Flutterwave Recruits Top-Tier Executives With Experience From PayPal, Stripe And Western Union

Nigerian Fintech unicorn, Flutterwave, has recently appointed highly skilled executives with previous experiences at PayPal, Stripe, Western Union, American Express, First Data, and Square.

These appointments underscore Flutterwave’s commitment to enhancing risk management and compliance, ensuring sustained growth and successful global expansion.

Speaking on the new appointments, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola said,

“We are excited to welcome Amaresh, Stephen, Amanda, Steven, Chris and Wale to Flutterwave. This is a big step forward on our journey to build sustainable, safe, and secure payment solutions that connect Africa to the world and vice versa. 

“Their wealth of experience will help us maintain an atmosphere of sustainable growth and a constructive environment for our people. They will help us solidify our commitment to providing excellent payment services to existing and potential enterprises and individuals from across the world.” 

Here is an overview of the profile of the newly appointed executives at Flutterwave;

Amaresh Mohan, Chief Risk Officer, joins Flutterwave as the company’s first Chief Risk Officer, a role he previously held at GoTo Group, Indonesia’s largest digital ecosystem that was publicly listed at IDX last year. 

Amaresh’s 25-year career includes leadership positions at Stripe and PayPal where he was responsible for building risk management capabilities to enable market entries and scaling up in several emerging markets globally. Previously, Amaresh has held key roles in leading global banks, including Citibank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bank of America. 

At Flutterwave, Amaresh will oversee all aspects of Risk Management, including  Compliance, Trust, and Safety. He will work closely with the board and Flutterwave leadership to build a risk-aware culture and strong governance across the company. 

Stephen Cheng, EVP of Global Expansion and Payment Partnerships brings over two decades of global experience at Fortune 100 and high-growth regulated financial institutions, building, and leading world-class risk and compliance organizations. 

Stephen will spearhead Flutterwave’s navigation of the ever-evolving global payment systems and facilitate the company’s expansion into new markets globally through acquiring licenses and strategic payment partnership initiatives. 

Amanda Ortega, Head of Compliance, US, brings more than 20 years of experience in the banking industry, including 12 years as a regulator with the State of Wyoming’s Division of Banking, where she served in various roles, including Chief Bank Examiner and Deputy Banking Commissioner. 

Prior to Flutterwave, Amanda was a regulatory, audit, and compliance executive for multiple licensed trust companies and money transmitters.  She will be responsible for overseeing Flutterwave’s regulatory standards and compliance in North America. 

Steven Huynh, VP, of Global Expansion & Payment Partnerships at Flutterwave to further strengthen its risk, compliance, and partnerships teams, the company announced the appointments of several senior-level hires, including Steven Huynh, who has joined as VP of global Expansion and Payment Partnerships and is an industry veteran holding compliance, risk, and operational leadership roles at Western Union, Sigue, and Wyre.

Chris Davis, VP, of Compliance & Risk Operations at Flutterwave. Davis who joined as VP, of Risk and Compliance Operations, held leadership roles in compliance, risk, and operations at Scottrade and Square/Cash App.

Adewale Ayantoye joins Flutterwave as VP of Risk Management. He previously held a Director-level Financial Crimes Operations role at Etsy, and a leadership role in compliance at Square/Cash App. Among them, they have a combined experience spanning over 30 years with expertise across compliance, risk, and partnerships. 

These appointments of highly skilled executives will provide Flutterwave with the much-needed confidence, as it prepares to move forward with plans for an initial public offering (IPO), which it first publicly indicated in 2022.