Jed Rose/Airwallex.
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Airwallex snags Revolut and Deliveroo execs amid European expansion plans
Airwallex says it plans to increase headcount from nearly 100 to over 150 by the end of the year amid European expansion.
SME banking provider Airwallex says it has a “big year ahead” after recruiting executives who previously worked at Deliveroo and Revolut amid European expansion plans.
In November last year, Airwallex announced an additional $100m funding following a $200m funding round two months before.
The additional funding upped its value from a $4bn valuation to $5.5bn.
It has now taken on “two very senior” hires, as it plots growth across Europe.
Juan Diego Farah, a former executive with Deliveroo, is joining as head of SME for the UK while Jessie Apple, the former head of financial crime compliance at Revolut, is joining as director of compliance, EMEA.
Farah, based in Airwallex’s London office, will be responsible for growing the SME business by leading the commercial, marketing, and strategy teams in the market.
Apple will be tasked with reviewing the efficacy of existing and proposed controls, advising the business on appropriate risk mitigation and compliance requirements across existing and new products and services.
Talking about the new hires who started this month, Jed Rose, general manager, EMEA, Airwallex,told AltFi the pair had a “deep understanding of the fintech and startup ecosystem that are vital to the growth and the success of our business”.
Rose added that Airwallex, which was founded by four friends at Melbourne University, was looking to grow headcount from nearly 100 to over 150 by the end of the year.
He added: “We currently have over 35 open roles and are recruiting at all levels of management as we continue to rapidly grow our teams to support the significant increase in demand from business customers across Europe.
“It’s a big year ahead for us and we look forward to not only expanding our team and customer base, but also the regions we operate in.”
Airwallex offers a virtual multi-currency business account with many of the same features as Tide of Starling Bank, such as invoicing, expense cards and international payment.
In the third quarter of 2021, Airwallex said it saw a 165 per cent year on year increase in revenue, and is now operating at an annualised revenue rate of over $100m.
Airwallex doesn’t charge for its business current account, multicurrency accounts, domestic or international payments, but does charge an FX margin of between 0.5–1 per cent.
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