Authvia Appoints Three Industry Veterans to Its Board of Directors

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Authvia, the maker of best-in-class conversational commerce solutions that enable instant payment acceptance on contactless channels such as text, social media, chat, email, and messenger, expanded its board of directors to drive the next phase of growth.

The Authvia board of five is now comprised of two executives from Authvia, and three independent members. Collectively, the group possesses significant experience and expertise in leading mobile payments, investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, and software-as-a-service companies.

“Authvia operates in one of the most exciting segments in fintech today, and since the launch of our V.3 platform in third quarter 2020, we’ve signed more channel partners than originally forecasted,” said Chris Brunner, chief executive officer at Authvia. “This organic growth has built a fantastic foundation for Authvia, and it comes at a perfect time, when consumer demand for text-based commerce is surging.¹ The contributions of these new board members will enhance Authvia’s ability to scale and help us leverage this momentum in the market.”

Along with Chris Brunner and Authvia CFO Paul Danner, the Board will now include Brian Stolz, Ryan Hughes, and Mike Warren (on behalf of Red Door Capital Partners).

About Brian Stolz

Brian Stolz is a C-Level executive, McKinsey consultant, and investment banker across the technology and healthcare sectors. Most recently, Stolz served as COO of BridgeBio which roughly doubled in size and quadrupled in value during his tenure. He previously served as Chief People Officer for Activision Blizzard. He will advise Authvia on scaling business for a wider universe of partners and consumers. Stolz earned an MBA from Harvard University and Bachelor’s in Finance from Georgetown University.

About Ryan Hughes

Ryan Hughes is a former senior executive with SoftCard, Samsung Pay, Verizon Media, and Bardown Executive Search. Hughes was the Head of Revenue and Financial Institutions at SamsungPay, as well as CMO of SoftCard, a joint venture of AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, later acquired by Google. Before his tenure at SoftCard, Hughes was Vice President of Business Development and Innovation at Verizon. Hughes has been at the forefront of payments, mobility, and software for more than 20 years and is excited to bring his strategy, business development, and marketing acumen to the Authvia board.

About Mike Warren

Mike Warren is EVP of Strategy & Partnerships for Red Door Capital Partners, LLC (an investor in Authvia). He has held numerous C-level roles and served on boards for both publicly and privately held financial services, media, and technology companies. Warren began his career in financial services at American Express Financial Advisors, where he managed assets for high-net-worth individuals and family offices. Warren has also held management positions at Prudential Financial, New England Financial, and FR Holdings, and he is a former partner and owner of a broker-dealer, investment banking, RIA, and market-making firm. He brings extensive expertise in investment banking, M&A, strategy, and organizational development to Authvia. Warren earned an MBA from Pepperdine University and Bachelor’s in Organizational Management from The University of La Verne.

About Authvia

Authvia (www.authvia.com) is a Los Angeles-based SaaS company with patent-pending technologies and an API-driven platform that facilitates frictionless, contactless, secure, and fast payment acceptance via popular messaging platforms such as text, social media, and chat. Authvia APIs connect out-of-the-box to 20+ payment processors and gateways, are easily integrated into any business management software solution, and accelerate merchant cash flow using digital engagement to streamline real-time payments and receivables.

¹ 46% of consumers would like the option to text payments to a business – excerpt from the 2021 State of Texting report from Zipwhip.