Manuel Sandhofer/Nium.
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Nium doubles down on European expansion with new ex-Payoneer GM
Manuel Sandhofer joins Nium after two and a half years as an SVP at Payoneer.
Real-time global payments fintech Nium has appointed former Payoneer leader Manuel Sandhofer as its new general manager for Europe following rapid growth in the region.
Sandhofer joins Nium after two and a half years at the payments company as senior vice president of sales and partners.
The fintech unicorn — co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore but with offices in London, Lithuania and across Asia — serves financial institutions, travel companies and digital platforms with an annualised transaction volume of more than $25bn globally.
According to Nium, Sandhofer’s appointment will enable the company to continue to accelerate its growth in Europe, which accounts for more than 40 per cent of its revenue, which more than doubled last year.
“Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment in Europe, Nium is continuing to hire, sign new customers, expand its product suite, and enter new markets — and I can think of nobody better to spearhead this growth than Manuel,” Nium founder and CEO Prajit Nanu said.
“As we hire regional GMs across the globe, my goal is to find trusted talent that can act as an extension of myself. Manuel is just that; his experience as a founder brings a proven track record of scaling companies at speed, building and nurturing talented teams, and meeting the payments needs of global enterprise customers.”
Before joining Payoneer in 2021, Sandhofer spend almost a decade at UniCredit before co-founding Optile, a Munich-based tech company that was acquired by Payoneer.
“Over the last few years, I’ve watched Nium evolve from a disruptive market entrant into the real-time global payment platform of choice for businesses across Europe. Payments are no longer just the cost of doing business; they are a way to improve performance, create new products and services, and generate revenue,” Sandhofer said.
“But we’ve only reached the tip of the iceberg when thinking about the opportunity for businesses in Europe, especially when applied to payroll, spend management, marketplace, and travel use cases.”
As part of its European expansion, Nium plans to branch out into Amsterdam later this year, with the intention of opening an office with more than 50 new employees.
