Cellulant names Anthony Hernandez COO to drive Africa expansion

By: Amarachi Okonkwo 

African payments technology firm Cellulant has appointed Anthony Hernandez as its Chief Operating Officer, in a strategic move aimed at strengthening its operational backbone and supporting expansion across multiple markets on the continent.

In his new role, Hernandez will oversee end-to-end customer operations, including onboarding, transaction processing, customer experience, and growth. He is also expected to lead efforts to drive automation and improve efficiency across the company’s internal systems as Cellulant scales its platform.

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The company disclosed in a statement that the appointment is part of a broader initiative to enhance the reliability, transparency, and scalability of its payment infrastructure. This comes amid rising transaction volumes on its platform, which enables enterprises to access multiple African markets and hundreds of payment methods through a single API.

Chief Executive Officer of Cellulant, Peter O’Toole, said the company is prioritising operational excellence as a foundation for growth in an increasingly competitive payments landscape.

“In payments today, trust is the real currency, and operational excellence is what earns it,” O’Toole said. “As we continue to grow our volumes and support market-leading businesses across Africa and beyond, we are deliberately strengthening our operational foundations.”

He added that Hernandez would play a key role in embedding operational discipline across the organisation to ensure consistent and high-quality service delivery as the company expands into new markets.

Hernandez brings more than 25 years of experience spanning financial services, fintech, and industrial sectors. He has previously held senior roles at GE Capital, Xapo Bank, and Demica, where he led initiatives focused on digital transformation, regulatory approvals, and the development of global operating models.

At Cellulant, he is expected to spearhead the development of a more automated and data-driven operational framework designed to provide customers with real-time visibility into payments, settlements, and transaction status. The company also noted that he would prioritise strengthening compliance and risk management systems across its regulated markets.

Commenting on his appointment, Hernandez said the next phase of the company’s growth would hinge on building robust systems that deliver seamless payment experiences.

“Cellulant has built a powerful payment infrastructure for businesses operating across Africa,” he said. “Our focus is now on building the operational discipline and systems that ensure customers experience simple, reliable, and frictionless payment services.”