F1 Payments Strengthens Leadership Team and Forms Advisory Board

F1 Payments, a fintech company focused on increasing business velocity for all constituents in the payments ecosystem, today announced key additions to its senior executive team and the formation of an outside advisory board. Joining the company as chief architect and technical officer is Nicholas DiGiuseppe, Ph.D. Benjamin Rainwater has been appointed vice president of credit and risk. Rodney Faldyn and Andrew Sessions have agreed to serve on the company’s new board of advisors.

“We are strategically focused on making payments frictionless from start to finish, providing a highly personal and consultative approach, and building trusted relationships with key industry players,” stated Chad Anselmo, president of F1 Payments. “Adding accomplished executives like Nicholas and Benjamin to our management team, in addition to forming our advisory board with Rodney and Andy, align well with our strategy and will prove instrumental in positioning our company for continued growth,” remarked Anselmo.

Leading the technology charge at F1 Payments, DiGiuseppe gained strong software engineering and leadership experience working for top-tier technology companies, including Verizon, Yahoo, Google and Adobe. He was a principal engineer in designing and building Verizon’s next generation Amazon Web Services (AWS) global electronic payments platform, handling more than 25 million transactions and generating over one billion in revenue annually. DiGiuseppe was also the technical lead for Verizon Media’s AWS privacy dashboard technology, enabling property and third-party partners around the world to permit their customers to manage and retrieve personal data in 88 languages, according to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Overseeing F1 Payments’ credit and risk functions, Rainwater’s payments risk acumen was expertly honed during stints at eBay, Paysafe Group and Tag Lending. At eBay, Rainwater oversaw global buyer and seller onboarding, transitioning automated underwriting flows to accommodate full know your customer (KYC) requirements. He also helped the company move from PayPal to Adyen payment processing, with eBay assuming and managing all merchant risk and liability. Rainwater was instrumental in helping Paysafe effectively balance merchant portfolio risk to maximize total processing volume, resulting in several million dollars of additional revenue.

Faldyn, former chief executive officer and president of outdoor and sports lifestyle retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors, retired from the firm in 2015 after leading the company’s sale to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in 2011. During his career, Faldyn served in various financial and executive roles with electronic distributor N.F. Smith & Associates, energy company Enron, and audit and advisory firm Deloitte.

Sessions has deep venture capital and investment banking experience. He is currently managing director of Intercept Ventures, a seed stage investment firm targeting the next wave of technology leadership in the areas of cloud, data, fintech, mobility and security. Previously, Sessions was a founding partner of Thomas Weisel Partners, and served in executive roles at Montgomery Securities and Technology Crossover Ventures.