CEO of the Year 2023 Finalist: Vinay Nair

Colorado is full of devoted entrepreneurs, business leaders and tech-savvy visionaries who are constantly taking the business world to new heights. It’s no secret that here, at ColoradoBiz, we love the Colorado business community. That’s why, every year, we spotlight the most impressive CEOs throughout our Centennial state and give credit where credit is due — to the forward-thinking minds constantly chasing the next great idea and upholding their business practices to the most purposeful ideals. We’re proud to introduce our finalists for CoBiz’s prestigious 2022 CEO of the Year award.

Vinay Nair

Founder & CEO

TIFIN

Boulder, Colorado

Website: tifin.com

Vinay Nair is a serial entrepreneur, academic and author whose latest venture, TIFIN, is harnessing data, AI and other technologies to improve wealth management practices and outcomes.  

The Boulder-based platform — TIFIN stands for “Technology In Finance” — started as a fintech incubator in 2018 and became an operating business in 2020. TIFIN consists of four divisions, each with a specific focus: Magnifi, an advanced investment search and discovery marketplace for intermediaries and retail brokerages to democratize investment intelligence; TIFIN Wealth, which uses AI to transform client personalization and intelligence for wealth intermediaries such as financial advisers, workplaces, neo-banks and other consumer fintechs; TIFIN AMP, which combines marketing, data science and sales capabilities to drive more intelligent distribution; and TIFIN.AI, which the company describes as a ”thematic innovation platform designed to launch companies that provide B2B AI assistants for better wealth outcomes.” 

READ: AI in Mobile App Development — Top 8 Tools and Strategies

Previously Nair founded and led 55ip, another fintech company used by financial advisers to improve their efficiency and effectiveness, which was acquired by JPMorgan Chase.  

Nair holds a Ph.D. in financial economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University, where he was awarded best thesis. He began his career as a faculty member at The Wharton School. After launching and managing a quantitative hedge fund that led him to start 55ip in 2016, he launched TIFIN to tap into the potential of science and technology to deliver better investor experiences and results. 

With 245 employees, TIFIN has attracted ample investor interest, most recently a Series C round valued at $447 million that included support from existing investors J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Morningstar and Broadridge, while adding investment management firm Hamilton Lane to its pool of investors. 

Mike Taylor is the editor of ColoradoBiz.