Don Kingsborough Joins The Board Of Raise

Online gift card marketplace Raise has snagged payments industry veteran Don Kingsborough for its board of directors.

Kingsborough, until very recently, headed up in-store retail efforts for PayPal. Prior to that, the lifelong entrepreneur had been the head of consumer products for Atari, played an instrumental role in shaping the Nintendo Entertainment System and founded World of Wonder – the company that brought the world Teddy Ruxpin and laser tag in the 1980s.

In the 2000s, he founded the Blackhawk Network, a prepaid card company that changed the landscape of the gift card market.

“Don has had a career full of incredible successes, and the role he played in cementing gift cards as a shopping staple has really set the stage for what we do at Raise,” said George Bousis, founder and CEO of Raise. “He’s seen everything on all sides of the spectrum and will be a valued adviser to the company as we rely on his unparalleled experience and know-how to help manage growth, expectations, hiring, infrastructure and more.”

Raise recently closed a $56 million Series B funding round, bringing their total raised funds to $81 million. In the past year, the company sold over a million gift cards and saw its revenue expand by 50 percent and its business move into all 50 states.

“Raise has already made impressive inroads in innovating the gift card industry, and is poised to continue to be a disruptive force as it further explores the digital gift card and digital wallet spaces,” said Kingsborough. “I obviously have some deep roots in the world of gift cards, and I look forward to joining the Raise board in this advisory position so I can share my experiences and ideas with this incredible company.”