FORMER META PAYMENTS LEADER AND GRUBHUB EXEC AKSHAT THANAWALA JOINS CARIBOU AS CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER

DENVER, Sept. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Caribou, a leading auto refinance platform whose purpose is to give consumers financial freedom to focus on what matters most, today announced Akshatt Thanawala has joined the company as Chief Product Officer. Thanawala was most recently leading the digital transformation of Meta's payment platform, and has held leadership roles at Grubhub, Orbitz, and Expedia. Thanawala, based in Seattle, will report directly to Caribou CEO Simon Goodall.

Thanawala is a highly experienced product leader who has spent more than 25 years building and scaling product organizations at globally recognized consumer and technology brands. Most recently, he spent four years at Meta leading digital transformation of the company's payments platform as well as driving email and messenger engagement products. Previously, he built product and design organizations from the ground up at startups Moda Operandi and Tempest, where he also served as acting CTO. At Grubhub, he scaled logistics and restaurant operations and gained frontline customer insights by operating as a Grubhub driver himself. Earlier in his career, Thanawala played a pivotal role at Orbitz, contributing to the company's $1.6 billion acquisition by Expedia. He began his career at Cadence Design Systems, where he spent seven years learning the lasting value of cross-functional collaboration and team-driven innovation. Thanawala holds a MBA from Insead and BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rochester.

"Akshat brings not only an impressive record of results but also a humility and focus on building great teams that align perfectly with our culture and values," said Simon Goodall, Caribou CEO. "At Caribou, our values are clear: Give a Damn, Make the Assist, and Move with Velocity. Akshat exemplifies each of these, which is exactly what we need as we continue to scale and deliver on our promise of helping consumers take control of their car payments and achieve financial freedom."

"I was drawn to Caribou for three reasons: the product, the size of the opportunity, and the team," said Thanawala. "The company's purpose is clear, and the product brings it to life—it's simple, easy to understand, and makes a real impact by helping customers achieve financial freedom. The opportunity is massive, but what ultimately convinced me was the team and how they live out Caribou's values every day."

The Chief Product Officer role reflects the company's commitment to product-led growth as it continues expanding its services across the auto refinancing landscape. With Akshat's arrival, Jeff Ayars, VP of Engineering, will be taking on an expanded role leading our entire technical organization, including Engineering, Security, Platform and Data Engineering, Quality, Release, Incident Management, and IT.

The announcement was made from Caribou's new Chandler AZ office, where Thanawala met with team members fueling the company's rapid growth and scaling to capture the huge opportunity to help millions of customers save money by refinancing their cars.

About Caribou

Founded in 2016 and based in Denver, CO, Caribou helps drivers take control of their car loan with real savings, trusted lending partners, and expert help every step of the way. Through its advanced technology and friendly loan advisors, Caribou makes the entire auto refinancing process quick, easy, and transparent, saving customers an average of over $141 per month on their auto loan payments—adding up to $1,692 saved each year through refinancing. The company is backed by QED Investors, Goldman Sachs, and other leading investors. See how you could save at www.caribou.com.

SOURCE Caribou Financial