Age has never been a hindrance to Charlie Kroll. While still a student at Brown University in 1999, he founded Keynote Media. The boutique Web-development firm focused on helping clients nationwide leverage Web-based technology as a tool for sales and growth. Its clients included Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, Time Magazine and Brown.
That business was rolled into another he founded in 2000 called Andera. The business has grown rapidly as a marketer of technology that enables banking customers to open new accounts online. Today, it has 51 employees and more than 200 bank and credit union clients nationwide.
As CEO, Kroll “is responsible for driving the company’s growth through innovation, alliances and an unyielding commitment to unanimous client satisfaction,” he wrote in his 40 Under Forty application.
His client list includes more than 200 financial institutions, including PNC Bank, M&T Bank, Toyota Federal Credit Union and others that collectively represent more than $450 billion in assets.
The company also has established partnerships with leaders in the financial-technology industry, including Fiserv, eFunds, Yodlee and S1.
At 30, the New York City native is recognized as a leader in his field. He’s spoken at numerous bank and credit union conferences nationwide.
In 2005, he was named the Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration for the New England region.
Kroll is also an accomplished musician, having co-written and directed a full-length musical and recorded three albums on guitar. •
