Arkadi Kuhlmann is founder and General Partner at Deak Companies LLC., an investment company. Mr. Kuhlmann currently serves as Chairman, Dumont Aviation Group Inc. and on board positions with Finxact, Investx, and Savana Inc. He was the founder & CEO at Zenbanx Holding Ltd. before its acquisition by SOFI.

Mr. Kuhlmann first introduced the world to direct banking with a simplified customer focus when he founded ING DIRECT Canada in 1996 and U.S. in 2000. As Chairman, President & CEO, Mr. Kuhlmann executed his vision and created the largest savings bank and #1 direct bank in the U.S., with more than $88 billion in deposits and 8 million customers. Prior to this, Mr. Kuhlmann served as President of North American Trust, and CEO of Deak International Inc. New York, as well as an executive at Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto, Canada.

Mr. Kuhlmann has served on the ING Group Management Committee in the Netherlands, the ING DIRECT Board of Directors Canada and the U.S., the Ivey Business School Advisory Board, and the Federal Reserve’s Thrift Institutions Advisory Council. He received HBA and MBA degrees from the Ivey Business School at Western University, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Western University.