Credit lender and intelligence company Pepper Advantage has appointed former SWIFT group CFO Anna Agafonova as its new CFO amid efforts to recruit 100 new roles in 2022.
Agafonova has worked in private equity, listed, private and cooperative-owned firms over the course of her career, and led a team of more than 200 while taking responsibility for SWIFT's business strategy and priorities and driving growth and digital transformation in her previous role.
She also served as CFO at American Express Global Business Travel, where she led a team of 70 all finance-related activities across 26 proprietary markets and more than 100 franchise markets.
In the newly created position, Agafonova will report to CEO Fraser Gemmell and will form a key part of Pepper's global leadership team with responsibility for providing financial direction and oversight. She will also work with business, finance and investment teams across the company.
"We’re delighted to welcome Anna to Pepper Advantage. Her experience and proven track record will help drive our rapid transformation to integrate operations across markets, continue to develop our suite of product offerings and accelerate our growth," Gemmell said.
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"She is the right person to take on the CFO position at this pivotal time for our company and in the face of shifting credit markets. Her leadership will be instrumental as we expand our business and offer clients real-time insights into global credit markets.”
Of her appointment, Agafonova said: “I’m excited to be joining Pepper Advantage at such an important moment. She holds an LLM Law in Finance from Goethe University, a BA in International Management from Otto-von-Guericke University, and a Diploma in International Management from Technical University Ukraine as well as ACCA, CFE, and CIA qualifications.
"I will draw on my experience building dynamic financial teams in multinational companies as we leverage Pepper Advantage’s strength and expertise in credit data and analytics at a global scale, Agafonova added. "I look forward to working with Pepper’s innovative, entrepreneurial, and client-driven team.”
In Ireland, Pepper employs 500 people at offices in Dublin and Shannon and has €20bn worth of assets under management, servicing more than 80,000 loans.
Pepper Finance Corporation (Ireland) DAC's latest accounts show the company made a profit after tax of €12.4m in 2020, an improvement from €11.4m in 2019, and the firm made a number of mandate wins as a solutions and outsourcing partner to Ireland's banks.
Pepper made the decision in September 2020 to suspend originating and marketing commercial mortgages in the Irish market through Pepper Money, but the company directors said they were focused on growing and developing business in Ireland with the aim of establishing Pepper as a "leading loan servicing and real estate asset management operation.
"The company has concentrated on enhancing its systems and processes to adapt to the changing regulatory environment and to enhance service to its clients and completed a significant transformation programme during the year."
Pepper employed some 496 in 2020, predominantly in customer services and credit control and collection, an increase from 447 in 2019, and its payroll costs were just under €28.8m while directors' remuneration totalled €916,135.
Photo: Ana Agafonova.
