Melio names Meta’s Tomer Barel COO

Barel will spearhead Melio’s strategy execution and scale operations as it enters a path of accelerated growth to become the leading infrastructure for moving money between businesses and their suppliers.

Barel brings more than two decades of management experience and leadership to Melio, having been at the forefront of payments, technology, and innovation. Most recently he served as Vice President and COO of Novi, Meta’s payments unit and digital wallet. Prior to joining Meta, Barel spent nine years at PayPal, the world leader in electronic payments. As PayPal’s global Chief Enterprise Services Officer and Chief Risk Officer, he was part of the executive team reporting to the CEO and led financial risk management and compliance as well as global operations including customer service and back-office functions. Barel also served on Melio’s advisory board since the company’s founding in 2018.

“Tomer is a transformational leader with deep experience in payments and scaling operations,” said Matan Bar, Melio’s co-founder and CEO. “As an innovative and seasoned executive, I am confident that under Tomer’s leadership we will successfully scale our operations, execute our strategic plan, and pursue our path to accelerated revenue growth. I am thrilled to welcome Tomer to the Melio team.”

In his new role, Barel will continue to elevate Melio’s operations and risk experience, creating a high-performance workplace while supporting the company’s focus on future growth and profitability. Leveraging his deep experience and success in previous transitions that he led, Barel will partner with the company’s business leaders to drive the integration of Melio’s tech strategy, go-to-market functions, and operations.

In September, Melio raised an additional $250 million at a $4 billion valuation to accelerate its expansion as a platform for B2B payments through more partnerships with leading financial institutions, software providers, and marketplaces.

Barel’s appointment comes as Melio’s payments processing volume has surged to tens of billions of dollars annually. Following the launch of its 2020 partnership with Intuit’s QuickBooks, Melio recently announced new partnerships with Capital One and construction finance platform Built Technologies, as well as new digital payment methods powered by J.P. Morgan.

“I am excited to join Melio and its world-class team who are passionate about keeping small business in business with simpler B2B payments that maximize cash flow,” said Tomer Barel, Melio’s COO. “With U.S. businesses still transferring $14 trillion a year in checks, the market opportunity has tremendous untapped potential. I am confident Melio is on track to becoming the go-to trusted partner for the world’s leading financial institutions and software providers seeking to provide B2B payments.”

Barel’s appointment follows several other senior executives who joined Melio in recent months, including General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer Jonathan Polk, Chief Business Officer Prashant Gandhi, and Chief People Officer Sharon Bachar.