Pomelo Group, the Singapore based payment infrastructure platform that enables financial institutions to offer modern payment solutions to their end users, today announced that Steve Vickers, formerly COO of Paysend and CEO of Thunes, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and will join the company’s Board of Directors.
Vickers succeeds Vincent Choi, Pomelo Group’s co-founder, who is stepping down as CEO and joins Pomelo’s strategic advisory board.
Vickers has over 25 years of executive experience growing a number of highly successful venture backed businesses and has a deep understanding of cross-border B2B payments in Southeast Asia. Prior to Pomelo, Vickers served in previous leadership roles in the Payments Industry, as COO & Asia Managing Director of Paysend, and as CEO of Thunes. He has been based in Singapore for 15 years and helped establish both Grab and Xiaomi as successful, respected brands across the region.
“Steve is a proven leader and the right person to lead Pomelo in its next chapter” said Endre Sagi, Pomelo’s Executive Chairman. “He is an experienced technology executive with a long tenure in the payment industry who has shown consistency and excellence in execution. Steve’s leadership in building highly successful startups, such as Thunes, Paysend and Grab, and developing and attracting world class talent will serve Pomelo well into the future. We look forward to working with him.”
Vickers said, “I am honoured to join Pomelo as CEO to lead its next stage of growth. Over the past few years, Pomelo has established itself as a trusted payment infrastructure provider at multiple leading organizations in Southeast Asia. As I step into the CEO role, I am focused on continuing to build on our strong foundation to realize the full potential of our business. I am confident that Pomelo is well-positioned to become the leading payment infrastructure provider of financial institutions across Southeast Asia.”
“Building Pomelo over the past six years has been one of the highlights of my career,” said Vincent Choi. “We launched Pomelo in 2017 with Simon Verraest and Neil Cuthbert over an idea in a small office in London. I’m proud to have led the company from zero to nearly $2 billion in annualized processing volume. I leave Pomelo in the hands of a capable and experienced management team who have my full support and respect. It’s been a privilege to lead Pomelo and serve our employees, customers and partners, all of whom have been instrumental to the company’s growth. I will remain involved with Pomelo as an advisor to help contribute to its strategic direction.”
Vickers continued, “It is a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Vincent. Over the last six years, Vincent led Pomelo through its evolution from a startup to a trusted payment infrastructure provider of several leading financial institutions. As Vincent is joining the company’s strategic advisory board, we will continue to work together on shaping Pomelo’s future.”