CEO Today Europe Awards

www.ceotodaymagazine.com CEO Today Europe Awards 2018 DENMARK 21 OP’s acquiring business. Add to this the acquisition of Nordea’s merchant acquiring business in 2015, which has been a significant lever for the continued growth in Merchant Services. In January 2016, the company also secured another platform for growth through the acquisition of Storebox – a leading provider of e-receipts and loyalty solutions. In 2017, Nets’ Merchants Services business processed DKK 526 billion worth of transactions, a growth of more than 10% compared to 2016. Nets’ Financial & Network Services has expanded its Nordic footprint in recent years, rolling out new card products and services in Sweden, such as risk- based authentication on behalf of credit card issuers, mobile wallets for Nordic banks and a Nordic HCE/ tokenisation infrastructure which is the backbone of NFC-based mobile payments. With a constant focus on offering customers and consumers solutions that make it easier to pay digitally, Nets in August 2015 launched the contactless Dankort. The Danish debit card enables consumers to pay amounts below 47 Euro by simply tapping their card on the terminal. Today, more than 50% of all in-store transactions in Denmark are contactless which makes Denmark one of the countries in the world with the highest penetration of contactless payments. The company’s Corporate Services business has also demonstrated a strong growth in volumes within its e-bill payment solutions since the turnaround, and it has also seen good progress within its digital identity (e- ID) activities used in banking and public administration in mainly Norway and Denmark. Bo says: “I am very honored to receive this CEO Award. The past five years have been an exciting journey in a business and industry undergoing continuous transformation – it requires dedication and a certain willingness to change, and we couldn’t have achieved our results without our dedicated and highly skilled employees. Thank you for choosing me for the CEO Award.” Holding an MSc in economics and business administration from Copenhagen Business School, Bo Nilsson has pursued an impressive career building and transforming enterprises. Benefiting from his financial acumen acquired in investment banking as Vice President at JPMorgen & Chase in London and New York during the 1990s, Bo served as CFO and member of the Executive Committee and main board at Media Capital, a leading media corporation in Southern Europe, from 2000 through 2006. This became a launch pad into publishing, and in 2006, he co-founded LeYa SGPS, SA and served as Managing Director until 2013. Today LeYa is a leading publisher in Portugal, Brazil and Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. Returning to Denmark with his wife and four daughters, Bo Nilsson joined Nets in May 2013 and served as CFO until he was appointed CEO in August 2014 under the new company ownership of Advent International, Bain Capital and ATP. Together with his leadership team, Bo has led Nets through its turnaround from 2014 through 2017, taking the company from being a bank- owned company to an independent commercial company whilst significantly improving the company’s operational performance. During Bo’s leadership, Nets has accelerated its growth while at the same time leading innovation andpushing leading-edge payment solutions to Nordicmerchants, banks and businesses. Bo has led Nets through eight key acquisitions, significantly increasing the company’s Nordic footprint, offerings and capabilities. ABOUT BO NILSSON www.nets.eu