Saema Somalya (YC 99, YLS 02) is a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience in consumer products and innovation. As Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer at Remitly Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: RELY) since 2020, she has established and scaled the company’s governance, government affairs and risk management functions to support the global expansion of its business to over 170 countries, 4 million quarterly active users and $40B+ in transaction volume per year. Some of her key contributions have included overseeing the company’s $6.5 billion IPO in 2021, driving its regulatory strategy successfully across over 170 countries and multiple products, standing up its government affairs and enterprise risk management functions and integrating machine learning and AI models into its risk management processes. A thought leader in corporate responsibility and risk oversight, she has been recognized as one of American Banker’s Most Influential Women in Fintech and has published extensively on de-risking, financial regulation, and board governance.

Prior to joining Remitly, Saema held senior leadership roles at other leading consumer products companies including Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) and PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP). As Deputy General Counsel at Fifth Third Bancorp from 2016 to 2020, she led initiatives to orient the Bank more heavily towards technology and innovation, including creation of a board level Technology Committee and addition of more technology expertise at the board and executive level. At PepsiCo, she supported corporate transformation initiatives to recenter the product portfolio towards more health conscious consumer behavior and implement regulatory change processes for Dodd Frank. Saema’s background also includes extensive experience in capital markets and securities regulation, spanning 7 years of private practice at top tier law firms in New York City, Palo Alto and the UK, where she worked on over $30 billion of capital markets and M&A transactions.

Outside the office, Saema serves as Board Chair for the national civil rights organization called Muslim Advocates. She is also a board member for the Friends of the Seattle Waterfront, which partners with the City of Seattle to develop inclusive civic spaces along the Seattle Waterfront.

Saema is Pakistani-American and resides in Seattle, Washington with her husband Nabeel Kaukab and ten year old daughter Fatima Kaukab. She holds a B.A. and J.D. from Yale University.