Remitly hires former Google executive for C-suite role

Seattle-based remittance company Remitly Global Inc. (Nasdaq: RELY) on Tuesday named Spyro Karetsos as its chief compliance officer.

Karetsos is joining Remitly from Google, where he spent more than three years as chief compliance officer. A Remitly spokesperson said Karetsos replaced Bridget Abraham, who left the company in April. She is now the chief compliance officer at the business software company Rippling, according to her LinkedIn page.

"We are confident that Spyro’s leadership will be instrumental in driving our mission forward," Saema Somalya, executive vice president of legal and risk at Remitly, said in a news release.

Karetsos will report to Somalya. In his new role, Karetsos will oversee financial crime, consumer protection, licensing and regional requirements, among other areas.

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Karetsos spent close to two years at TD Ameritrade as chief risk officer before Google, according to his LinkedIn page. Other stops in his career include SunTrust, Vanguard and Goldman Sachs.

Remitly was founded in 2011. The company allows customers to send money internationally through a bank deposit, cash pickup or mobile wallet. Remitly, which went public in 2021, is available in more than 170 countries and territories. The company had over 2,700 full-time employees at the end of 2023, up from over 1,600 at the time of the 2021 IPO.

Remtily generated $269.1 million in revenue during the first quarter, up 32% year over year. Its quarterly net loss was $21.1 million, down from $28.3 million the year prior. Remitly had 6.2 million active customers during the quarter, up from 4.6 million during the first quarter of 2023.

Ronit Peled, former chief people officer at Bellevue-based education tech company DreamBox Learning, joined Remitly in May as chief people officer. That same month, Remitly co-founder Josh Hug relinquished the chief operating officer role, now serving as vice chair and as a member of the board. The rest of Remitly's leadership team now shares COO responsibilities.

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