Chris Larsen

Executive Chair and Co-Founder, Ripple

San Francisco
B.A., Accounting, Finance and International Business (1984)

Executive chairman and former CEO of Ripple, a blockchain company he co-founded in 2012. Larsen is a pioneer in blockchain and cryptocurrency technology, creating a global decentralized network called RippleNet that uses the digital asset XRP to facilitate payments across borders and financial networks.
In 2019, San Francisco State received the largest digital donation ever to a U.S. university courtesy of Chris, his wife Lyna Lam, and Rippleworks, the nonprofit company he co-launched in 2015. The donation established the school as a hub for innovation and funds endowed chairs in financial technology and entrepreneurship.
The business school was renamed the Lam Family College of Business after his wife's family, particularly his father-in-law, Quang Lam, who led his family in their escape from war and genocide in Cambodia. The donation funds endowed chairs in financial technology and entrepreneurship broadens their focus on innovation.
In 2006, Chris founded Prosper, the first peer-to-peer lending service. Prosper, which was valued at more than $1 billion, was inspired by hui, a traditional Vietnamese form of group lending.
In 1997 he co-founded the successful online mortgage lender e-Loan, which helped democratize lending and finance.

Notable CSU Alumni in business & professional services