Australian Fintech Afterpay CFO Luke Bortoli to Step Down

Australian fintech company Afterpay Limited (ASX:APT) announced this Thursday that its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Luke Bortoli will be stepping down from his role, and Rebecca Lowde will replace him on the 6th of October 2020.

Afterpay is a company that allows consumers to buy products, and pay for them afterwards, in four instalments. The fintech is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and operates in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand.

Bortoli has been the CFO for Afterpay for almost three years. During this time, the company has grown from a small-cap startup to a recognised fintech company – particularly within Australia.

Luke Bortoli will leave Afterpay at the end of FY2021

Although Lowde will be taking over the reins on the 6th of October 2020, Bortoli will remain employed with the business to allow for a comprehensive transition of responsibilities to Lowde. He will leave the company at the end of the 2021 financial year.

Commenting on Bortoli’s departure, the CEO and Managing Director of Afterpay, Anthony Eisen said in the statement: “Luke has made a transformational contribution to Afterpay in its highly crucial years. He has built a world class finance function that has grown from a small number of employees based in Australia to a high performing team operating across multiple regions and functions.”

“Luke has worked tirelessly as a partner to the executive leadership team and been integral in driving our strong performance trajectory and expansion into new regions, while ensuring we had the right capital structure and investor base to achieve our strategic objectives.”

Lowde joins Afterpay with experience in global fintech and ASX listed companies, both at a CEO and CFO level. Specifically, she was the CEO of Salmat, an ASX-listed company, for three years. Prior to this, she was the Group CFO also for three years.

Speaking on his departure, Bortoli added in the statement: “I am extremely proud of all that Afterpay has achieved over the past three years and am grateful for the invaluable experience I have gained by being part of such a fast paced, high growth business. I am particularly proud of the depth and diversity of the finance team I helped build with five of the eight finance team leaders being women.”