Michael Koukounas
Check Into Cash, based in Cleveland, has hired Michael Koukounas to the executive team. Mr. Koukounas, formerly the vice president of Credit, Fraud, and Collection Oversight for USAA, has come on board as CIC’s chief risk officer.
“Michael gives us another boost of confidence that we can take on whatever comes our way in the future,” said Steve Scoggins, president of Check Into Cash. “He’s a forward-thinking professional who will keep Check Into Cash moving full steam ahead as we continue building on our past success and ensuring customers have access to our vital financial services.”
A 25-year business veteran of analytics, Mr. Koukounas has built a career out of leveraging data, analytics, and systems to drive billions of dollars of business impacts across the globe. Having held senior roles in Citigroup, GE Capital, American Express, and Equifax, Mr. Koukounas’ responsibilities have included modeling, analytics, strategic systems development and management, credit and fraud policy and data management.
Through building and managing teams across the globe, he has found innovative ways to deliver new data tools and leverage new sources of data to meet specific business goals. Additionally, he has developed and implemented analytical solutions across a number of business sectors, including government, airlines, insurance, telecom, and financial services, said officials.
“I will be using data, analytics, and systems to support CIC’s growth and profitability, ultimately helping the company navigate the ever-changing regulatory environment by helping launch new products and services,” Mr. Koukounas said. “This industry will be going through a number of changes the next few years. Joining a successful company and helping them stay successful through the changes is a challenge I look forward to.”
Mr. Koukounas also shared his expertise via Real-World Analytics, a book he authored to help business leaders develop and manage analytics teams in today’s big data craze.
Mr. Koukounas has been married for more than 20 years and he and his wife have a daughter in college in Chicago. He and his family recently relocated from San Antonio, Texas to Chattanooga, but they have lived most of their lives in northern New Jersey right outside of New York City. Mr. Koukounas enjoys bike riding, and he usually logs 2,000–3,000 miles each year on his bike. He said he looks forward to riding through the countryside surrounding Chattanooga—the downhill parts at least.