Stephen Simcock – SoFi

Growing up in Waterville, a small town just north of Maine’s capital, Stephen Simcock could not have predicted a 38-year legal career that would place him inside some of the largest financial institutions in the world. Yet his path—from studying French literature at Colby College to leading legal teams at Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and ultimately SoFi—reflects a lifelong fascination with systems, rules and the structures that shape society. That curiosity, combined with a willingness to embrace new challenges, propelled him far from the quiet streets of Waterville and into the center of global finance.

Stephen Simcock | SoFi | General Counsel

He didn’t have aspirations of becoming a lawyer. He was drawn first to literature and government, interested in how people, cultures and institutions organize themselves. But as he neared graduation, shrinking academic programs limited the future he imagined in French studies. Law, by contrast, offered clarity, opportunity and a connection to the systems he found compelling.

“It felt like the natural next step,” he says, reflecting on his decision to earn his JD from Washington and Lee University School of Law.

After four years in private practice focused on consumer finance regulatory matters, Simcock realized the dynamic he wanted wasn’t in a firm but in-house, where lawyers live inside the business, not outside it. Joining a client company proved to be the pivot that launched everything that came next. Through a series of acquisitions, that company eventually became part of Citibank, where Simcock spent more than 22 years building a career that would take him around the world.

“I never really questioned that I would go far,” he says. “I just kept asking myself what I could do next.”

At Citi, the answer was always something bigger. He led legal departments across retail and international units, including serving as general counsel for global retail operations and heading the EMEA legal team from London. Nearly a decade followed at JPMorgan Chase—the gold standard, he notes, for financial law—where he helped guide its consumer banking business through major growth, regulatory demands and an increasingly complex financial landscape.

Eventually, however, Simcock felt ready for something very different. After decades inside banking giants steeped in tradition, he wanted a more entrepreneurial environment—one combining the rigor of financial services with the agility and creativity of technology. In 2024, that combination arrived in the form of SoFi.

Entering a company built on values & velocity

SoFi, founded with the mission to help its members “get their money right,” has always operated differently from traditional banks. The company’s focus on helping people borrow, save, spend, invest and protect their money—supported by financial education and digital tools—reflects a values-driven culture aimed at financial independence for everyday Americans. Its evolution into one of the most recognizable consumer finance brands, with naming rights to SoFi Stadium and SoFi Center for TGL, and major partnerships with USA Basketball, the NBA, and players like Jayson Tatum, signals both its growth and its ambition.

For Simcock, joining SoFi represented the chance to bring decades of discipline from global institutions into a company that thrives on innovation.

“This is a place that’s evolving every day,” he says. “It’s scrappy, entrepreneurial, and built around helping people reach their financial goals.”

As general counsel, he immediately began strengthening the legal department to support the company’s rapid expansion. He works closely with the board on corporate governance, ensuring that, as SoFi scales its offerings and broadens its national profile, it stays firmly grounded in what’s permissible in the highly regulated world of financial services.

Financial services, he admits, is something he fell into almost by accident. Yet it became the defining thread of his career, one he came to appreciate for how closely the industry intersects with policy, consumer outcomes, and macroeconomic systems.

“It has always connected back to the questions that interested me from the beginning—how society organizes itself, how rules function, and how institutions evolve,” he says.

At SoFi, where ambition and innovation run high, that perspective proved invaluable. He inherited a talented but lean legal team at a moment of intense growth. His job became not only to provide top-tier legal support but to build a department capable of scaling with the company’s momentum.

Preparing the legal team for the future

Simcock’s leadership philosophy—collaborative, collegial and grounded in mutual respect—shaped his approach from the first day. He believes strong legal departments come from open dialogue, shared knowledge, and the trust that allows attorneys to take on new responsibilities. Those values guided him as he expanded the team, created a more structured organization, and ensured that SoFi’s legal function could support the company’s growing product lines, partnerships and regulatory obligations.

“I’ve always run a very collegial team,” he says. “Having those connections and dialogues about how people are dealing with challenges is essential.”

Building that culture inside a fast-moving company required both precision and flexibility. Simcock valued autonomy, giving his attorneys space to develop their expertise while providing the guidance that comes only from decades at the highest levels of financial law. As digital assets, new regulations and expanding products entered the mix, he emphasized strong controls, clear boundaries and a business mindset that understood both risk and opportunity.

But as he approached his 63rd birthday, a new question emerged—what comes next?

For the first time in nearly four decades, Simcock began preparing not for a larger role but for a graceful exit.

“My mindset is different now,” he says. “I’ve had a very high-stress, high-productivity career. Nearly 40 years is enough.”

Succession planning became his top priority. He wanted to leave SoFi with a legal team not just functioning but thriving, with systems, structure and talent fully capable of supporting the business long after he steps away.

“We’re in a great place,” he says. “We’ve built the department significantly, and there are multiple people ready to take a step up.”

Ensuring that readiness—identifying emerging leaders, reshaping roles, strengthening internal bonds—has shaped his final months on the job. Simcock’s pride in the team is clear, but so is his desire for their success to be independent of him.

“You always have to have your eye on what comes next,” he says. “I’ve never been at a company where we didn’t have the right structure in place.”

Looking ahead to a very different life

When the year ends, so will Simcock’s legal career. He doesn’t know exactly which day will be his last, but he knows it will mark a dramatic shift in pace and purpose. He and his partner, who travels globally for work, recently bought a house in France. They plan to divide their time between Normandy, upstate New York and wherever future opportunities take them.

He imagines mornings reading the financial history he loves, trips with no return date, and a life defined not by the urgency of regulatory filings or board meetings but by curiosity, exploration, and rest.

“I don’t know exactly what will happen in retirement,” he says. “But I do know it won’t be in the law.”

He’s open to serving on corporate boards or becoming involved in charitable organizations, but he’s equally open to simply letting the next chapter reveal itself. The certainty that once drove his career has softened into possibility.

“I’ve been dealing with major issues at organizations that have shaped the financial world for hundreds of years,” he says. “Sometimes I still think about how extraordinary it is to have gone from a small town in Maine to all of that.”

As he moves toward retirement, Simcock carries both pride and humility—the sense of a career well lived and the excitement of a life yet to unfold. He leaves behind a strengthened legal department at one of America’s fastest-growing financial technology companies, a legacy shaped not only by his expertise but by his belief in people, connection and shared purpose.

And he steps forward into a quieter world, one filled with travel, learning and the chance to finally pause after nearly four decades at full speed.

“I’m excited for what’s next,” he says. “It’s time.”