Global fintech SumUp has reinforced its European operations with a series of strategic executive appointments based at its Dublin office. Niall Mac an tSionnaigh is now CEO of SumUp Limited, SumUp’s Irish operating company, and Alastair Nolan, who joined as SumUp Group’s CFO Europe, will serve as SumUp Limited’s Head of Finance. 

Claire Gillanders is now Head of Compliance, after four years in SumUp’s risk organisation. Jessica Cotta was recently appointed as Chief Risk Officer for SumUp Limited. 

Long-time SumUpper Gareth Walsh has transitioned to being a non-executive director on the board, alongside Siona Meghen who has joined the SumUp Limited board as an independent non-executive director.

Ireland is strategically significant for SumUp, with the Irish entity operating as a gateway to SumUp’s European markets. The company has enjoyed over a decade of sustained growth and has generated positive EBITDA since December 2022. In recent years SumUp won prestigious awards in Ireland, including ‘Best Global SME Fintech Company’ in 2024 and ‘Best Global Mobile Business Payment Solutions Provider’ in 2022 and 2023.

Niall has been with SumUp since 2022, concurrently holding the roles of VP of Global Operations and COO of SumUp Limited before taking over as CEO. Before SumUp, Niall was at LinkedIn for eight years, initially based in San Francisco and then leading a 500 person global operations and support team from Dublin. Niall has also worked at Deloitte, Bank of Scotland, Accenture, and studied at UCD.

CEO Niall Mac an tSionnaigh: “I am honoured to step up as CEO for SumUp Limited and to lead this critical part of the global SumUp organisation in our next phase of growth. SumUp has a strong track record of providing innovative payment solutions to small businesses, and I am looking forward to continuing to build on that success. I am committed to ensuring that SumUp remains focused on its mission of empowering small businesses to thrive and succeed in the digital economy. I am thrilled to be a part of such a talented and dedicated team, and I am confident that together we can achieve great things’

Alastair joined SumUp in May from Morgan Stanley, where he worked for over a decade. During his time at Morgan Stanley, Alastair was based in London and Boston and worked across equity sales and research, specialising in software and payments. His final position was Executive Director. Like Niall, Alastair studied at UCD.

Head of Finance and CFO Europe Alastair Nolan: “SumUp is a high growth company, leading a competitive market. As we expand the services and products offered, it’s critical our financial infrastructure and processes are optimised in order to seize future opportunities. I’ve long been an admirer of SumUp, especially having covered the payments sector for a number of years at Morgan Stanley, so joining now made perfect sense. I’m particularly looking forward to getting to know our merchants better and playing my part in taking the company to the next level.”

Siona is a well established accountant, business person, and independent non-executive director, with 30 years’ experience advising, running, and investing in the financial services space in Ireland. She co-founded and was Commercial Director of Certus, and has worked at Bank of Scotland (Ireland) and KBC Bank in senior positions, as well as in consulting at Arthur Andersen Business Consulting. 

Claire joined SumUp in 2020, working on operational risk and compliance, rising to Head of Operational Risk. Her promotion to Head of Compliance EU was confirmed earlier this summer. Before SumUp, Claire worked in risk at Citi and then PTSB, all based in the Dublin offices.

Gareth has been with SumUp for over 12 years, initially as global head of risk and compliance from the London office and then returning to Dublin in May 2020 to take up the position of CEO of SumUp Limited. In addition to being a non-executive director of the Irish entity, Gareth is chair of the holding company board and a member of the Group’s audit committee. Gareth's background includes time at Citigroup and State Street as well as NED positions at Rippling, Payleven, and Linked Finance.