Less than a week after announcing a $14.75 million fundraising round, Spring Labs announced the creation of an advisory board to help it grow the Spring Network, a decentralized blockchain platform that enables lenders, data providers and banks to exchange identity and credit information securely.

The board will include Sheila Bair, former chair of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and Nigel Morris, co-founder of Capital One and co-founder of QED Investors. Bair headed the FDIC from 2006 to 2011 and was ranked by Forbes as the second-most powerful woman in the world in 2008 and 2009.

"Spring Labs hopes to tackle a variety of systemic issues associated with the use of centralized databases to maintain sensitive consumer data," said Bair, in a company statement. "I am pleased to advise this effort to utilize blockchain technology to combat identity theft by providing stronger, more secure protections for consumers over their credit histories and other personally identifiable information."

According to the release, the mission of the board will be to support the strategy of “creating a more secure, transparent and efficient future for the transacting of credit and identity information.” Joining Bair and Morris on the board will be Bobby Mehta, former president and chief executive of TransUnion and former chief executive of HSBC North America Holdings; Brian P. Brooks, Fannie Mae's executive vice president; Guy Schory, a former senior executive at PayPal and eBay; and Richard Levy, chief executive officer and founder of Victory Park Capital.

"We're thrilled to announce the formation of our founding industry advisory board, which is comprised of some of the most experienced people in the credit and credit-reporting spaces," said Adam Jiwan, Spring Labs' CEO. "It includes leaders from bank regulatory bodies and the world's largest credit card and credit reporting companies. We're excited to leverage their experience as we build our transformative technology."

Technology reporter Eli Horowitz can be reached at ehorowitz@labusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @coachhorowitz13 for the latest in L.A. tech news.

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