The Team

Christopher Leonard serves as Chief Executive Officer of Velocity Solutions. Before becoming CEO, Christopher served as President of the company from 2012 to 2014, and previously as Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel from 2005 to 2011.

Prior to joining the company in 2005, Christopher was a partner in one of North Carolina’s top law firms, where he worked with private and publicly-held businesses in transactional, compliance and advisory capacities. He also served as counsel to Velocity Solutions advising on legal and regulatory issues affecting the financial industry. He still stays up to date on these issues, which allows him to serve as a key resource for our clients. While in law practice, Christopher received the New Hanover County Bar Association’s Pro Bono Award and was included in Super Lawyers.

Christopher received his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from Wake Forest University, where he was a recipient of the Wake Forest Honor Scholarship. He has served in leadership roles in many nonprofit organizations, including as president of the Community Boys & Girls Club of Wilmington, NC as well as chairman of its foundation, a founding director of the St. James Parish Foundation, on the Board of Visitors of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity and on the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Currently, Christopher serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Broward Workshop, a non-profit organization consisting of the chief decision makers of major businesses in one of America’s 20 largest counties, and as a chair of its Technology Committee. He also has served on the Executive Committee of the South Florida Tech Hub. Christopher received the Apogee Award in 2019 for Top Technology CEO in South Florida, and the South Florida Business Journal named Velocity Solutions in 2020 as one of the top 10 fastest-growing technology companies in South Florida.

Christopher holds a commercial pilot certificate from the FAA and has multi-engine, single-engine, instrument and seaplane ratings, as well as a captain’s license from the U.S. Coast Guard. He resides with his family in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Overdraft & Compliance Expertise

Christopher’s deep consumer financial services regulatory experience spans over 20 years. He has been a valuable resource to community banks and credit unions on tough issues, willing to dive into the trenches and help engineer real solutions for those institutions.

For example, Christopher was on the front lines when the 2010 changes to Regulation E took effect, which required opt-ins from consumers before financial institutions could charge them an overdraft fee on everyday debit card and ATM transactions. Banks and credit unions were understandably concerned that their fee income could be in serious jeopardy. Christopher spearheaded engineering a solution to provide the required federal form, develop educational content to consumers about their overdraft options including a web-based decision tree, create a website where opt-in decisions could be captured, and be able to transmit those decisions directly to financial institutions electronically. This formed the basis for Velocity’s Reg. E Management Solution which still exists today.

As another example, both during the lead-up to the CFPB’s 2024 proposed overdraft rule and after its issuance, Christopher has presented to and/or consulted with hundreds of financial institutions about what the CFPB’s overdraft rule might ultimately look like and how it could affect institutions of varying sizes. He continues to offer this service to current and prospective clients, and he is deeply connected with other industry leaders on this important issue, making sure that the voice of the community financial institution is heard.

With Christopher serving as our CEO, we remain laser-focused on compliance and also on ensuring that we’re the go-to firm for helping our clients solve the regulatory challenges they face in their businesses.

To request Christopher for a speaking engagement, please email: AsktheCEO@myvelocity.com