Gies College of Business alumnus and fintech innovator Aaron Schumm’s relentless drive to build a holistic financial wellness ecosystem has earned him recognition as a Notable Leader in Finance from Crain’s New York Business.

Schumm, FIN ’00, began his finance career at Northern Trust in Chicago, earned an MBA from Duke University in 2007, and worked at Citi as a VP of product marketing. He then co-founded FolioDynamix, a New York-based fintech platform focused on wealth management, which he subsequently sold in 2015.

“When setting up FolioDynamix’s 401k plan, I realized how painful the process was – even for someone who was familiar with the space,” said Schumm. “But instead of knocking on millions of doors of ourselves, let’s equip businesses of all sizes with the mechanisms to offer workplace savings programs.”

Inspired by this insight, Schumm founded Vestwell in 2016 to offer companies a way for their employees to take advantage of a comprehensive suite of savings tools to prepare for life’s most important moments – from retirement to education and healthcare.

Since then, Vestwell’s groundbreaking platform has quickly become the backbone of the modern savings economy for 1.5 million active savers across 350,000+ businesses. Today, Schumm leads a team that oversees $35+ billion in assets.

Schumm has orchestrated Vestwell’s evolution into a powerhouse of proactive solutions that reach well beyond its initial 401(k) focus. This strategic expansion includes student loan repayment benefits and specialized accounts for education and emergencies.

Vestwell now powers 85% of state auto-IRA programs as well as CalABLE, one of the largest savings programs that provides tax-free savings opportunities for people with disabilities. This scope underscores Schumm’s commitment to fostering financial security for millions and closing the $50 trillion savings gap.

“We have about 100 million people in this country who are underbanked or underserved,” said Schumm. “We work to meet people where they are and improve their financial literacy and ultimately their financial resiliency.”

Schumm, who sits on the advisory board of several fintech companies, was the featured speaker at the 2024 V. Dale Cozad Lecture on Entrepreneurship at Gies Business. He supports need-based scholarships at Gies through the Thakur Schumm Scholarship Fund.

“As someone who had to find my own way to pay for college, I know firsthand how daunting that journey can be,” said Schumm. “It’s not just about covering tuition—it’s about opening doors that might otherwise remain closed. That’s why supporting a needs-based scholarship means so much to me. It creates access, it creates opportunity, and it creates futures.”

Schumm noted that Gies’ commitment to purpose-driven business education aligns deeply with that mission.

“Their focus on instilling meaning and impact in every student’s path is not only admirable—it’s transformative,” he said.