Ryan Christiansen
Executive Director – Fintech Center
University of Utah
Before academia, Ryan served as Senior Vice President of Data Access Partnerships at Mastercard following the company’s $985 million acquisition of Finicity. As a member of Finicity’s senior leadership team, he helped transform the startup into a market leading data access platform and continued to guide global open banking strategy at Mastercard—negotiating landmark agreements with major financial institutions and advancing tokenized, consumer permissioned data exchange.
Ryan is a founding architect of the Financial Data Exchange (FDX), where he co chairs the Certification Working Group and helps define the international standards that underpin open banking services adopted by more than 100 million consumers. He also co chairs the Utah Governor’s Fintech Council, advising state leaders on policy that fosters responsible innovation.
Prior to joining Finicity, Ryan spent 20+ years as senior executive at national banks, giving him a unique perspective that bridges traditional finance, fintech disruption, and public policy.