Airwallex Names Pranav Sood as Chief Financial Officer

Global financial platform Airwallex has appointed Pranav Sood as its new Chief Financial Officer, signalling a major push into its next phase of institutional growth.

The move comes as the fintech firm, recently valued at US$8bn, continues its expansion into a sector it defines as intelligent financial systems – where money, data and decisions move in unison.

A return to commercial roots

Pranav rejoins the business from Bain Capital’s growth equity fund, where his remit focused on scaling technology firms across the UK and Europe. 

His appointment serves as a welcome home; during his previous tenure at the company, he led both the global marketing function and the initial build-out of its EMEA operations.

This blend of external investment experience and internal knowledge of the company’s commercial drivers is expected to shape the group’s financial strategy.

“As Airwallex enters its next phase of growth, we need a CFO who is as much a commercial strategist as a financial steward,” says Jack Zhang, Co-Founder and CEO of Airwallex.

“Pranav is a rare leader who balances rigorous financial discipline with a builder’s mindset. 

“His experience at Bain Capital, combined with his intimate knowledge of our commercial drivers and the fintech vertical, make him the ideal CFO to guide our financial strategy through this next chapter.”

European expansion and investment

Pranav will be based in London, which remains a primary hub for the company's international scale-up.

The finance chief takes the reins following a major US$1.1bn investment commitment to the EMEA region.

The capital deployment coincides with plans to add roughly 100 new senior engineering roles across the UK and The Netherlands, strengthening the firm's technical infrastructure.

Pranav says: “Airwallex is a once-in-a-generation company that is fundamentally rewriting the rails of global banking.

“Returning to Airwallex feels like coming home to a mission that is more critical than ever.

“My goal is to ensure our finance function acts as a catalyst for innovation and scale, providing the robust framework required as we solidify our position as a cornerstone of the global financial economy.”

Finding a leader who understands both the numbers and the builder mindset is key to unlocking further efficiency.

By avoiding fragmented systems, the company intends to use its robust framework to back its commercial expansion.

What’s the broader play?

Pranav will oversee the deployment of the recent EMEA funding, ensuring that the heavy investments in engineering and regional infrastructure translate into sustainable, long-term commercial revenue.

The move comes shortly after the company announced its acquisition of revenue recognition and reconciliation specialist Leapfin. 

The acquisition aims to bolster Airwallex’s financial suite, with the goal of increasing its capabilities for the financial life cycle. 

At the time, Jack commented that Leapfin had “solved a notoriously difficult engineering problem by turning messy transactional data into an auditable, single source of truth”.

Ensuring that it can further support its clients with accelerated reconciliation, the acquisition will also target the destruction of manual spreadsheets in favour of automation.