Cristina Junqueira, the Co-Founder of Brazil’s Nubank, has been recognised as the most inspirational female leader in fintech by FinTech Magazine.

Of the 100 women in the list, 53 are categorised as being involved in ‘financial services’; 27 in internet services, software or IT; 10 in banking; and eight in insurance. 39 women work at organisations with at least 10,000 staff members while nearly a quarter (24) have the words ‘founder’ or ‘co-founder’ in their job title.

Cristina Junqueira studied industrial engineering at the Universidade de São Paulo and, after graduating, obtained a position as an associate consultant with the Boston Consulting Group while completing a Master's degree in economic and financial modelling. In 2007, she enrolled at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, where she graduated with an MBA.

Junqueira returned to Brazil after earning her MBA, working as the sector head for small and medium-sized businesses at Unibanco, the biggest private banking organisation in the country. The post of portfolio manager was made available to Junqueira when Unibanco merged with Ita, Brazil's second-largest private banking firm, the following year. Armed with a thorough understanding of the nation's financial sector and a concept of what she wanted to change, she left her position after five years to co-found Nubank, which today is the largest neobank in the world.

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