Airwallex taps Rachael Horwitz to lead global communications
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Rachael Horwitz has joined fintech company Airwallex as senior vice president, global communications and public affairs.
Why it matters: The global payments company, which is valued at $8 billion, is eyeing a potential IPO and beefing up its communications function in the meantime.
What they're saying: "Our job is to make the story [of Airwallex] compelling across very different audiences, from CFOs to regulators to developers," Horwitz tells Axios.
- Airwallex was founded in Australia in 2015 and has its headquarters in Singapore with the goal of streamlining cross-border payments.
- "We're talking about a single platform that replaces what most businesses piece together from Stripe, Ramp and a web of global banking relationships," she says. "That's a complex value proposition to land quickly."
- "The other challenge is making compliance feel like the competitive advantage it actually is."
Catch-up quick: Horwitz joins Airwallex from Haun Ventures, where she served as chief marketing officer.
- She has deep expertise in fintech and crypto, having been the first vice president of communications at Coinbase, joining the team in 2018 to strengthen the brand — particularly around trust and compliance.
- She's also held communication roles at Google, Facebook and Twitter.
- At Airwallex, Horwitz will report to co-founder and CEO Jack Zhang and oversee the global communications team.
Zoom in: "My work in venture has exposed me to how fintech, crypto and AI are merging into a single frontier, so I've already been thinking about all of the themes Airwallex is addressing," Horwitz says.
- "Also, this [company] is a bit unique because it is a tech giant from outside the U.S. moving to take on fintech incumbents in the U.S."
What to watch: Airwallex is looking to expand in the U.S. and has named San Francisco as its second global headquarters.
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