Greg Varnell, Fintech Innovation

Greg Varnell, Vice President of Product & Development at Q2 Innovation Studio, is our sixth guest of Humanizing Software, where we explore the concept of software and its relationship to humans. Greg has 23 years of experience in the technology sector, with eleven of those years at Q2, a digital experience company. He is responsible for creating and growing the Q2 Caliper SDK team and has been instrumental in launching the Q2 Innovation Studio.

Career Trajectory

Greg graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Business Management. His career trajectory to Q2 came with some professional experimentation and experience at various financial institutions across the country.

Upon graduation, Greg’s career started with his family-owned business, Digital Graphics Studio by selling non-linear video editing machines and creating data-driven websites. After four years leading this business as the Principal, Greg moved on to work as a webmaster at Twin County Credit Union (currently TwinStar CU) in Olympia, WA. This was his introduction into the financial services industry, where he had dedicated 21 years of service and innovation.

Following a move from Washington state to Texas, Greg worked at Texas Trust Credit Union and Alliant Credit Union in systems design and architecture positions and was the Chief Operating Officer at software company Trust Data Solutions.

Mission-Driven Digital Banking

Credit unions are intrinsically community and mission-driven. Focusing on members and their financial success resonates across all the credit unions Greg’s worked with. It’s no surprise that this pursuit is also the focus of Q2.

Q2 is a “mission-driven company set on building stronger, more diverse communities by strengthening their financial institutions.” Founded in 2004, Q2 is known for its success as a startup that’s now a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. From its inception, Q2 has been committed to providing digital banking and lending solutions to banks and credit unions, other fintech companies, and alternative financial institutions.

The Innovation Studio Greg leads is focused on the digital banking platform. Innovation Studio at Q2 was launched to help accelerate innovation specifically for financial institutions and fintechs by offering various technologies and programs. These technologies use the advantage of the Q2 platform to assist businesses with the different banking experiences needed for various types of consumers. In the United States, one in every 10 customers using digital banking is using a Q2 platform.

As an innovator in the fintech industry who is dedicated to putting people first, we enjoyed our conversation with Greg!

Catch the October 5 Livecast episode with guest Greg Varnell and host Andrew Tull on their conversation about human-driven technology on Humanizing Software!

Watch Humanizing Software Ep. 6 with Greg Varnell!

Meet the Author

Anahit Poturyan

Anahit Poturyan is a writer, art educator, and digital marketer based in LA with a strong focus on technology, research, history, and culture. She received her B.A. in English Literature and an Art History minor from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and an M.A. in Aesthetics and Politics from the California Institute of Art (CalArts). She has worked at the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice, Italy; the 58th Venice Biennale, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Hammer Museum, Artbook @Hauser & Wirth, and Otis College of Art and Design. She has lectured at numerous conferences across the world, such as the Nordic Summer University in Faro, Sweden, and the Western University of Australia, Perth, Australia. Her writings have appeared in the LA Review of Books, MediaTech Ventures, Whitehot Magazine, among others.