Industry veteran John Hammond has joined the senior team as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).
Hammond, the former CCO of Currencycloud, is reuniting with his old colleagues as he steps into his new role at Railsbank. He joins Nigel Verdon (co-founder and CEO), Nick Bourner (Chief Technical Architect), and Dov Marmor (Chief Operating Officer, North America), as Railsbank moves forward from a busy 12 months expanding its international footprint.
Railsbank acquired certain assets, customers and people from Wirecard’s UK business last year, before raising $37m in funding in November to help drive growth. It has just launched in Australia in partnership with local challenger bank Volt.
Hammond brings a broad palette of skills, having led functions including marketing, sales, operations, acquisitions and divestments at a number of successful technology firms and fintechs. He has an unrivalled understanding of the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) economy and will be responsible for accelerating Railsbank’s international expansion.
Hammond said: “It’s exciting to be back with the team and I’m really looking forward to bringing the energy that fuelled Currencycloud’s growth to Railsbank. "We’ve done this before. We’ve failed together, learnt together, and won together. Creating great teams is about trust and we certainly have that, it’s a great foundation on which to build. We then went our separate ways to continue our learning, and we’re coming back together with an expanded pool of know-how. We’re all well aware of our strengths and our limitations - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Drawing on the trust we’ve built between each other over the years, we’re preparing Railsbank for hypergrowth. "I liken our relationship to the great rock bands. Nigel is the visionary songwriter and lead guitarist - he understands the fintech space like no one else, hence he keeps creating these innovative companies. Dov is a fantastic frontman, blessed with an amazing network and entrepreneurial spirit, whilst Nick is the bass and the drums, providing the infrastructure and groove for our growth. And I’m back as the rhythm guitarist, helping to knit everything together and drive the band forward!”
Nigel Verdon, co-founder and CEO, Railsbank, added: “It’s a real pleasure to welcome John to the Railsbank team. We’ve achieved a lot together and it means that The Fantastic Four has been reunited. John’s appointment is a huge boost, and he will be instrumental as we deepen our footprint across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the US.”
After working with Verdon at Currencycloud, Hammond served as Chief Revenue Officer at learning platform Fuse Universal, where his strong sales leadership skills helped the company achieve record growth.