Robinhood announced today that it would add Jon Rubinstein, Paula Loop and Robert Zoellick to its board of directors. Rubinstein and Zoellick have already been appointed to the board, while Loop will officially join on June 17.
Some background on the new independent directors:
- Rubinstein is best known for his storied run as a top executive at Apple, where he was considered a close confidant of Steve Jobs. He went on to run Palm and serve as co-CEO at Bridgewater Associates. He is currently a senior advisor at PDT Partners, a quant investment firm.
- Loop works as a partner at PwC with a focus on financial governance. Loop is leaving PwC the day before she is set to join the Robinhood board.
- Zoellick served as president of the World Bank and White House deputy chief of staff under President George H. W. Bush. Forging free trade agreements was Zoellick's signature issue during his time in the public sector. He also worked at Goldman Sachs, which has reportedly worked with Robinhood to prepare its IPO.
The appointment of three new board directors is another signal that Robinhood is gearing up to go public. Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, the SEC has the ability to scrutinize a public company's selection of independent directors. Bloomberg reported on May 18 that Robinhood could reveal its S-1 as soon as the week of May 24, but no filing has yet emerged.