At $5 billion startup Checkr new employees build an app using AI during onboarding—even the new CFO

Good morning. Checkr, used by businesses for an AI-powered background check service, has a new CFO ready to double down on AI in finance—and he built an app during onboarding.

Tim Yarbrough joined as finance chief in March, succeeding Naeem Ishaq. He brings more than 20 years of experience, including over a decade at ZipRecruiter, most recently as CFO. He previously led financial planning and strategy at Convertro Inc. and held strategic finance roles at Qualcomm.

“Tim’s experience scaling a company through a similar stage of growth is exactly what we need,” Daniel Yanisse, co-founder and CEO of Checkr, said in a statement.

The appointment comes as Checkr pushes beyond its core background-check business. Founded in 2014, the company serves more than 130,000 businesses and is valued at $5 billion. In 2025, gross revenue exceeded $800 million, and net revenue (excluding government fees) surpassed $500 million.

Asked about a potential IPO, Yarbrough was measured. “Right now, my focus is on helping to build Checkr into the defining multi-product data platform for trust-based decisions,” he said. The company is pursuing a market exceeding $40 billion across identity, income, and tenant verification, and “that is where my energy is going,” he said.

At Checkr, AI starts on day one

A key draw for Yarbrough was Yanisse’s belief that AI should be used by every employee. Why this matters: “If leadership hasn’t communicated clear priorities and created dedicated space to get people up to speed, employees are left guessing, or worse, using it in secret because they don’t know if it’s even allowed,” Yarbrough said.

“One thing that struck me in my first weeks at Checkr: during onboarding, you actually build an app,” he said. “Not a presentation about AI, not a policy document—you build something. That’s when I knew this place was serious about it.”

For Yarbrough, the appeal wasn’t just market position or focus on fairness and trust. It was the impact of the company’s verifications. “The decisions Checkr powers aren’t just checking a person’s background; they are verifications that impact critical moments of people’s lives,” he said. Expanding into identity, mortgage, and tenant verification is “unlike anything I’ve seen,” he said.

AI sits at the center of Checkr’s business. And it’s prepared to take on the threat landscape. “As bad actors get more sophisticated, so do we, and that’s an area where we’ll keep investing,” Yarbrough, said.

From weeks to hours: AI in finance

Within finance, AI has already changed how he approaches financial modeling and scenario planning. “What used to take weeks can now happen in hours,” he said. “And the signals you surface are ones you might have missed entirely in a traditional process.” The goal isn’t automation alone, but sharper teams focused on judgment.

“For example, we built a customizable tool that gives each department leader their specific operating expense budget and open headcount,” Yarbrough said. “They now know how they are trending against their budget without involving their partner in finance.”

On his approach to the role: “I fundamentally see myself as an operator of the business who just happens to speak finance fluently,” Yarbrough said.

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com