Boku’s CEO, Jon Prideaux, will step down at the end of 2023 after five years, with Stuart Neal appointed as the CEO Designate. The leadership transition marks a significant change for Boku as it prepares for a new era under new leadership.
Having served as the company’s CEO for more than five years, Jon Prideaux has decided to step down from his position at the end of 2023, according to Boku (AIM: BOKU), a provider of mobile payment solutions. In order to fill Prideaux’s position as CEO Designate, the business has already named Stuart Neal.
As a Replacement, a Strong CEO
Neal will officially join Boku’s board on January 1, 2024, as per today’s announcement (Tuesday), and he will collaborate closely with Prideaux to guarantee a smooth transition. Prideaux will continue to have a non-executive position on the board of Boku once he retires.
Working closely with Boku’s elite management team, Neal added, “I will be looking to draw on my own experience of bringing new payment technologies to market over the past 18 years, in order to capitalize on the market-leading position that we humbly command.”
Neal is a seasoned Boku user. Between 2012 and 2014 and again between 2017 and 2019, he served as the organization’s chief financial officer. He led the business through its initial public offering and then assumed the position of Chief Business Officer for the Identity division. In addition, he held executive positions at Barclaycard and Vocalink PaybyBankapp, both of which were bought by Mastercard.
Growth is ongoing
Boku provided a trading report at the same time it disclosed its projected financials for the first half of 2023. The London-listed business anticipates sales for the time period to be at least $37.5 million, which would represent a 24 percent increase over the same time last year. Account to Account transfers and eWallets contributed to a 359 percent increase in revenue to around $7.2 million from its new local payment methods.
The company’s adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to increase by 25% over the prior year ($12 million). Boku anticipates exceeding its full-year revenue and EBITDA projections with these figures.
In addition to the financials, the company’s other KPIs have improved greatly. The company now has 61.2 million monthly active users, a 32 percent increase, and 32.7 million of those users have made their first purchase.
Additionally, the platform’s overall payment volume increased by 15% to $5 billion.
“The strong end to 2022 has continued into the first half of 2023, and we now expect both revenues and EBITDA to exceed the Board’s prior expectations for the full year,” CEO Prideaux stated. “As I transition from CEO to Non-executive Director, I look forward to the rest of this year and beyond with a great deal of confidence.”
