Digital bank Nubank (NYSE: NU) has recently undergone significant changes in its executive leadership team while reporting mixed financial results for the first quarter of 2025.
The Sao Paulo-based fintech firm, known for revolutionizing banking in Brazil and expanding into Mexico and Colombia, announced the departure of its Chief Operating Officer (COO), Youssef Lahrech, after over five years with the company.
Concurrently, Nubank’s first-quarter earnings revealed a 37% increase in adjusted net profit, though it fell slightly short of analyst expectations, signaling both growth and challenges in a competitive market.
Youssef Lahrech, a key figure in scaling Nubank’s credit operations, stepped down as president and COO, as announced on May 20, 2025.
Lahrech, who joined the company in 2020 after nearly two decades at Capital One, played a pivotal role in developing Nubank’s high-growth credit portfolio.
His departure, which surprised some given his participation in the company’s earnings call just a week prior, marks the fourth executive exit at Nubank in 2025, following the departures of Chief Product Officer Jag Duggal, Investor Relations Officer Jorg Friedemann, and Chief Legal Officer Elita Ariaz.
Despite stepping down, Lahrech will remain engaged with Nubank as a permanent observer on the board’s audit and risk committee and as an advisor on credit strategy.
CEO David Vélez, the company’s billionaire founder, will absorb Lahrech’s operational responsibilities, signaling a return to hands-on leadership to steer Nubank through its next phase of growth.
The leadership transition comes at a time when Nubank is navigating a complex financial / economic environment.
On May 13, 2025, the company reported a 37% year-over-year increase in adjusted net profit for the first quarter, driven by robust revenue growth.
Nubank posted revenues of $3.2 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $3.1 billion, fueled by its expanding customer base, which now exceeds 100 million across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.
Brazil remains the cornerstone of its operations, with 60% of adults as clients, while Mexico has seen rapid adoption with 10 million users.
However, the profit growth was tempered by higher spending on customer acquisition and provisions for potential loan defaults, which led to a slight miss on adjusted net profit compared to analyst forecasts.
This prompted a 4.5% drop in Nu Holdings’ stock price in after-hours trading, reflecting investor concerns about rising costs in a high-interest-rate environment.
Nubank’s strategic moves in 2025 also include organizational streamlining to enhance agility.
CEO David Vélez has overseen a restructuring that halved the company’s management layers from 14 to seven, aiming to accelerate product rollouts.
This overhaul, which avoided layoffs, has reduced the time to launch new products from 10 months to significantly faster cycles.
The appointment of former Brazilian Central Bank President Roberto Campos Neto as vice chairman, effective July 1, 2025, further underscores Nubank’s focus on strengthening its leadership to tackle a tougher economic environment marked by higher interest rates and potential credit risks.
Despite the profit miss and executive turnover, Nubank remains a formidable player in the fintech space.
Analysts, including those at JPMorgan, view the recent market downturn as a buying opportunity, upgrading Nubank’s stock rating.
They project significant earnings growth over the next three years, driven by Nubank’s competitive cost advantages and untapped market potential in Latin America.
However, challenges remain, as the company faces a predicted slowdown in personal loans and increased complexity in managing its credit portfolio.
As Nubank continues to expand its product offerings—spanning spending, saving, investing, borrowing, and insurance—it must balance business growth with conserving financial resources.
The leadership transition and recent earnings underscore both the significant opportunities as well as challenges ahead for Nubank as it seeks to maintain its role as a customer-focused Fintech in a fast-evolving digital economy.