People Moves: Worldline, EFT Corporation, Flywire and SumUp

Madalena Cascais Tomé

Job from: CEO of SIBS
Job to: Head of Financial Services at Worldline

Worldline continues to drive growth through leadership changes as Madalena Cascais Tomé is appointed Head of Financial Services. 

Serving as CEO of SIBS Group for a decade, Madalena demonstrated leadership through the successful launch of a range of products and services. 

Included in this was the launch of MB WAY, a comprehensive payment solution in the Eurozone.  

Madalena also aided the expansion of 15 new business lines, further leading the company in its success. She set new benchmarks for success in Europe as she brought her expertise in cybersecurity, pan-European payments and network management to the company. 

She transfers those skills to Worldline, including expertise in digital services, digital certification and financial management. 

“It is with great enthusiasm and a deep sense of commitment that I join Worldline to help consolidate its leadership as the European payments champion and the trusted partner for financial institutions, corporates and institutional players.” Madalena says. 

“With its strong technology DNA, comprehensive and regionally rooted solutions, and global reach, Worldline is the trusted partner to help institutions navigate both the complexities and the opportunities of the payments industry.”

As Worldline continues its growth, Madalena’s expertise, specifically in payments and digital services, will aid the company as it continues to provide services to banks worldwide. 

Pierre-Antoine Vacheron, CEO of Worldline, notes: “I am pleased to announce the appointment of Madalena Cascais Tomé as Head of our Financial Services division. Madalena brings significant expertise in driving innovation, advancing digital transformation and delivering operational excellence within the payments sector. 

“Her extensive leadership experience across pan-European payments will be instrumental in addressing our clients' evolving requirements and supporting Worldline’s ongoing growth. 

“We are confident that, under her leadership, our division will continue to uphold the highest standards of service quality, resilience, and security.

I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to Alessandro Baroni for his dedicated service and valuable contributions to Worldline. We wish him continued success in his future endeavours.”

Her prior roles include serving as a strategic consultant at McKinsey, before moving on to be a Senior Consultant at Andersen/Deloitte with a specialism in advanced data modelling and AI. 

She additionally had senior roles at MEO/Portugal Telecom Group, overseeing B2C commercial strategy and operations. 

Madalena currently serves as chairperson for EMPSA (European Mobile Payments Systems Association) as well as co-leads EuroPA (the European Payments Alliance). Her expertise provides valuable insights to achieving interoperability and cross-border payment initiatives.

Adri Führi

Job from: Group CFO at e4 Strategic
Job to: Group CFO at EFT Corporation

Qualified chartered accountant Adri Fuhri is set to strengthen EFT Company’s position. 

Her expertise comes from 12 years at the Standard Bank South Africa (SBSA), where she refined her knowledge of African markets.

She tackled problems in technically complex business areas and developed expertise while doing so. 

“I’m thrilled to join EFT Corporation at such an exciting phase of the Group’s growth journey,” Adri says. 

“The payments industry offers tremendous opportunities, particularly across African markets, and I look forward to contributing my experience to support EFT Corporation’s strategic expansion while building strong, collaborative teams.”

Currently, Adri’s primary priorities involve preparing the business and its operations as EFT Corporation shifts towards expanding across the Kenyan and Ethiopian markets. 

Adri will be focusing on strengthening the company’s financial processes while she uses knowledge of EFT’s business operations to maintain harmony between the company’s financial strategy and its expansion.  

Her other duties are to ensure that the company reaches optimal financial efficiency and flow, and to manage strategic growth initiatives. 

Mike Smits, Group Managing Director, notes: “Adri brings exactly the kind of strategic financial leadership we need as we scale our operations and product offerings.” 

“Her proven track record in high-growth environments, combined with her deep understanding of African markets and fintech dynamics, makes her an invaluable addition to our executive team.”

Adri has held senior-level CFO roles in private equity-backed and multinational businesses. 

She leads her new role with a mindset revolving around a coaching-oriented approach, particularly aimed at supporting women and girls in STEM.

Nicole James joins global payments software provider Flywire from Credit Karma, where she gained considerable experience in organisational strategy. 

Her role as Chief People Officer included managerial responsibilities for the people function. 

Additionally, Nicole aligned the talent strategy, which assisted the company in a period of transformation and growth.

She also served as Chief People Officer at Unite Us, bringing efficient processes involving leadership structures and people operations to the health-tech company.  

Her leadership was also pivotal at software giant Square as the company underwent rapid change. 

Nicole’s skills as Global Head of People inspired the company to achieve elevated levels of growth during that period.  

of her new posting, she says: “Flywire is an exceptional organisation, underpinned by its award-winning culture and high-performing teams.

“I was particularly drawn to the company's commitments to innovation and digital transformation initiatives, and focus on global workforce development.

“I am excited to build on Flywire’s incredible momentum and help attract and develop the best talent as we continue to deliver value to our clients, payers, partners and shareholders.”

Flywire benefits from Nicole’s experience leading companies in international markets. 

Using both M&A and organic growth, Nicole has led numerous global expansion ventures in regions such as the Americas, APAC and Europe. 

Mike Massaro, CEO of Flywire, comments: “With a proven track record of driving digital transformation and scaling people functions for fast-growing, multinational corporations, Nicole’s experience aligns perfectly with Flywire’s strategic priorities.”

“We believe Nicole’s industry expertise in FinTech, coupled with her extensive leadership in organisational strategy, talent development, and M&A, will help us achieve our next level of scale. 

“We're confident that her skills and vision will be instrumental in nurturing our high-performance teams and fostering a culture of continuous learning.”

She continues: “I was particularly drawn to the company's commitments to innovation and digital transformation initiatives, and focus on global workforce development.

“I am excited to build on Flywire’s incredible momentum and help attract and develop the best talent as we continue to deliver value to our clients, payers, partners and shareholders.”

Flywire benefits from Nicole’s experience leading companies in international markets. 

Using both M&A and organic growth, Nicole has led numerous global expansion ventures in regions such as the Americas, APAC and Europe. 

Mike Massaro, CEO of Flywire, comments: “With a proven track record of driving digital transformation and scaling people functions for fast-growing, multinational corporations, Nicole’s experience aligns perfectly with Flywire’s strategic priorities.”

“We believe Nicole’s industry expertise in FinTech, coupled with her extensive leadership in organisational strategy, talent development, and M&A, will help us achieve our next level of scale. 

“We're confident that her skills and vision will be instrumental in nurturing our high-performance teams and fostering a culture of continuous learning.”

Luke Griffiths

Job from: Chief Commercial Officer, SumUp
Job to: UK CEO, SumUp

SumUp strengthens its leadership with an internal move. Luke Griffiths, CCO, has been appointed UK CEO. 

Since joining in 2023, Luke has proven to be an instrumental change at the company. 

His leadership has resulted in a growth in UK sales after building a sales team with over 150 members when recognising the importance of sales as a driver of growth. 

In his role, Luke has led the team to gain over 1000 new customers per month. 

His strategy also involved the implementation of AI programmes to ensure maximum efficiency when onboarding and targeting merchants. Almost 50% of deals were made using AI. 

In addition to his innovation in sales, Luke retained an influential role while SumUp introduced its most powerful handheld payment device to hit the shelves thus far. 

Under his leadership, the company introduced a proprietary app that saw a 15% increase in customer satisfaction.

The app provides a secure way for SumUp merchants to communicate with agents over the phone, without the need to exit the app. 

After the initial launch, the feature has received positive feedback, improving the customer satisfaction score by 15%.

Luke says: “I am incredibly excited to expand my role at SumUp during this transformative period. 

“We’ve already made significant strides this year, launching cutting-edge products like the SumUp Terminal and Bookings, and securing partnerships with major venues such as the O2 Arena.

“As UK CEO, I am committed to unlocking fresh growth opportunities, particularly in enterprise and hospitality, while continuing to serve our valued existing merchants with market-leading solutions.”

Luke’s priorities lie with increasing the company’s growth even further as SumUp looks to grow offerings in the UK hospitality and enterprise sectors. 

SumUp will be further focusing on empowering merchants and expanding its reach beyond the established SME and nano-merchant base on which the company lays its foundations. 

Marc-Alexander Christ, Co-founder of SumUp:  “Luke brings invaluable experience and a clear strategic vision that is critical for SumUp’s next chapter. Having worked closely with him as CCO, I have no doubt his focus will deliver exceptional results for our UK market. 

“His deep understanding of merchants’ needs will be pivotal as the business landscape continues to evolve. 

“We are transitioning to serve an even more diverse range of merchants, and Luke will be key to our continued UK success. We also extend our sincere gratitude to outgoing UK CEO Luke Beavon for his significant contributions and leadership over the past two years.”

Luke previously served as Chief Commercial Officer for Klarna for seven years, implementing a strategy to strengthen its presence in the UK. 

Before that, Luke was responsible for the Marketing Solutions division for EMEA and APAC at eBay for six years. 

He says: “As UK CEO, I am committed to unlocking fresh growth opportunities, particularly in enterprise and hospitality, while continuing to serve our valued existing merchants with market-leading solutions.”

Luke’s priorities lie with increasing the company’s growth even further as SumUp looks to grow offerings in the UK hospitality and enterprise sectors. 

SumUp will be further focusing on empowering merchants and expanding its reach beyond the established SME and nano-merchant base on which the company lays its foundations. 

Marc-Alexander Christ, Co-founder of SumUp:  “Luke brings invaluable experience and a clear strategic vision that is critical for SumUp’s next chapter. Having worked closely with him as CCO, I have no doubt his focus will deliver exceptional results for our UK market. 

“His deep understanding of merchants’ needs will be pivotal as the business landscape continues to evolve. 

“We are transitioning to serve an even more diverse range of merchants, and Luke will be key to our continued UK success. We also extend our sincere gratitude to outgoing UK CEO Luke Beavon for his significant contributions and leadership over the past two years.”

Luke previously served as Chief Commercial Officer for Klarna for seven years, implementing a strategy to strengthen its presence in the UK. 

Before that, Luke was responsible for the Marketing Solutions division for EMEA and APAC at eBay for six years.