Sima J. Gandhi is a seasoned tech executive and serial entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience launching disruptive products and building category-defining companies. Sima is one of the few executives with experience building businesses within heavily regulated industries like financial services and healthcare.

She is currently the President and founder of Alton Strategies, a boutique policy and business advisory firm that advises companies on regulatory, policy, go-to-market, and m&a strategies. She is also the co-founder, along with FS Vector, of the Coalition for Financial Ecosystem Standards (CFES).

Most recently, she was co-founder and CEO of Creative Juice, a Forbes top 50 fintech company and Fast Company Most Innovative Company. Creative Juice was acquired in 2023.

Previously, Sima ran global bank partnerships, policy, and strategy at Plaid — one of the leading fintechs in the last decade. She helped architect Open Banking regulation, and led Plaid’s sale to Visa. (The DOJ later challenged the acquisition).

Earlier in her career, Sima held senior leadership roles at American Express where she launched Bluebird with Walmart (one of the industry’s first neobanks), drove Amex’s financial inclusion approach, and led strategy for new lending products. Prior to Amex, she oversaw the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and managed White House/regulatory relationships at the US Treasury Department. She started her career as a corporate tax attorney at Simpson Thacher.

Sima holds a JD and LLM in tax law from New York University. She graduated from Stanford University with a BS in engineering and a BA with honors in Science, Tech, and Society. Sima lives in Washington D.C. with her husband and son.

Contact: sima@altonstrategies.com