The executives behind Palmer Luckey's new digital banking startup Erebor include banking, politics, and Big Law vets
BI obtained a memo that describes leadership at the neobank.
The executives have ties to traditional banking, politics, and Big Law.
Palmer Luckey, CEO of defense tech giant Anduril Industries, is quietly building a new digital banking venture — and we now know more about who will be helping him.
The startup, Erebor, is raising $225 million at a $2 billion valuation, Business Insider reported in July. It has backing from Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Joe Lonsdale's 8VC. It filed for a national bank charter in June, and will serve clients like crypto companies and startups — a niche once occupied by Silicon Valley Bank.
While little has been publicly revealed about Erebor so far, documents obtained by Business Insider shed some light on the team behind it.
Luckey and four cofounders — Trevor Capozza, Jacob Hirshman, Aaron Pelz and Owen Rapaport — are at the helm, according to a fundraising memo that described the company's leadership and plans. Hirshman and Rapaport are listed as co-CEOs of Erebor, per the memo.
Three other executives — chief risk officer Joshua Rosenberg, chief financial officer Ricky Grant, and chief credit officer Vlad Dubinsky — have backgrounds in banking and bank regulation, and their involvement with the company hasn't previously been reported.
A banking lawyer at Skadden who appears on Erebor's bank charter application and is listed as its spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment.
Here's what we know about the names.
Founder: Palmer Luckey
Luckey is the founder of Erebor, according to the memo.
He previously cofounded Anduril, a defense tech company that makes AI-powered autonomous military systems, in 2017. Founders Fund led the latest Anduril round — a $2.5 billion fundraise at a $30.5 billion valuation — with a $1 billion investment, the largest check the firm has ever written, Tech Crunch reported in June.
Before Anduril, Luckey launched Oculus, a virtual reality company, when he was 19. He sold it to Facebook, now Meta Platforms, for $2 billion in cash and stock in 2014. In 2016, Luckey was fired from Meta after donating $10,000 to a pro-Donald Trump group.
Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg have denied that Luckey left over his politics. Anduril partnered with Meta in May to make headsets and wearable devices for the military.
Co-Founder: Trevor Capozza
Capozza is listed as a cofounder of Erebor in the memo. His LinkedIn profile says he is a cofounder of a "stealth startup," a term used to describe a company before it has officially launched.
He serves as the head of operations of Luckey's family office, according to LinkedIn. Capozza began his career at Optimozo, a private company, where he did asset management, his LinkedIn profile shows.
His name has appeared in tax forms filed by a Luckey-linked nonprofit, the Pacific Treasure Foundation, as well as in registration paperwork for a virtual-reality news website, a firm called Trisolaris LLC, and another business called Project Passive LLC.
Capozza declined to comment.
President: Michael Hagedorn
Hadegorn is Erebor's president, his LinkedIn shows. According to his profile, the fintech startup "seeks to revolutionize banking services for the innovation economy."
Hadegorn has held executive positions at UMB Financial Corporation and Valley National Bank. He started his career at Wells Fargo, where he worked for nearly 17 years. At Wells Fargo, Hagedorn led the Midwest banking group for five years, his LinkedIn profile shows.
Hagedorn didn't respond to a request for comment.
Co-Founder/Co-CEO: Owen Rapaport
Rapaport is listed as a co-founder and co-CEO of Erebor focused on "product, credit, and customer success," the memo says.
Before joining Erebor, Rapaport cofounded and served as CEO at crypto-monitoring company Aer Compliance, which merged with StarCompliance in 2024.
Before that, he worked at Electrum, a bitcoin wallet company, and was a consultant at Bain & Company, according to his LinkedIn.
Co-Founder/Co-CEO: Jacob Hirshman
Hirshman is listed as a cofounder and co-CEO of Erebor and is focused on "sales, marketing, and regulatory" work, the memo says. Hirshman's LinkedIn profile lists him as a cofounder of a "stealth startup."
Hirshman works at stablecoin issuer Circle, which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in early June, as an advisor, according to his LinkedIn. Before that, Hirshman spent almost a year as an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell after graduating from law school at the University of Pennsylvania, his LinkedIn profile says.
Pelz is listed as a cofounder and chief technology officer of Erebor, according to the memo.
He previously worked at Pinwheel, a fintech startup, where he led engineering, according to his LinkedIn, which says he left the company in March. Pelz previously worked in software engineering at Quorum, which makes public affairs software.
Pelz didn't respond to a request for comment.
Chief Financial Officer: Ricky Grant
Ricky Grant is listed as Erebor's chief financial officer, according to the memo. He spent nearly two years at Customer Bank, a fast-growing Philadelphia bank, as its head of investor relations and strategic finance, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Customers Bank was faulted by the Federal Reserve in 2024 over shortfalls related to crypto risks. The bank's CEO said it has since spent millions of dollars to come into compliance. The American Banker reported that it holds dollar-denominated deposits for large crypto exchanges and has a large venture lending portfolio.
Before working at Customers, Grant worked in investment banking for JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, according to his LinkedIn profile. Goldman listed him in its managing director class of 2019. He didn't respond to requests for comment.
Chief Risk Officer: Joshua Rosenberg
Rosenberg listed on his LinkedIn that he is working with Erebor after completing a nearly two-year stint at United Texas Bank, a Dallas financial institution that is a key cog in the crypto business. His LinkedIn and the memo describe him as Erebor's chief risk officer.
He joined United Texas Bank in 2023 after a 22-year career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In April, The Information reported that Rosenberg was brought on by UTB to "beef up" its compliance efforts amid regulatory scrutiny from the Federal Reserve over its crypto-related activity.
Previously, Rosenberg was an assistant finance professor at the NYU Stern School of Business, according to his LinkedIn. He has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California San Diego.
Chief Credit Officer: Vlad Dubinsky
Vlad Dubinsky is listed as Erebor's chief credit officer in the memo.
Dubinsky's LinkedIn profile says he joined The Bancorp Bank in May as a managing director, credit markets. Bancorp is known for working with fintech companies that issue payment cards.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Dubinsky spent over three years working for Blue Foundry Bank, a New Jersey bank with a market capitalization of about $200 million that has been gravitating "away from residential and multifamily lending and toward higher-yielding commercial loans," according to the American Banker.
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It will continue to depend on the US and, increasingly, others for commerce and trade. And the idea of a complete decoupling is quite unfathomable, unless Americans want to spend a ton more on energy and the entire North American auto sector is overhauled. At the moment, Canadians are fired up and holding their own. They don't appear to be poised to back down anytime soon — or to forget what's happening now. "Our elites need to wake up to the full nightmare of what Donald Trump's administration means in terms of trade," Karaguesian says. Much of the Canadian population already has — and years down the line, it could very well be to their country's benefit.
