Cellulant, an African payments company, has announced the addition of several executives from global payment companies to its management team as part of its expansion strategy.
This development comes three months after CEO Akshay Grover stepped down, allowing Peter O’Toole, the company’s former CFO, to take on the role of Acting CEO and oversee operations.
Early in 2023, the company started the restructuring process because of funding constraints. Cellulant implemented layoffs three times in the year, citing “strategic operational adjustments” as the reason for the action, which were meant to boost growth and efficiency.
According to O’Toole, the company’s goal is to establish itself as “a highly sustainable and profitable payments company, renowned for the operational excellence showcased across our three core Business Units: Checkout, Payout, and Banking Solutions.”
He also stated that the new executives’ expertise in payments and financial services will be critical as the company builds its capabilities in product growth, service delivery, operational efficiency, and risk management to serve enterprise businesses globally.
Andy O’Sullivan, the company’s new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), will lead the new executive team. With over two decades of experience, he leads technology teams to scale agile delivery, create enterprise architecture, and drive strategic technology advancement.
He has held several C-level positions at payment network companies such as Geidea Group, Network International, and Telr.
Gbenga Haastrup joins Cellulant as an Executive Consultant in Governance, Risk, and Compliance. With leadership experience at several companies, including Interswitch, UBA, and Standard Chartered Bank, he will oversee all compliance, legal, regulatory, and governance standards to ensure Cellulant’s strong risk management culture.
Irene Koki assumed the Group Head of Internal Audit role, reporting to Cellulant’s board of directors and collaborating closely with the leadership team to drive operational efficiency measures and strengthen corporate governance to support Cellulant’s growth.
In addition, Ochechoya Ekpete joins as Vice President of Group Finance. With experience at Stripe and Interswitch, he will be in charge of all corporate finance functions, such as financial controllership, financial reporting, tax, pricing, financial planning and analysis.
Susan Fouche has been appointed the new Group Chief People Officer. She took on the role after two years of successfully delivering on Cellulant’s organizational design, reward, and career mobility frameworks in her previous role as Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness, Performance, Reward, and Talent Acquisition.
