Ritz Steytler, Senior Adviser - London

Ritz Steytler is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Axora, a B2B cross-industry innovation hub and digital transformation marketplace for industrial companies. Formerly a management consultant with IBM and Accenture, he has over 27 years’ experience in the transformation and growth of complex multinational businesses including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Shell, Virgin Media, Cable & Wireless, and Legal and General.

In May 2011, he led the acquisition of omnichannel payment processor PXP by Abacus Partners, a UK-based search fund that he founded in 2008. He was Chief Executive Officer and board director of PXP up to its acquisition by Kalixa in May 2014, and subsequently Chief Operating Officer and board director of Kalixa until October 2015. He then worked with private equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners as executive-in-residence to source acquisition targets in Payments and Fintech. Before co-founding Axora, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Featurespace, the world leader in adaptive behavioural analytics and AI-based fraud detection.

Ritz is an active private investor and a board member of several charities. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Computer Science from Stellenbosch University and an MBA with Distinction from London Business School.