Airwallex, a global payments and financial platform for modern businesses, announced its official launch in Israel to fuel future expansion across the region, including the appointment of Or Liban as Airwallex’s Head of Israel and the Middle East.
This expansion comes at “a pivotal moment for Airwallex, as the company continues to strengthen its global footprint.”
Airwallex has “chosen Tel Aviv as the location for its first office in the region due to strong customer demand and the thriving Israeli technology ecosystem.”
The company already “serves many of Israel’s leading technology businesses, including Papaya Global and OurCrowd as well as global companies such as Shein, Qantas, Plum and Navan (formerly TripActions).”
Pranav Sood, GM, EMEA at Airwallex, said:
“Setting up local operations in Israel is just the first step in our ambitious plan for expansion across EMEA in 2023. Israel is at the forefront of tech innovation and a global hub for high-growth startups. Israeli technology businesses are ‘default global’ and we have already seen the impact that our payments and financial infrastructure can have for them as they grow across borders. I’m excited to welcome Or to the team – he will be instrumental as we supercharge our operations in Israel and the Middle East.”
Prior to Airwallex, Liban served “as Google’s Head of Global Partnerships and previously held leadership roles at Orange and the Israel Prime Minister’s office.”
With over 15 years of experience as a Sales, Business Development and Partnership executive, Liban will oversee Airwallex’s expansion “into Israel and the Middle East.”
His background in “leading hyper-growth businesses on a global scale, coupled with his expertise in the Israel and Middle East markets, will make him invaluable to Airwallex and its customers.”
Liban said:
“I’m delighted to join Airwallex as we continue our global growth momentum into Israel and the Middle East. Technology is core to unlocking the power of global payments, and digital trade is front and centre for economic development throughout Israel and the Middle East. Airwallex’s unique financial infrastructure and embedded finance capability is a winning combination as businesses look for new revenue streams through global expansion or are interested in improving their bottom line through cost-efficiency gains. I could not be more excited to partner with the talented Airwallex team and support new and existing customers as we expand our footprint in the Middle East.”
Founded in 2015 in Melbourne, Australia, Airwallex claims it is “one of the fastest-growing payments and financial infrastructure companies in the world – it is valued at US$5.5 billion and has raised over US$900 million from some of the world’s top investors including Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia, Tencent, Square Peg, Lone Pine Capital and 1835i.”
Globally, Airwallex’s revenue “has doubled year on year and it has processed more than US$50 billion in annualized transaction volume for a global portfolio of companies.”
With 20 locations globally and a team of 1,300 employees worldwide, Airwallex plans to continue its exponential growth “by hiring an additional 500 global employees by the end of 2023.”