Currencycloud, the experts simplifying business in a multi-currency world, announced today the appointment of Mark Ledsham as the firm’s new Chief Operations Officer (COO), and Neil Drennan as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO).  

Previously CEO of XE.com, Ledsham will take responsibility for scaling the global payment company’s underlying compliance and payment infrastructure as the firm continues to grow internationally. Previously CTO at 10X Future Technologies, Drennan has also held roles at BBC Worldwide, Amazon and Virgin Media. He will take on responsibility for the build and development for Currencycloud’s platform and supporting technology solutions. 

Ledsham said of the move: “I’m joining Currencycloud at an incredibly exciting stage in its growth trajectory. This made for a compelling opportunity: to work alongside the best in the business, serving many of the most important fintech and financial services companies in the world. I’m very much looking forward to working with the existing leadership team to build upon a truly global, industry-leading proposition”.   

A veteran business leader across financial services and technology, Ledsham joins Currencycloud from XE.com where he was CEO. Prior to joining XE.com, Mark held senior roles at international payment Fintech OFX, and financial services conglomerate Macquarie Group. Drennan joins from 10X Future Technologies where he was CTO, where he grew the engineering team to 330 from 80, and built a cloud native platform architecture using similar methods as we do at Currencycloud. 

Drennan commented on his new role: “Currencycloud has changed the face of cross-border payments using technology to deliver faster, more transparent and cost-effective solutions for its clients. I am looking forward to working with, and growing, the existing team to continue being at the forefront of the industry.”  

Mike Laven, Currencycloud CEO, said: “Mark and Neil are top-quality talent and we’re extremely pleased to welcome them aboard. These new roles will allow the business to focus on key areas of development as we aim to continue our ambitious growth plans.” 

Drennan’s role will allow Stuart Bailey to turn his attentions to accelerating product development as he takes on the focused role of Chief Product Officer (CPO). 

These senior appointments are the latest in a flurry of growth stories from the firm; the company has hired 100 new employees in the past 12 months and secured 100 new clients in the first half of the year, recently announced a brand refresh, launched a free 12-month start-up accelerator programme - the Bold Academy, and opened a new office in Singapore. The business also saw global monthly transaction volume grow to over $4bn in the first half of 2021: it has now processed over $100bn in transactions around the world since it was founded in 2012. Despite the impacts of the pandemic, the firm also saw 65% growth in revenue in H1 2021 compared to the same period last year.