Erica Khalili
Co-founder & Chief Legal & Risk Officer
About
Erica Khalili is co-founder and Chief Legal & Risk Officer at Lead Bank, where she oversees legal, risk, compliance and foundational functions while helping build the bank's BaaS platform after acquiring a community bank. Prior to Lead, she spent over six years at Block, Inc. (formerly Square). Khalili has been featured in industry profiles and interviews and was named to Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500 list; Lead Bank is cited as one of the largest female-owned banks with $1.4 billion in assets under management. Based in New York, she focuses on fintech regulation, banking-as-a-service, and scaling compliant banking operations.
Erica Khalili is co-founder and Chief Legal & Risk Officer of Lead Bank, a female-founded U.S. bank with $1.4B AUM.
At a Glance
AI-Estimated- Assets Under Management (Lead Bank)
- $1.4 billion
- Time at Block, Inc.
- 6+ years
- LinkedIn Connections (public snippet)
- 500+
- Companies Co-founded
- 1 (Lead Bank)
Professional Experience
Chief Legal & Risk Officer, Co-founder
Lead Bank
N/A - Present
Co-founder and Chief Legal & Risk Officer at Lead Bank; oversees legal, risk, compliance and foundational bank functions and has been involved in the acquisition of a community bank and building Lead's banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platform. (Sources: Lead Bank team page; FT Partners; Biz Journals)
Legal roles
Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.)
N/A - Present
Spent over six years at Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) in legal roles prior to co-founding Lead Bank. (Source: Atlantis International Group team page)
Education
Degree not specified
Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology
Degree not specified
Illinois Institute of Technology
Publications & Media
FT Partners (industry research/ interview PDF)
YouTube (The Bank Tellers)
Binance / guest post
Knowledge Base
Achievements & Awards
Co-founder of Lead Bank
Co-founded Lead Bank and serves as Chief Legal & Risk Officer, overseeing the bank's legal, risk, and compliance functions.
Inc. 2025 Female Founders 500
2025
Named to Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500 list recognizing leading female founders; Inc. notes Lead Bank among the largest female-owned banks with $1.4 billion in assets under management.
Led acquisition and BaaS platform build
Participated in the acquisition of a community bank and subsequent build-out of Lead Bank's banking-as-a-service platform, as described in industry coverage and FT Partners materials.
Multiple media & industry appearances
Featured as an interviewee and subject in industry interviews and podcasts, including The Bank Tellers (YouTube) and FT Partners materials.