Israel

Airwallex Launches in Israel, Appoints Ex-Googler to Lead Operations

Cross border payments firm Airwallex has officially launched its operations in Tel Aviv, Israel as the first step of its Middle East expansion plans and appointed Or Liban as its Head of Israel and the Middle East.

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

“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.

I’m excited to welcome Or to the team – he will be instrumental as we supercharge our operations in Israel and the Middle East.”

said Pranav Sood, GM, EMEA at Airwallex.

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.

Or Liban

“I’m delighted to join Airwallex as we continue our global growth momentum into 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.”

Liban said.

Founded in 2015 in Australia, Airwallex is valued at US$5.5 billion and has raised over US$900 million from the likes of Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia, Tencent, Square Peg, Lone Pine Capital and 1835i.

Airwallex reported that its 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 said that it plans to continue its growth by hiring an additional 500 global employees by the end of 2023.

Featured image credit: Edited from Unsplash