Plooto Stacks C-Suite With Power Players from Google, Versapay, and Chargebee
May 01 2024 - 9:52AM
Business Wire
Experienced leaders in three core business
units prepare the company to accelerate growth of comprehensive
payments ecosystem for North American SMBs
Plooto, the payment automation solution for small-to-midsize
businesses (SMBs), welcomes executive leaders Abe Knell as Chief
Revenue Officer, Chelsea Bailey as Chief People Officer, and
Christopher Wassenaar as Chief Compliance Officer. Bringing
extensive experience in the technology sector, Abe, Chelsea, and
Christopher join Plooto in key roles supporting its mission to be
the financial engine putting SMBs in control of their cash
management.
Recently recognized on both the Deloitte Fast 500™ North America
and Fast 50™ Canada lists, Plooto has cemented a leadership team
with deep fintech experience. In 2023, Plooto made key executive
hires to lead marketing, risk, and strategic partnerships, with
impressive stints at Varo Bank, Xero, Xoom, and PayPal on their
collective resumes. More recently, SVP of Finance and Operations
Wajdi Ghoussoub and Co-founder and CTO Serguei Kloubkov
transitioned to the interim positions of Co-CEO to lead the
company's execution of its 2024 initiatives.
“We remain laser focused on helping SMBs attain financial growth
by making robust payment operations and cashflow management
solutions accessible. As part of our commitment to our customers’
success, we have invested in leaders that will ensure Plooto is
effective in achieving that mission,” says Wajdi Ghoussoub,
Plooto’s Interim Co-CEO. “As Abe, Chelsea, and Christopher join our
team, I am both excited and confident that Plooto is poised to
unlock critical cash management control for even more businesses
across North America.”
Abe Knell, Chief Revenue Officer
With over 25 years spent building high performing, diverse
revenue teams, Abe's experience includes leading global sales at
Chargebee during their post-$250M Series H expansion, scaling Jive
Communications until acquisition by LogMeIn (GoTo.com), and
co-founding Workfront, a project management solution acquired by
Adobe for $1.5B.
“Having co-founded and operated within startups, I have deep
empathy for the challenges SMBs face in today’s economic landscape
– especially when it comes to cash management,” says Knell.
“Plooto’s reputation for solving customer pain points with an
innovative, seamless platform precedes them. I’m excited to build
the go-to-market functions at a company connecting world class
payment operations with other core business tools.”
Chelsea Bailey, Chief People Officer
Joining Plooto with over 20 years of experience leading
strategic people programs at companies like Google and X, the
moonshot factory, Chelsea brings a
dedication to fostering workplace well-being and critical subject
matter expertise in scaling teams. Having spent years developing an
innovative approach to people development which incorporates
mindfulness, Chelsea will focus on cultivating Plooto’s
mission-driven employee community and establishing frameworks to
scale teams that propel the company through its next phase of
growth.
“Leading the People function at Plooto represents an opportunity
to be part of something truly transformative — this is a company
that is not only reshaping the way businesses manage their
finances, but also making a positive impact on business owners and
finance professionals by helping them reclaim their time and energy
through more efficient processes,” says Bailey. “The passion,
expertise, and camaraderie within the Plooto team are palpable, and
it's evident that everyone is deeply invested in the company's
success and the success of our customers.”
Christopher Wassenaar, Chief Compliance Officer
For more than 14 years, Chris has led international expansion,
merger integration, regulatory compliance, and payment licensing
projects in the United States, Canada, the UK, and beyond. He has
previously held positions as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and
various Board Secretary positions with five private equity and
venture capital backed technology firms. Christopher is poised to
navigate a highly regulated financial ecosystem in Canada and
globally as Plooto expands its channel partners, platform
capabilities, and customer base.
“Having witnessed my father build his first business from the
ground up as an immigrant to Canada, I know what obstacles SMBs
face, and Plooto’s support for entrepreneurs resonates deeply with
me,” says Wassenaar. “The opportunity to make financial services
more accessible to the SMBs who need easy-to-use solutions, and to
trust the security of those solutions, is a driving force for
me.”
In 2024, Plooto’s executive leaders will build on the company’s
momentum by scaling go-to-market motions including partnerships,
and executing a strategic product roadmap that propels the company
to new heights as it partners with thousands of businesses across
North America to unlock their growth.
About Plooto
Plooto partners with growing small-to-midsize businesses to give
them complete control over their cash management. The all-in-one
payment automation platform securely automates all payable and
receivable workflows, offers extensive payment capabilities, and
seamless integration with accounting software to automatically
reconcile invoices. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Toronto,
Plooto serves over 10,000 North American businesses, and integrates
with top accounting software platforms Quickbooks, Xero, and
NetSuite. Simplifying complex processes at scale, Plooto is the
financial engine businesses rely on to achieve their growth
potential.
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ryan@fullyvested.com