JOE PROTO has 40 years of experience in the banking and payments industry as a senior executive and successful entrepreneur. He has launched and sold several companies including one that was acquired by Wells Fargo in 1992, another by First Data in 2000, and another by Mastercard in 2019. In 2004, Proto co-founded Windham Ventures, a preeminent life sciences investment firm in the medtech industry. He currently serves as chairman, board director, and strategic advisor to several financial technology companies, and is on the Google Cloud Executive Advisory Board. Proto and his wife, Smita, were married in her home country of Kenya, a place that helped spur their mutual love of wildlife. They live in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on the largest sea turtle nesting beach in North America, and are avid travelers. He received his MA in Education from Maharishi International University in 1980.
