First Global CEO, Co-founder Steps Down

Payments company First Global Data has announced a leadership change, as its Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Andre Itwaru plans to depart. In a press release issued Friday (Jan. 18), First Global said Itwaru announced his resignation.

“Circumstances have forced me to make this decision, and it is with a heavy heart that I resign from the company,” he said in a statement. “I am very proud of what we were able to achieve, and very appreciative of the strong relationship I developed with our shareholders and other stakeholders. It is my intention to support the new management team and Board of Directors in the transition.”

No replacement has been announced, with First Global noting that it is “actively sourcing” a new CEO. In the release, First Global noted Itwaru “was responsible for setting the direction and vision for the company, and securing significant strategic relationships.”

First Global specializes in mobile and cross-border payments. The company has expanded across Asia in recent years, launching in India in 2014. In 2017, the firm revealed a collaboration in China to integrate its cross-border B2B payment services for eCommerce-as-a-Service platform eGTCP.com, a move that signaled First Global’s efforts to broaden its B2B presence.

“This is a new frontier for First Global, and we believe that the B2B market will generate significant revenues for the company in the future,” said the firm’s CFO Nayeem Alli in a statement at the time.

Itwaru also pointed to China as a key market for First Global.

“The Chinese market dominates the eCommerce landscape, the B2B market is large and growing, and this is a key next step in First Global’s evolution,” he stated in 2017. “We had historically focused on the P2P and B2C market opportunities, and we are very pleased to demonstrate that we are able to deliver services to the B2B markets around the world as we continue to evolve into a full-suite global FinTech company.”