ConnexPay, the world’s first all-in-one payments platform, today announced the appointment of Ben Peters as chief executive officer. Peters brings more than two decades of experience leading and scaling global payments and vertical software companies.
Bob Kaufman, founder of ConnexPay, will remain actively involved in the business, assuming the role of chairman of the board of directors and working alongside Peters to continue driving ConnexPay’s strong growth trajectory.
“Under Bob’s leadership, ConnexPay has built a unique end-to-end platform to both accept and make payments globally that is transforming payments experiences for our customers and their businesses, while achieving remarkable growth,” said Peters. “I am excited to join ConnexPay and assume the reins from Bob, someone I’ve long admired and am lucky enough to call a friend. I look forward to working closely with Bob and the entire ConnexPay team as we continue to deliver on the firm’s track record of growth and investment in innovative products across new payments verticals to further strengthen our market-leading offering.”
A seasoned payments executive, Peters’ vast experience spans the utility, fleet and insurance sectors. Prior to joining ConnexPay, Peters served as chief operating officer for VPay, a digital claim payment processing platform for insurers, which was acquired by Optum in 2021. Peters remained with the company after the acquisition, spending over six years as COO. Peters’ leadership experience also includes nearly a decade as CFO at three vertical software companies: ChoicePay, an electronic bill payment solutions platform for billers; Fleet One (acquired by Wright Express in 2012), a vehicle fleet management services platform; and IOD (acquired by New Mountain Capital in 2015), a healthcare IT data platform.
Kaufman added: “Ben is a world-class leader, who I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the last 18 months. His proven track record of growing and scaling companies, combined with his deep payments expertise, make Ben an optimal fit for our next chapter. Furthermore, our shared values in terms of how we approach culture, customer service and innovation provide great continuity and a solid foundation for Ben to lead ConnexPay into the future. I look forward to our continued partnership and collaboration.”
In October 2022, ConnexPay secured a $110 million growth equity investment from FTV Capital and existing investors, including BIP Ventures. As part of this investment, Adam Hallquist, principal at FTV Capital, joined the board of directors and Chris Winship, partner at FTV Capital, joined as a board observer. Alongside BIP's continued investment in ConnexPay, Austin Poole, General Partner at BIP Ventures, continues his service on the board of directors.
“As the first company to unify B2B payments, Bob has built ConnexPay into a market-leading platform that has enhanced the payments experience by boosting the bottom line for customers while de-risking the payment process,” said Hallquist. “Bob will continue to be a valuable asset to the business, while Ben’s extensive operating experience in the payments space, including working with several successful FTV portfolio companies, will help ConnexPay further capitalize on its accomplishments to date and accelerate growth in the coming years.”
“We have had the opportunity to partner with ConnexPay from the beginning and to be part of the impressive growth they’ve sustained since 2018,” said Poole. “Bob's leadership helped carry the company through the strong headwinds that COVID created and positioned the company to capitalize on competitors pulling out of the travel market. We shared the conviction that he and the ConnexPay team had in the potential of the company, and it’s exciting to see where they are now and the opportunities ahead.”
In 2023, ConnexPay earned two distinguished honors, earning a place on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America and being named the Travel Innovator of the Year at Phocuswright 2023. In addition, in November 2023, the company announced it had doubled its customer base in the 12 months since FTV’s investment.