B2B fintech unicorn Pleo welcomes new Chief People Officer to steer ambitious employee growth and market expansion

Fintech scale-up Pleo, which offers simplified spend management and smart company cards, boosts its executive team with the induction of Mette Hindborg Gade, functioning as the company’s Chief People Officer. 

As a former Partner in McKinsey & Company with an educational background in Engineering, Mette is an experienced leader and problem-solver, with a specialism in driving people-first organisational transformations and rapid growth companies within the financial sector. Her position as Head of People for the consultancy firm’s Copenhagen outfit saw Mette nurturing a diverse range of high-performing talent. 

Mette has been working with Pleo in an advising capacity to help build, introduce, and roll-out the company’s new operating model. This will enable Pleo to enter 15 markets by the end of 2022, hire 500+ new team members globally in the same period, and enhance individual career growth, inclusion, and impact for it's 500+ current employees.

“It makes me really happy to be joining Pleo. Every moment I have spent with Pleo has made me more excited and more attached to the product, the problem Pleo solves and most importantly the mission that the team is driving,” says Mette.

“Pleo is a truly special company – advocating not just for a new way of handling business spend but embodying a common, aspirational vision: to make everyone feel valued at work. I cannot wait to help unlock that potential in our own growing workforce, and make Pleo the most valued B2B employer brand in the world – just as I know it can be.”

Mette’s arrival to Pleo is preceded by two other new C-level executives from February: James Keating (formerly Microsoft, Cognizant, Dropbox) as Chief Marketing Officer, and Anita Szarek (PayU, Cargill) as Chief Financial Officer.  

“While the spend management vertical is flush with healthy competition at present, Pleo has the product, brand, team and agility to continue its streak as the leading spending solution in Europe,” says James Keating. 

“We have ambitious, bold initiatives planned throughout this year that will accelerate our growth and allow us to offer Pleo to even more forward-thinking companies everywhere.” 

Hiring 50+ people globally every month, Pleo’s ambitious growth plans follow its record-breaking year of investment, raising $350 million in 2021 at a $4.7 billion post-funds evaluation. 

The Series C round – led by Coatue Management, Alkeon Capital, Bain Capital Ventures and Thrive Capital, and supported by returning backers Creandum, Kinnevik, Founders, Stripes and Seedcamp – amounted to the biggest ever Series C in Denmark’s history, as well as one of the largest in Europe.