Jim Mckelvey

Jim McKelvey is an American entrepreneur, author, and billionaire businessman based in Saint Louis, Missouri, best known as the co-founder and a board member of Block. He launched the financial technology company, originally named Square, alongside Jack Dorsey in 2009, helping scale the enterprise to a peak valuation exceeding $100 billion. Beyond payment processing, McKelvey established LaunchCode, a nonprofit organization that has successfully placed thousands of individuals into technology jobs, and he previously served as Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis. He holds dual degrees in Computer Science and Economics from Washington University, where he serves as a trustee, and is an accomplished glass artist with works featured in the Smithsonian. His current focus remains on driving technological innovation, expanding nonprofit workforce education, and advancing entrepreneurial initiatives across the broader fintech sector.