Nets appoints ex-Visa exec as group CEO

THE Network for Electronic Transfers (Nets) on Monday said it has appointed Lawrence Chan as its group chief executive officer (CEO), effective June 22.

He was most recently vice-president of regional client management at Visa for the Asia-Pacific, where he managed regional acquirers/merchants, co-brands and Visa Direct.

Mr Chan was appointed after an extensive internal and external executive search initiated by Nets' board of directors to identify and select a permanent CEO, the payments network firm said in an announcement.

Before Visa, Mr Chan was PayPal's vice-president and general manager for Japan and South-east Asia. He also served as a director on PayPal Pte Ltd's board until 2015.

He also had a stint at American Express and was based in Japan for four years, leading the merchant business before returning to Singapore and assuming the role of senior vice-president of global payment options in the Asia-Pacific.

Nets chairman Ching Wei Hong said Mr Chan brings a demonstrated track record of strategic and operational leadership and deep global payments expertise.

He added: "Nets will continue expanding strategically into the digital commerce space with new and innovative payments solutions covering both offline and online e-commerce transactions."

Mr Chan said: "Nets is well-positioned for the next stage of strategic growth and I am fortunate to join the team at this exciting time."

Former Nets CEO Jeffrey Goh stepped down from the role on Nov 22, 2019, after which the board of directors had named Ricky Lim as interim group CEO. Mr Lim is managing director (MD) of the group's merchant business, as well as MD at Nets subsidiary, Nets Solutions.