Banco Santander's payments offshoot PagoNxt has appointed Mastercard exec Kush Saxena as CEO of its core Merchant Solutions business, Getnet.
At Mastercard, Saxena was EVP of US Merchants and Acceptance, managing merchants and acquirers, pricing, and interchange, and coordinating international merchant activities. He joined Mastercard in 2014 as EVP of strategy, corporate development and M&A.
PagoNxt was created in 2020 and brings together all of Santander’s most innovative payments businesses. Saxena’s appointment follows the hiring of Dean Nash from Wise as general counsel and comes off the back of a successful first quarter which saw revenue increase by 122% to €162 million.
Javier San Félix, PagoNxt’s CEO, said: “I am delighted to announce Kush’s appointment as CEO of PagoNxt Merchant Solutions, our stronghold business. With unrivalled expertise and experience in the payments space, he brings a fresh perspective that will help us realize our ambitious business objectives and build upon the success that Getnet has achieved thus far."
Saxena will be joining PagoNxt in mid-June. Ignacio Narvarte, currently general manager, will take the role of deputy CEO of PagoNxt Merchant Solutions, working alongside Kush to oversee the business across the Getnet franchise and the relationship with Santander banking teams.