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Jason Harvison

President & Chief Executive Officer at Elevate Credit Inc.

Fort Worth, Texas, United States

JH
LinkedIn
Why they matter

As CEO who steered Elevate Credit from public listing through its 2023 take-private sale, Harvison has firsthand authority on non-prime consumer lending economics and PE ownership transitions.

Background

Jason Harvison is President & CEO of Elevate Credit, Inc., a Fort Worth-based tech-enabled provider of online credit products for non-prime consumers. He joined Elevate's predecessor, Think Finance, in 2003, rose to EVP and Chief Product Officer, then became Elevate's Chief Product Officer/COO in 2014 before being named Interim CEO in July 2019 and permanent CEO in November 2019. He led the company through its February 2023 take-private acquisition by Park Cities Asset Management and continues to run Elevate as a private company.

Notable deals

  • 2019
    Appointed permanent President & CEO of Elevate Credit after serving as Interim CEO since July 2019
  • 2020
    Named finalist for EY's Entrepreneur of the Year Southwest Award as Elevate CEO
  • 2022
    Led Elevate's $10M strategic investment and board addition to Swell Financial, a fintech partner
  • 2023
    Steered Elevate through its $67M take-private acquisition by Park Cities Asset Management

Call-prep brief

Jason Harvison — President & CEO, Elevate Credit

Background

  • 20+ years at Elevate and its predecessor Think Finance, starting in 2003
  • Rose through product and operating roles (EVP, Chief Product Officer, COO) before becoming Interim CEO (Jul 2019) then permanent CEO (Nov 2019)
  • BBA in Finance, Texas A&M University

Current focus

  • Running Elevate as a privately-held non-prime consumer lender since its Feb 2023 take-private by Park Cities Asset Management ($67M, $1.87/share)
  • Overseeing Elevate's core products (Rise, Elastic) and servicing/collections operations
  • Board seat at Swell Financial, a fintech partner Elevate invested $10M in alongside Central Pacific Financial (Feb 2022)

What he cares about

  • Responsible-lending positioning amid regulatory scrutiny of high-APR non-prime credit
  • Operational efficiency and credit performance now that Elevate reports to a private owner instead of public markets
  • Fintech/bank partnership models (per Swell Financial investment)

Potential sensitivities

  • Post-take-private, financial detail is no longer public — he may be guarded on performance specifics
  • Non-prime/high-APR lending draws consumer-advocacy and regulatory criticism; approach that angle carefully
  • As a long-tenured insider (not an outside operator), he may be less candid critiquing legacy strategy

Questions to ask

  1. How has credit performance and unit economics shifted since going private in 2023?
  2. What did the Swell Financial partnership teach Elevate about bank/fintech distribution models?
  3. How is Elevate navigating state-level rate-cap and CFPB scrutiny of non-prime lending today?

Outreach draft

Subject
Quick call on non-prime lending under PE ownership
Hi Jason, I'm reaching out on behalf of a deal team studying the non-prime consumer lending space. Your run at Elevate — from the 2019 CEO transition through the 2023 take-private with Park Cities — gives you a rare view into how these platforms perform outside public-market scrutiny. We'd value 20-30 minutes to hear your perspective on credit performance trends, regulatory pressure on high-APR products, and how fintech partnerships like Swell Financial fit into the growth playbook. Would you have time in the next couple of weeks? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Placeholder Name]

Linked companies

Sources