Brex Inc.
Leadership History
3 leaders · 2017 to present
Pedro Franceschi is the CEO of Brex, in the role since 2017.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Gammell | Chief Financial Officer and President | 2018 | Present | 8 |
| Pedro Franceschi | Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer | 2017 | Present | 9 |
| Henrique Dubugras | Co-Founder; Co-CEO 2017 to 2024, then Chairman | 2017 | 2024 | 7 |
Brex started with a simple problem: newly funded startups had cash in the bank but no credit history, so banks asked founders for personal guarantees or deposits before issuing a corporate card. Brex set card limits from the company's cash balance instead, signed up more than 1,000 customers within months of its 2018 launch, and added cash accounts, bill pay, travel and expense software over the next six years. It moved upmarket in 2022, cut costs hard in 2024, and in 2026 became part of Capital One. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Brex makes most of its money from interchange, the fee a merchant's bank pays each time a Brex card is used. Sacra estimates Brex collects about 2.7% of card volume as gross revenue and keeps roughly 65% gross margin after paying its issuing and network partners. Software is a growing second stream: Brex Essentials is free, while Brex Premium costs $12 per user per month and adds approval chains, live budgets, AI expense audits and travel policies. Brex also earns fees from the partner banks and funds that hold customer cash, and transaction revenue from bill pay. The card is the entry point; software, banking and payments are sold as the customer grows.
Chief Financial Officer and President
2018 – Present
8 years (current)
Joined in early 2018 as VP of operations and served as chief of staff to the CEO before becoming CFO. Also oversees legal, business development, systems and data, and was named as part of the leadership team staying on under Capital One.
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
2017 – Present
9 years (current)
Left the small business market in 2022, cut 282 jobs in January 2024 to speed up decisions, ended the co-CEO structure in June 2024, and chose a sale to Capital One over an IPO in 2026.
Co-CEO from January 2017, running product, engineering and internal operations, and sole CEO since June 12, 2024. Built Brex's core financial infrastructure, led the January 2024 restructuring that removed management layers, and negotiated the $5.15 billion sale to Capital One, after which he stayed on as CEO.
Co-Founder; Co-CEO 2017 to 2024, then Chairman
2017 – 2024
7 years
Handled bank partner and regulator relationships during the 2021 industrial bank application, which Brex withdrew that August, and agreed with Franceschi in 2024 that one CEO would make faster decisions.
External co-CEO responsible for fundraising, banking partners, regulators and selling to the largest customers. Raised the rounds that took Brex to a $12.3 billion valuation in 2021, and became chairman of the board when the co-CEO model ended in June 2024.
Brex's main challenges are Ramp, which Sacra estimates passed Brex in total payments volume at the end of 2023 and reached $1 billion in annualized revenue by early 2026; reliance on interchange from startups whose spending tracks the venture funding cycle; and absorbing a startup-speed product team into Capital One, a large regulated bank, without slowing the roadmap. The 2022 exit from small businesses and two rounds of layoffs, in October 2022 and January 2024, also left a mark on its reputation.
Pedro Franceschi, a co-founder. He has been sole CEO since June 12, 2024, and continued in the role after Capital One completed its acquisition on April 7, 2026.
Yes. Franceschi and Henrique Dubugras were co-CEOs from 2017 to June 2024, with Franceschi running internal operations and Dubugras handling fundraising, partners, regulators and big customers.
The founders told TechCrunch in June 2024 that two CEOs had become a bottleneck at Brex's size and that a single CEO would make faster decisions and suit public market investors.
Franceschi reports to Frank LaPrade, a Capital One executive of 30 years who runs areas including its engineering and marketing organisations.
Ben Gammell is CFO and president. He joined in early 2018 and also oversees legal, business development, systems and data.
Compare executive leadership tenures and strategic transitions
Explore Brex
Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.