Execs exit London-based WorldFirst, as tech mogul Jack Ma rings changes

A string of senior leaders have departed London-based payments provider WorldFirst, as billionaire boss Jack Ma rings the changes.

WorldFirst, which processes billions of pounds of international payments, was founded in 2004 and was snapped by Ma’s Ant Group in 2019 in a deal thought to be worth more than £550m.

According to a report in the London Evening Standard, departures from WorldFirst include CEO Jeff Parker, finance director Stephen Gregson and managing director Danny Howe.

Parker left to join card issuing platform Marqeta late last year.

The report also says members of the company’s risk and legal team have also left, including its head of risk, chief information security officer, and group general counsel and compliance officer.

The report says that staff at WorldFirst parent company, Ant Financial, as well as its sister company, Chinese payments platform Alipay, have been drafted in to replace the departing managers.

WorldFirst has not commented on the departures.

Ma, a former English teacher, was once China’s richest man and is China's best-known entrepreneur.

He co-founded Alibaba, the multinational technology conglomerate, in 1999.

The move by Ma to shift power away from London follows criticism from Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky of the UK’s “extreme bureaucracy”, high taxes and red tape.