Online payments business Paysafe has tapped Alex Gersh, previously of Sportradar, as the business’s new chief financial officer.
Gersh has extensive experience in international financial leadership, having previously held CFO positions in a variety of public and private organisations on both sides of the Atlantic. The CFO will join the business on 3 October 2022 and report to Paysafe CEO Bruce Lowthers.
Gersh is PaySafe’s latest senior leadership hire, following the business’s announcement that Rob Gatto would be joining as chief revenue officer.
Sportradar announced in its Q2 results last week that Gersh was set to leave the business for an opportunity in the US.
At Sportradar, Gersh helped build the company’s finance function as well as leading its initial public offering on NASDAQ in September 2021. He has experience working in the gaming sector, having worked as CFO at Betfair Group from 2012.
Following the betting exchange’s 2016 merger with Paddy Power, he continued as board director and CFO at the new combined entity that would eventually rebrand as Flutter, the world’s largest online gambling conglomerate.
Paysafe CEO Bruce Lowthers lauded Gersh’s experience in a statement: “Alex is a highly talented finance executive with a proven track record of driving growth for the international companies he has helped to lead.”
“I know he will be a real asset to our team as we continue our path to accelerate growth and drive long term value for all our stakeholders.”
Gersh added: “Paysafe has a highly diversified and relevant digital payments offering in the specialised industries it focuses on including gaming and entertainment.”
“I have been fortunate to have worked for some of the biggest brands in these sectors and I very much look forward to bringing my knowledge and insights to my new role at Paysafe and being part of this ambitious company’s future growth story.”
Q2 impairment
The executive will be joining in a business that reported an $669.4m operating loss in Q2, having been hit with a sizeable impairment charge of $676.5m. This was due to the fall in the company’s share price, which hit a threshold that triggered an automatic re-evaluation of Paysafe’s assets – which ended in lowering many of the goodwill estimates. This led to a large one-time hit to business’s financials.
In that quarter, Paysafe also launched a new VIP platform for high-rolling US players.
Gersh replaces former CFO, Izzy Dawood who will exit PaySafe later in the year.
Lowthers said: “I would like to express our sincere thanks to Izzy for his significant contribution to Paysafe during his time with the company and his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition of responsibilities.”
