master’s degree in Organizational Management from Trevecca Nazarene University.

President – Banyan

Mr. Chokshi has served as President of Rotomaire, Inc., dba Banyan since January 2024. Mr. Chokshi previously served as Global Head of Business Development and Strategy for Personal Banking and Wealth at Citigroup Inc. from August 2018 to December 2023. Mr. Chokshi has also served as a Senior Advisor at Long Ridge Equity Partners and Zenon since January 2024. Prior to Citigroup, he served as Head of National Accounts at Visa, a publicly traded financial technology company, from 2015 to 2018. Prior to joining Visa, Mr. Chokshi served in various leadership roles at American Express Company, a publicly traded multinational financial services corporation, from 2001 to 2015. Mr. Chokshi holds an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in Economics, both from the University of Pennsylvania.