Executive Management Team

Laurent Blanchard

Chief Executive Officer

Laurent was appointed as Ingenico’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and as a Member of the Supervisory Board in April 2023. He works closely with the regional teams to support customers and accelerate Ingenico's journey towards a solutions-oriented business, which includes becoming the industry benchmark for payments acceptance, payments management and payments enhancement solutions while making these applicable to all markets where Ingenico operates.

Before joining Ingenico, Laurent was Chief Operating Officer of the Cegid Group, where he successfully led the company's transformation to a cloud-based software business. Prior to this, Laurent progressed his career with leading global technology companies including IBM, Compaq, HP, and Cisco. Developing his expertise in the software industry with Dassault Systems, he held a worldwide professional services remit while also overseeing its EMEA operations. During his time in North America, Laurent gained a deep understanding of the region's business landscape, working with R&D centers across the United States.

With over 25 years of global technology sector experience, particularly gained in Europe and North America, Laurent Blanchard is renowned for his dedication to international collaboration.

A graduate of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Electricité et de Mécanique (ENSEM), Laurent is French and is primarily based in Ingenico’s headquarters in Paris. He is a passionate advocate of sustainability and technology as a catalyst for business innovation. His book, “Sustainable Optimism: How New Technologies Are Already Changing the World" was published in 2010. As a Board member of B:bot in Green Tech, he continues to inspire and drive progress towards a sustainable future.

Anne-France Laclide

Chief Financial & Corporate Officer

A proven Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with a wealth of experience as a global leader, Anne France Laclide joined Ingenico as CFO in December 2022. Based in Paris, her main mission leading the Global Finance, Legal and IT structures is to enable business performance by ensuring compliance with the company’s obligations in all areas where Ingenico operates, providing accurate and timely information, and the tools to support decision making.

Prior to joining Ingenico, Anne-France led the Finance & Legal functions for RATP Development, the international branch of the RATP group in 2021-2022. She began her career as an auditor with PwC before progressing to the business side of the private sector. Having held a number of increasingly senior financial positions, Anne-France was appointed as Group CFO for Watson in the luxury sector in 2005. She then transitioned to the optical industry where she built significant experience with private equity-backed companies. After a five-year posting with Idemia as Group CFO, Anne-France spent three years with Consolis, also as Group CFO, where she led the transformation of financing processes, debt restructuring and IPO readiness.

Anne-France holds a master’s degree from ICN Business School (Institut Commercial de Nancy), a French Chartered Accountant Degree (DESCF) and is French.

She has four children, loves literature, skiing, wine testing and fashion and gives time for charity caring for young adults with mental illnesses.

Mihaela Andronic

Chief People Officer

Leading Ingenico’s global People & Culture organization, Mihaela Andronic was appointed as Ingenico’s Chief People Officer in May 2023.

Enhancing the employee experience across the group, Mihaela is focused on building Ingenico’s high-performing culture and attracting, developing, and engaging the best talent worldwide.

With over 25 years of experience in the field of Human Resources, prior to joining Ingenico, Mihaela held executive leadership positions with a range of leading companies including Alcatel-Lucent, Wabco, Faiveley Transport, and Wabtec Corporation. Her strong expertise in change management, transformation and talent development across diverse geographies is playing a key role in Ingenico’s ongoing organizational transformation.

Mihaela is Romanian and is based at Ingenico’s Paris headquarters. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from the West University of Timisoara and is currently pursuing an Executive Doctorate in Organizational Change at Ashridge Executive Education in the UK.

Mihaela shares a passion for cinema with her husband and son and between them they speak a mix of Romanian, English and French.

Senay Gurel

General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer

Overseeing the legal and compliance functions of Ingenico and extending her expertise globally to teams across multiple regions, Senay Gurel was appointed Ingenico’s General Counsel and General Secretary to the Board in 2023. Leading the Legal & Compliance organization, she plays a pivotal role in ensuring the delivery of solutions that meet customers’ expectations while fully complying with prevailing legal requirements.

Senay joined Ingenico following a distinguished +18-year career navigating complex legal landscapes and delivering strategic legal counsel across the technology and payments sectors. Her extensive leadership experience includes roles at leading companies including Voodoo and PayPal, where she demonstrated her deep understanding of the legal complexities of these dynamic industries. With Voodoo.io, when appointed Group General Counsel & Company Secretary in 2019, Senay held a key role in shaping the legal framework for the rapidly growing mobile gaming company. Prior to it, at PayPal, Senay was instrumental in fostering the company’s commitment to providing secure and user-friendly financial services to millions of customers worldwide and in shaping regulations of e-money across emerging markets. Senay started her career as an M&A / Private Equity lawyer at Linklaters.

Based in Paris, Senay is a Registered lawyer at the Paris Bar, and is a Magistère & DJCE alumni, both specialized in International Tax and Legal engineering.

Peter Stewart

Managing Director, North America Region

Throughout his career, Peter has successfully built, lead, and grown global organizations, giving him a global perspective and regional insight. As President of Ingenico’s North American Region, Peter oversees all aspects of the NAR business and is leading the organization through its strategic transformation and continued top and bottom-line growth. Peter is also a member of the company’s global Executive Committee where he plays a key role in steering the company’s global strategy and success.

Peter joined Ingenico in 2016 as Chief Financial Officer for the North America Region and then served as global Chief Financial Officer of the Global Banks & Acquirers business unit. In this role, he was a key leader in preparing Ingenico for its next phase of growth and market leadership in the payment technology ecosystem.

Prior to joining Ingenico, Peter held a number of strategic and financial leadership positions for technology companies in the telecom and business process outsourcing industries. Peter earned his Bachelor of Science from the NYU Stern School of Business and his MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

Peter is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Electronic Transaction Association and member of the American Transaction Processors Coalition.  Peter and his family reside in Atlanta, where he enjoys attending his sons’ activities including youth baseball and football, competitive debate, and theater. He is also an active member of the community having served on the boards of Genesis Shelter and the Riverside Chamber Players.

José Luis Arias

Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa

José Luis Arias has served as Ingenico’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Managing Director since 2019. His primary objective is to sustain and advance Ingenico's growth throughout the EMEA region, which is the company's largest geographical area.

José Luis joined Ingenico in 2010 and brings over 30 years of professional experience in technology, consulting and payments. This includes holding full P&L responsibility for more than 20 years in a wide range of countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

A Spanish national with extensive international experience, José Luis possesses a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in European Business Administration from Middlesex University (London) as well as a degree in International Business Administration from Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Madrid). After living in Spain, the United Kingdom and Brazil, he is currently based in Paris.

José Luis is married, with three children. He is fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese, currently studying French. He enjoys travelling and visiting cities, reading history and running.

Nigel Lee

Chief Customer Officer

Spearheading Ingenico’s drive to take customer service and support to the next level, Nigel Lee was appointed Chief Customer Officer (CCO) in May 2023, in addition to his position as Asia Pacific (APAC) Managing Director, which he has led since May 2021, when he joined Ingenico.

Nigel has over 30 years of experience in helping shape the landscape of Financial Services, FinTech, payments, and digital commerce in senior positions with some of the largest multinationals in the industry. Prior to joining Ingenico, he was an Operating Partner for APIS Partners, a Private Equity fund focused on investing in growth stage Financial Services and Fintech companies in emerging and developed markets.

Nigel began his career as a management consultant with Accenture in the UK. He also previously served as EVP International for MoneyGram, was President of First Data Asia Pacific and was also formerly SVP for American Express Prepaid/Mobile/Digital. ​

With a Chemical Engineering Master’s degree from Imperial College London, he also holds a MBA in Business and Marketing from the Alliance Manchester Business School. Nigel lives between Paris and Singapore and has an international family spread between Australia and Europe. He is a UK, Australian citizen and Singapore permanent resident.

A keen health enthusiast, he enjoys hiking with the family, running, cycling, skiing and is a golfer playing off a handicap of 4.

Erik Vlugt

Chief Solutions Officer

In July 2023, Erik Vlugt joined Ingenico as the Chief Solutions Officer / Chief Product Officer (CSO). His primary role involves leading Ingenico on its path to becoming a solutions-as-a-service company, with a focus on subscription-based and service-oriented solutions. Before his current role at Ingenico, Erik held the position of Senior Vice President of Product & Innovation at HM Electronics, a global company specializing in communication, audio, and software solutions for various sectors including hospitality and broadcast media.

With over 27 years of international experience in customer-focused product management, innovation, and go-to-market strategies, Erik has a strong background in leading organizational transformations. He has previously held several executive roles at notable technology companies. These include Verifone (2004-2016) and Cubic (2016), as well as HME before his tenure at Ingenico.

Erik, a native of The Netherlands, completed his degree in Computer Science and Business in Amsterdam. He has lived and worked in multiple locations, including the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, New York, California, and is currently based in Atlanta, USA.

In addition to his academic degree, Erik holds certifications from the Project Management Institute and the Pragmatic Institute. He actively contributes to Ingenico’s global operations, dedicating significant time to collaborate closely with innovation and development teams across various locations.

Patrick Blanc

Chief Technology Officer

Patrick Blanc was appointed Chief Technology Officer in February 2024. With a deep expertise in mobile commerce, payment software applications, software development and start-ups, Patrick is a seasoned global engineering leader, having spent the last two decades in the payments industry, with Paypal in the US and Singapore from 2003 to 2013, and then with Visa in the US since 2013, where he held senior executive positions. As CTO of Cybersource and Value added Services at Visa, Patrick has been instrumental in the success of its cloud-based global payment, issuing, acquiring and fraud management platforms.    

A native of France, Patrick studied engineering at the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) Lyon and holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) Toulouse.

Leading all Ingenico’s Global Technology Organization, Patrick is member of the Executive Committee and based in Paris.

Patrick is married to Celine and has two children, Camille and Mathis studying at Universities in the US. When he is not spending time with his family, Patrick follows European football, and he enjoys playing golf and tennis.

Alain Stoessel

Chief Operating Officer

Appointed as Chief Operating Officer in April 2024, Alain Stoessel plays a key role in leading Ingenico's strategic transformation and in accelerating its operational efficiency and global services delivery capability. His responsibilities include driving Ingenico’s transformation program and developing strategies to improve its competitive position and ensure long-term success. Alain also has interim oversight of Ingenico’s Latin America region.

Alain has over 20 years of experience in the global investment sector, holding leadership positions at organizations such as Bain & co, Bain Capital, FCI, Core Equity Holding, Idverde and X-PM Transition Partners. His work as a consultant, senior advisor, operating partner and interim manager has given him extensive knowledge in value creation and transformation planning, especially in private equity owned companies.

He holds a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD, a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from IFP School, and graduated from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. Alain now spends most of his working time in Paris, where he collaborates closely with Ingenico’s teams to lead the company through its transformation journey.

Alain is married with three young children (ages 9, 7, and 3) who keep him young and busy. Outside of work, he is passionate about home automation and improving energy efficiency, which reflects his professional focus on innovation and sustainability.