Dive Brief:
- Paysafe Limited CFO Alex Gersh will transition to a special advisory role to CEO Bruce Lowthers effective Sept. 4, the payments company announced in a Tuesday press release. FIS alum John Crawford will step in as the London-based firm’s CFO effective immediately, according to the release. Gersh is departing after less than two years in its top finance seat, having served as Paysafe’s CFO since October 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile.
- The CFO swap comes as the company, which provides payment processing, digital wallet and e-cash solutions, “is entering a different chapter of growth where we will focus on scaling the business and ensuring that we can capitalize on opportunities that lie ahead,” Lowthers said in a statement included in the release.
- As CFO, Crawford’s “initial focus will be on operational efficiency,” Lowthers said in a statement emailed to CFO Dive. “John also brings tremendous knowledge of payments and how the payments market is evolving, which in time will allow Paysafe to be positioned well for the next phase in our transformation as we look to scale and accelerate growth as an organization.”
Dive Insight:
Gersh will remain in his advisory role with the payments platform for an “undefined period, but at least through the end of the year,” according to the Tuesday release. He will “work closely” with Crawford to ensure a smooth CFO transition, the company said.
His successor Crawford logged nearly a decade at payments firm FIS, most recently serving as its EVP of strategy, M&A and venture capital, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before FIS, he held various director and vice president roles for companies including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bear Sterns, and GE Capital. Crawford will be based in the company’s Jacksonville, Florida headquarters, Paysafe said.
The FIS alum is bringing his experience in the global venture investing and M&A spaces to Paysafe, coming as the payments company continues to strive toward growth following its transition to a public entity three years ago. Paysafe became a public company in 2021 via a special purposes acquisition merger with Foley Trasimene Acquisition Corp. — an entity backed by investor Bill Foley — which valued the business at approximately $9 billion including debt, according to reports at the time from The Street and CNBC.
For the past two years, the company has “maintained our focus” to improve its operations, expand sales and reduce its debt, Lowthers said via email, a strategy which will continue with Crawford at its financial helm. Paysafe has particularly honed in on the budding “iGaming space,” with Foley noting the goal was to position the company as iGaming’s “preminent” leader” in 2021, according to CNBC.
The company, which has a current market cap of approximately $1.3 billion, has continued to see iGaming revenue grow throughout the past year thanks to agreements signed in 2023, which came as more U.S. states legalized online gambling, according to its most recent quarterly results. In April, the company launched a “Pay by Bank” feature enabling U.S. iGaming users to both cash out and deposit funds from their bank accounts, according to a press release.
While the company did not outline iGaming revenues specifically, Paysafe reported a 9% increase year-over-year in total revenues to nearly $440 million for its second quarter ended June 30, to its earnings results.
Its “robust performance” for the first half of the year also caused Paysafe to up its full year 2024 revenue guidance to a range between $1.71 billion to $1.72 billion, compared to previous guidance of $1.68 billion to $1.71 billion. Additionally, the company lowered its total debt to $222.4 million, reflecting a $50.4 million decrease compared to Dec. 31, 2023, according to its earnings report.
“These results reinforce our conviction that we have the right strategy in place and execution is working,” Lowthers told CFO Dive in an emailed statement.
