Michael Rodriguez

A seasoned leader with over 25 years of experience, he transforms business strategy and insights into sustainable commercial success, driving value, and revenue growth for companies of all sizes—startups to global Fortune 100.

Michael has deep financial services, payments, fintech, healthcare, professional services, and consulting industry experience.  He has lived and worked all across the globe managing and consulting for organizations across B2B and consumer channels.  His passion for outside-of-the-box thinking and fostering agile cultures has contributed to his success as both a manager and entrepreneur.

Prior to Yellowshark, he worked with InAuth, a digital device & identity start-up as the COO where he led the development and  buildout of a global customer success & support organization from concept to its ultimate acquisition by American Express in 2016.  Michael was responsible for successfully building out a team responsible for Implementing and managing InAuth’s impressive client list, including;  Bank of America, Capital One, JP Morgan Chase, First Data, Accertify, Merrill Lynch, Uber, Expedia, and over 100 top e-commerce retailers in the US alone.  Post the American Express acquisition, Michael led the accelerated global expansion and buildout of the company into the EMEA, JAPA, and LATAM regions.  Once his two-year contract had completed, American Express hired his consulting company to support further efforts of the acquisition including the roll-up and merger of InAuth within their Accertify business, hence becoming the first new customer of Yellowshark.

Michael spent a number of years as the managing partner & owner of Impact Associates in Los Angeles. During this time building and managing the firm, Michael worked on various strategic projects in the payments, financial services, and risk management space.  He spent over 8 years working with Visa leading numerous C-Level strategic initiatives in areas including digital banking, e-commerce, affluent product strategy, global support & operations, debit processing, and global cardholder benefits.  He also managed several key new product development and product launches for companies such as Wells Fargo, City National Bank, and Verify.

Early in his career, Michael was a founding member of several additional private equity-backed startups that eventually went public or were sold, including one where he sold an alternative medical business to a venture-backed firm named Klinger Advanced Aesthetics in Palm Beach, Florida. Subsequently, he went on to become the SVP, Business Development & Medical Director for that organization where he led development of a proprietary hardware and software system for the aesthetic medical market; the launch of an (OTC) clinically tested line of cosmeceuticals with Johns Hopkins, LVMH, and Sephora; and the opening and subsequent general management of more than a dozen national health centers in partnership with Johns Hopkins and UT Southwestern Medical Center.

A graduate of Southern Methodist University and the esteemed General Electric Management Development Program, Michael actively seeks and participates in on-going learning opportunities to stay current with leading technology and general business trends that can be incorporated into his practice for the benefit of Yellowshark employees and clients alike.

Michael is a native New Yorker and currently splits his time between homes in Los Angeles & Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. In his free time you’ll find him in the water or on the water – sailing, diving, jet-skiing, or in the mountains hiking, snowmobiling, or seeking out fresh powder tracks.  His general rule of thumb is plan your next adventure before the one you are on is over. Keep the motivation alive to feed the dream!