Nicoll Alison

About Nicoll Alison

Alison Nicoll is an experienced legal executive in financial technology, most closely associated with Upstart Holdings, Inc., where she serves as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. According to Upstart’s public SEC filings, she has held that role since May 2012, giving her a long tenure overseeing the company’s legal, governance, and regulatory functions. In a public company environment, that work typically includes advising leadership on corporate strategy, commercial matters, compliance, disclosure, and relationships with regulators and investors. At Upstart, her role has been central to maintaining legal discipline as the company operates in a highly regulated and closely watched lending and technology market. Before joining Upstart, Nicoll built substantial experience at PayPal, where she worked on the legal team from July 2006 to May 2012. Over that period, she advanced to Associate General Counsel and managed the North America legal team. Her responsibilities covered a broad range of issues, including corporate strategy, general commercial matters, regulatory developments, compliance, consumer protection, online and mobile payments, and merchant payment acceptance. That background suggests deep familiarity with the legal architecture of digital payments and the operational risks that come with scaling consumer-facing financial products. Earlier in her career, she served as General Counsel of TSYS Prepaid from 2003 to 2006, a prepaid payments processing company. That experience further strengthened her specialization in payments, financial services, and regulated technology businesses. Taken together, her career path reflects consistent leadership in legal roles at companies operating at the intersection of finance, technology, and regulation. Nicoll earned her law degree from the University of Glasgow and also holds a Master of Laws from Columbia Law School. Her professional profile is notable for continuity, subject-matter depth, and experience guiding companies through legal and regulatory complexity. At Upstart, that combination positions her as a key governance and risk leader supporting the company’s growth and public-company obligations.