Permira, the global investment firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Niklaus Santschi as a Senior Adviser to the Financial Services and Technology teams.
Niklaus has more than 20 years’ experience in the Financial Technology sector, in particular, Card and Payments.
Niklaus was most recently CEO of SIX Payment Services, a leading provider of secure end-to-end processing for cashless payments to financial institutions. SIX Payment Services grew significantly under Niklaus’ leadership, substantially driven by an increase in its market share of international payment transactions. In addition, he led the integration of two business divisions and a number of acquisitions including PayLife Bank.
Andrew Young, Principal with responsibility for Financial Technology at Permira, commented: “Niklaus’ significant operational experience within the payments and financial technology sector will be a critical addition to the team. It is an exciting time for the sector and we look forward to working with him on sourcing attractive investment opportunities.”
Niklaus Santschi said: “I am delighted to be joining Permira as senior adviser in Financial Technology. The Permira funds have a strong track record in investing in both the financial services and technology sectors and I look forward to sharing my experience and network for the benefit of both existing and future investments.”
The Permira funds have invested c. €9bn of equity in financial services and technology companies since 1985. Current Financial Services and Technology portfolio companies sectors include Just Retirement, Tilney Bestinvest, GFKL & Lowell as well as Informatica, Genesys, Magento and Ancestry.com. Other Technology senior advisers include Bruce Chizen, Mike Nevens and Abe Peled while Keith Jones advises the Financial Services team.