Pleo today announces the appointment of Abigail Slater as its new head of operations in the UK and Ireland.
Europe’s leading business spend solution, which is helping small and medium sized businesses leave behind the pains of old-fashioned financial processes, is now investing in further strategic talent for its UKI team, following a period of sustained growth for the business.
Abigail is joining from American Express, where as vice president of global commercial services, she played an integral leadership role in accelerating the growth of the company’s SME unit and client base, overseeing account management, sales and stakeholder strategies. She has also held several previous senior roles at American Express, including vice president of the commercial servicing network for the UK and US, and the director of merchant group in Asia.
Abigail is joining Pleo at a pivotal moment in the company’s growth. Since February 2021, Pleo has expanded into six new markets in Europe, and in the past year, users on the platform across the continent have doubled, while transaction volumes have tripled. Forward-thinking companies, such as Hello Fresh, Byron Burger, and E.ON Next, are just some of the names now relying on Pleo’s platform to help simplify their finance processes. This momentum comes off the back of Pleo reaching unicorn status in 2021, when it raised $350 million in Series C funding. The business is valued at $4.7 billion, making it one of the most valuable FinTech startups.
Abigail Salter, Pleo’s new UKI country lead, said: “Pleo’s momentum over the last 12 months has been incredible to watch, so I am honoured to be tasked with driving and leading the next phase of the company’s growth in the UKI. The demand for Pleo’s platform shows UK businesses are actively looking for ways to transform and simplify the way their finances are managed, especially at this important time of increased economic uncertainty. I look forward to meeting and working with my other talented colleagues as we strive to continue growing Pleo’s footprint in the UK and Ireland.”
Sara Brooks, Pleo’s head of Europe, commented: “Abigail’s hire comes at an incredibly important and exciting moment for the growth of our business in the UKI. We have ambitious goals to continue building out our product set to help UKI businesses radically change how they manage their financial operations in the years ahead, so we are thrilled to have secured Abigail’s talent and expertise. With her experience in both payments and driving the growth of AMEX expense management solution, she has the experience needed as we embark on the next phase of the Pleo journey.”