Robinhood turns to the ‘Podfather’ for board before planned IPO

Stock trading app Robinhood is hiring a who's who of figures from technology, business and politics to its board, ahead of its planned IPO. — AFP

Robinhood Markets Inc. prides itself on its anti-Wall Street origins, with its leaders frequently retelling how it emerged from the Occupy Wall Street protests to democratise finance. Now, as it prepares to go public, the trading app is bolstering its board with establishment figures from technology, business and politics.

Jon Rubinstein, who helped create the iPod for Apple Inc. and is a director at Amazon.com Inc., is joining the board immediately, as is Robert Zoellick, the former president of the World Bank, Robinhood said Tuesday in a statement. PricewaterhouseCoopers partner Paula Loop, who has worked with companies in the retail and consumer products industry, will join on June 17.