ConnexPay Appoints Ben Peters as Chief Executive Officer

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ConnexPay appoints Ben Peters as CEO, founder Bob Kaufman transitions to chairman of the board. The company secured a $110 million growth equity investment in 2022. Peters brings extensive experience in payments and software companies. ConnexPay has shown remarkable growth and earned prestigious awards in 2023.

Founder Bob Kaufman transitions to chairman of the board

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ConnexPay, the world’s first all-in-one payments platform, today announced the appointment of Ben Peters as chief executive officer. Peters brings more than two decades of experience leading and scaling global payments and vertical software companies. Bob Kaufman, founder of ConnexPay, will remain actively involved in the business, assuming the role of chairman of the board of directors and working alongside Peters to continue driving ConnexPay’s strong growth trajectory.

“Under Bob’s leadership, ConnexPay has built a unique end-to-end platform to both accept and make payments globally that is transforming payments experiences for our customers and their businesses, while achieving remarkable growth,” said Peters. “I am excited to join ConnexPay and assume the reins from Bob, someone I’ve long admired and am lucky enough to call a friend. I look forward to working closely with Bob and the entire ConnexPay team as we continue to deliver on the firm’s track record of growth and investment in innovative products across new payments verticals to further strengthen our market-leading offering.”

A seasoned payments executive, Peters’ vast experience spans the utility, fleet and insurance sectors. Prior to joining ConnexPay, Peters served as chief operating officer for VPay, a digital claim payment processing platform for insurers, which was acquired by Optum in 2021. Peters remained with the company after the acquisition, spending over six years as COO. Peters’ leadership experience also includes nearly a decade as CFO at three vertical software companies: ChoicePay, an electronic bill payment solutions platform for billers; Fleet One (acquired by Wright Express in 2012), a vehicle fleet management services platform; and IOD (acquired by New Mountain Capital in 2015), a healthcare IT data platform.

Kaufman added: “Ben is a world-class leader, who I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the last 18 months. His proven track record of growing and scaling companies, combined with his deep payments expertise, make Ben an optimal fit for our next chapter. Furthermore, our shared values in terms of how we approach culture, customer service and innovation provide great continuity and a solid foundation for Ben to lead ConnexPay into the future. I look forward to our continued partnership and collaboration.”

In October 2022, ConnexPay secured a $110 million growth equity investment from FTV Capital and existing investors, including BIP Ventures. As part of this investment, Adam Hallquist, principal at FTV Capital, joined the board of directors and Chris Winship, partner at FTV Capital, joined as a board observer. Alongside BIP's continued investment in ConnexPay, Austin Poole, General Partner at BIP Ventures, continues his service on the board of directors.

“As the first company to unify B2B payments, Bob has built ConnexPay into a market-leading platform that has enhanced the payments experience by boosting the bottom line for customers while de-risking the payment process,” said Hallquist. “Bob will continue to be a valuable asset to the business, while Ben’s extensive operating experience in the payments space, including working with several successful FTV portfolio companies, will help ConnexPay further capitalize on its accomplishments to date and accelerate growth in the coming years.”

“We have had the opportunity to partner with ConnexPay from the beginning and to be part of the impressive growth they’ve sustained since 2018,” said Poole. “Bob's leadership helped carry the company through the strong headwinds that COVID created and positioned the company to capitalize on competitors pulling out of the travel market. We shared the conviction that he and the ConnexPay team had in the potential of the company, and it’s exciting to see where they are now and the opportunities ahead.”

In 2023, ConnexPay earned two distinguished honors, earning a place on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America and being named the Travel Innovator of the Year at Phocuswright 2023. In addition, in November 2023, the company announced it had doubled its customer base in the 12 months since FTV’s investment.

About ConnexPay

ConnexPay is the first company to seamlessly combine both PayIns and PayOuts into a single platform with one contract and one reconciliation. The flexibility of this technology allows clients to manage all of their B2B payment needs, from taking in sales to paying suppliers, all in one flexible platform. ConnexPay continues to focus on the travel and tourism space, but ConnexPay’s solutions are applicable across a broad spectrum of corporate payment use cases, including insurance and warranty claims, loyalty and rewards payouts, and media and advertising buys. Founded in 2017, ConnexPay continues to innovate and improve end-to-end payments for clients across the globe. In 2023, ConnexPay earned the Travel Innovator of the Year award at Phocuswright and was named to the Inc 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America. Learn more at www.connexpay.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

About FTV Capital

FTV Capital is a sector-focused growth equity investment firm that has raised $6.2 billion to invest in high-growth companies offering a range of innovative solutions in three sectors: enterprise technology and services, financial services, and payments and transaction processing. FTV’s experienced team leverages its domain expertise and proven track record in each of these sectors to help motivated management teams accelerate growth. FTV also provides companies with access to its Global Partner Network®, a group of the world’s leading enterprises and executives who have helped FTV portfolio companies for two decades. Founded in 1998, FTV Capital has invested in 140 portfolio companies, including Agiloft, BillingPlatform, EBANX, Lean Solutions Group, LogicSource, Neptune Flood Insurance, Patra, PlateIQ, ReliaQuest and Vagaro, and successfully exited/partially exited companies including Enfusion (NYSE: ENFN), Globant (NYSE: GLOB), InvestCloud (recapitalized), RapidRatings (recapitalized), Strata Fund Solutions (acquired by Alter Domus), VPay (acquired by Optum) and WorldFirst (acquired by Ant Financial). FTV has offices in San Francisco, New York, Connecticut and London. For more information, please visit www.ftvcapital.com and follow the firm on LinkedIn.

About BIP Ventures

BIP Ventures, the North American-focused venture capital division of BIP Capital, is one of the Southeast's largest and most active VC firms. BIP Ventures partners with extraordinary founders to drive exceptional outcomes. Since 2007, BIP Ventures has invested in the success of B2B software and tech-enabled service businesses at all stages of maturity. In addition to capital, it supports entrepreneurs with access to infrastructure, acumen, and talent, resulting in category-leading companies. For more information, visit bipventures.vc or follow BIP Ventures on LinkedIn, Instagram, or X @bipventures.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240402745049/en/

Liza Amaro

Head of Marketing, ConnexPay

(706) 617-4710

Lamaro@connexpay.com

Source: ConnexPay

FAQ

Who is the new CEO of ConnexPay?

Ben Peters is the new CEO of ConnexPay.

What role will founder Bob Kaufman assume after the appointment of Ben Peters?

Founder Bob Kaufman will transition to chairman of the board of directors.

What was the amount of the growth equity investment secured by ConnexPay in 2022?

ConnexPay secured a $110 million growth equity investment in 2022.

What prestigious awards did ConnexPay earn in 2023?

ConnexPay earned a place on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America and was named the Travel Innovator of the Year at Phocuswright 2023.

Who joined the board of directors of ConnexPay as part of the 2022 investment?

Adam Hallquist, principal at FTV Capital, joined the board of directors, and Chris Winship, partner at FTV Capital, joined as a board observer.