Fintech Ovanti soars after former Zip Co exec named CEO

Ovanti has rocketed 225% after announcing appointment of former Zip Co US CFO Simon Keast as its new CEO.

Former Zip Co US CFO Simon Keast will lead OVT’s US expansion. Pic: Getty Images.

• Ovanti up 225% after announcing appointment of former Zip Co US CFO Simon Keast as its new CEO

• Keast has been tasked to lead the launch of the fintech’s BNPL offering in the US

• Chairman David Halliday said appointment gives credibility to its ambitions to enter US market

  

Special Report: Fintech Ovanti has soared 225% today after announcing the appointment of former Zip Co US CFO Simon Keast as its new CEO with a mandate to launch its Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) offering in the US.

Ovanti (ASX:OVT) said Keast had 30 years of experience in financial services, working internationally across Australia, New Zealand and the US and would take up his new position on November 1.

With previous roles as a managing director and CFO, OVT said Keast was a result-focused and decisive C-suite leader with a track record of driving strategy development to execution and delivering step changes in business performance.

Keast’s former roles include US CFO of Zip Co (ASX: ZIP), senior director of ZIP, managing director of Zip Business Capital (formerly Spotcap Australia and New Zealand), and division director and head of small business designs and solutions at Macquarie Bank (ASX: MQG).

He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronics) with Honours and a Master’s in Applied Finance and Investment.

Expansion of BNPL offering to US

With senior operational experience and strong market knowledge OVT said Keast has been tasked with leading the launch of OVT’s BNPL offering in the US.

OVT said Keast’s KPIs were aligned to strong early-stage and longer-term success in the US market.

Chairman David Halliday said the appointment of someone with the level of standing in the BNPL sector that Keast has gives great credibility to its renewed BNPL business and ambitions to enter the US market.

Keast’s appointment ends a global search for OVT to find a new CEO.

“Simon stood out from other candidates due to his experience working at ZIP as the US CFO during ZIP’s turnaround to profitability in their US operations,” he said.

“We are excited to re-launch our BNPL offering with entry into the US market with such deep potential to win market share in various segments of the US market presently under-serviced by the large incumbents.

“This is an exciting new chapter for OVT.”

Foundations set for ‘exciting growth’

Keast said he was honoured to be chosen as the new CEO of OVT.

“I look forward to helping shape Ovanti’s future operations and delivering value for customers, staff, and shareholders.

I thank the board of OVT for laying the foundations for this next phase of exciting growth.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Ovanti, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as Fintech Ovanti soars after former Zip Co exec named CEO