Richard W. Vague, the former chairman and chief executive officer at Bank One Corp.'s First USA credit card division, and James Stewart, the former chief executive officer and president of WingspanBank.com, will today finally take the wraps off the Internet banking venture they have been developing for the past several months.
The new company, Juniper Financial, is planning to offer a more "personalized" approach to online banking. Mr. Vague and Mr. Stewart have already attracted an impressive group of executives, many from First USA. Key hires include Clint Walker, the former general counsel at First USA and Citicorp Financial; Ben Brake, the former marketing executive vice president at First USA; Regina Wallace, a former senior vice president and division manager at Wells Fargo Corp.; and Mike Cortese, a former senior vice president at MBNA Corp.
It was widely expected in industry circles that Mr. Vague's new enterprise would focus on online banking in some shape. During the early stages of the company's development, when the company was little more than an office and a Web site, industry sources said Mr. Vague approached his former employer with a proposal to buy WingspanBank.com, Bank One's online banking venture.
Juniper, which is based in Wilmington, Del., near First USA's headquarters, is holding close the details about the service, which will be formally announced today and rolled out later this year. The company, known during its development period under the code name Dryrock Corp., has raised more than $20 million in initial funding from Benchmark Capital.
Bill Gurley, general partner at Benchmark Capital in Menlo Park, Calif., will serve on Juniper's board of directors. Other board members are Mr. Vague, Mr. Stewart, and John Tolleson, the chief executive officer of the Tolleson Group and co-founder and former chairman of First USA.
"One of the things that is most compelling about Juniper Financial is that they already have a world-renowned management team in place," Mr. Gurley said.
The company's advisory board is made up of Internet heavyweights as well. The list includes Mark Britto, the vice president of corporate and business development at Amazon.com; Mark Johnson, the vice chairman of corporate development at CheckFree; and Roberta Katz, the chief executive officer at TechNet and a former general counsel for Netscape Communications.
Mr. Vague left Bank One last October after problems were reported in its credit card subsidiary. Mr. Stewart left his post at Wingspanbank.com in December to work with Mr. Vague. Sources said Juniper Financial has tapped more than 25 employees from First USA.
