Nium, the global leader in real-time cross-border payments, announced the appointment of Spencer Hanlon to the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO). Previously, Hanlon served as Nium’s Global Head of Travel, spearheading one of the company’s fastest-growing business units. Hanlon joined Nium in 2021 via the acquisition of Ixaris Group Ltd., where he served as Chairman.
In his new role as COO, Hanlon will lead and scale Nium’s day-to-day operations into its next phase of growth, with particular emphasis on new client onboarding, global technical services, and long-term strategic initiatives. He will report to Nium’s Founder and CEO, Prajit Nanu.
“Spencer has been an integral part of Nium for the past three years, demonstrating exceptional cross-functional leadership and a deep understanding of what it takes to scale,” said Nanu. “Appointing Spencer to COO was a natural decision. His vision and dedication have been invaluable to our success, and I am confident that under his leadership, we will continue to achieve outstanding results.”
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Based out of London, Hanlon built the travel business at Nium, growing it from a regional player to one of the world’s leading issuers of virtual cards. Recently, Nium announced year over year (2022 to 2023) revenue growth of 100% in virtual cards in Asia, a strategic priority market for the company.
Commenting on the appointment, Hanlon said, “During the three years I have been with Nium, I have witnessed first-hand the success of this forward-thinking acquisition, as it blossomed into a key part of this incredible cross-border payments scale-up. Now to have the opportunity to lead incredibly dedicated, intelligent, and fun-loving teams across the globe, within one of the world’s most admired fintechs, is both an incredible honour and cause of real excitement for me. To that end, I have the clear brief to continue to make everything we do here at Nium all about the customer. Honestly, I can’t wait to get started.”
Prior to joining Nium, Hanlon held various leadership positions with British Airways over the course of a decade. He has worked and lived in several markets, including the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Malaysia, Switzerland, Israel and Turkey. He furthered his career in travel payments with almost two decades at Lufthansa’s AirPlus International where he led teams in sales, marketing, processing, operations, and customer services – culminating in a stint as Managing Director and COO of AirPlus International GmbH – based out of their headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.
Nium is confident that Hanlon’s appointment will further strengthen the company’s leadership team and enhance its ability to deliver exceptional value to its customers, partners, and stakeholders.
Hanlon succeeds Pratik Gandhi, who joined the company in 2016 and took over as Nium’s COO in 2019. Gandhi will move away from his operating role in the company by the end of this year and will continue to be associated with Nium as Co-founder Emeritus and advisor to Nium’s CEO.
“I am proud of the growth and success we have achieved together and are now at a critical inflection point,” said Gandhi. “It has been an exciting journey navigating through complexities of growth and scale, and I am confident that the company will continue to thrive under Spencer’s leadership.”
“Pratik has been key to Nium’s success. He has been my partner in building this company for the past eight years and it is difficult to describe his contribution in mere words,” said Nanu. “During his time at Nium, Pratik created a culture of excellence, building multiple functions from the ground up. I, and the entire team here at Nium, continue to be excited to see what he will accomplish next.”
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