Former Sportradar and Paddy Power Betfair exec joins Paysafe as CFO

Alex Gersh, a former executive with two prominent names in the sports betting space, has filled the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) vacancy at Paysafe.

The new hire joins the payments platform from Sportradar, where he has served as CFO since July 2020, overseeing a period of strong growth for the Swiss-based sportstech and data firm, as well as its successful listing on the US Nasdaq exchange. 

Additionally, Gersh has prior betting industry experience as a former Board Director and CFO of Paddy Power Betfair from 2016 to 2018, having been financial chief at Betfair prior to its merger with Paddy Power.

“Paysafe has a highly diversified and relevant digital payments offering in the specialised industries it focuses on including gaming and entertainment,” he remarked.

“I have been fortunate to have worked for some of the biggest brands in these sectors and I very much look forward to bringing my knowledge and insights to my new role at Paysafe and being part of this ambitious company’s future growth story.”

Outside of betting and gaming, Gersh’s 25 year career in corporate fiscal oversight has included an eight year tenure as CFO for digital pay TV software solutions firm NDS Group London, as well as ‘financial leadership roles’ at BT and Motorola. 

His departure from Sportradar was confirmed earlier this month when the company published its H1 trading figures, reporting a 23% growth rate on the previous year’s six month revenue of €177.2m (H1 2021: 143.6m).

Although EBITDA decreased by 13% to to €27.6m (€31.6m), the firm’s financial performance during the first six months of the year has prompted an revision of its full-year guidance, the the company now predicting full year-revenue to rise by 24% year-on-year to between €695-to-€715m.

Gersh – who Sportradar CEO Carsten Korel lauded as having made ‘many contributions’ to the company – replaces Paysafe’s former CFO, Izzy Dawood, who will vacate her position later this year.

Paysafe’s recruitment of Gersh is the latest in a series of major hires for the company, following the appointment of Daniel Henson as Non-Executive Chairman in March and Rob Gatto as Chief Revenue Officer earlier this month. 

A global fintech registered on the NYSE, Paysafe is active in the gambling space via partnerships with the likes of Playtech – the deal initially focused on provision of payments solutions to customers in the US, before being expanded into Europe in May of this year. 

“Alex is a highly talented finance executive with a proven track record of driving growth for the international companies he has helped to lead,” said Bruce Lowthers, Paysafe CEO.

“I know he will be a real asset to our team as we continue our path to accelerate growth and drive long term value for all our stakeholders.

“I would like to express our sincere thanks to Izzy for his significant contribution to Paysafe during his time with the company and his commitment to ensuring a smooth transition of responsibilities.”