Payments giant Paysafe (NYSE: PSFE) has appointed Mark Brooker, a former Betfair chief operating officer, as an independent, non-executive director. The appointment takes immediate effect.
Mark brings to the role a lengthy experience running platform-based businesses across international markets. Combined with his digital expertise, he will be invaluable to Paysafe as the company continues to accelerate growth in Europe and across the world.
Mark was previously COO of European tech company Trainline. Prior to that, he held an analogous role at online gambling operator Betfair Group PLC, now part of Flutter Entertainment, where he was responsible for all operations outside the USA. This included commercial management, product development and customer service across Sportsbook, exchange and gaming products.
In his earlier career, he spent nearly two decades in the investment banking sector advising UK companies on equity capital raising and M&A. Other stops include Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, NatWest and NM Rothschild & Sons.
According to Paysafe, the post-merger company’s board is now comprised of 12 directors led by Chairman Bill Foley. They bring decades of industry experience across payments, banking, technology, iGaming, entertainment, legal & regulatory affairs, capital markets, and M&A.
Commenting on his appointment, Mark Brooker said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Paysafe Board at such an exciting time and I look forward to helping the company with its ambitions to both grow and innovate in specialized digital payments in iGaming as well as other industries. My goal is to continue to help Paysafe add value to shareholders and stakeholders alike.”
Philip McHugh, CEO of Paysafe, added: “Mark brings a wealth of highly applicable and complementary experience to further strengthen our board that we believe will be invaluable as we continue our growth as a newly public company and specialized payments leader. We’re particularly excited to benefit from Mark’s unique input and perspectives with regards to iGaming – an industry we are intensely focused on as the U.S. market ramps up.”
Paysafe has recently boosted its presence in the e-commerce space at a time when competition in the sector is increasing. The global payment provider has acquired gift card payment network Openbucks for an undisclosed sum.
Moreover, the takeover makes strategic sense for Paysafe as it helps deepen its footprint and catapult its offering into the customer’s journey throughout the purchase funnel, from discovery to purchase and payment.
Elsewhere, and given the crowded pipeline of crypto investors, as well as the emerging appetite from millennials, Paysafe onboarded Kraken to participate in its network of cryptocurrency liquidity providers.
This alliance backs Paysafe’s crypto buy and sell products where Skrill and Neteller clients can transact and spend crypto-assets through their wallet accounts.
