Aussie fintech Raiz appoints Chief Financial Officer

Raiz Invest has today announced the appointment of Weiwei (Alex) Gao as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective 1 July 2021.

Alex Gao is an experienced financial executive with more than 15 years’ experience in accounting, finance and operations. As CFO, Alex will oversee the financial planning and board reporting, management accounting and other accounting functions. He will also have oversight over Raiz’s pre and post compliance of all trading functions.

Alex is a member of CPA Australia and holds a Master of Commerce from the University of Sydney, majoring in accounting and finance.

Alex joined Instreet Investment in 2012 as the finance and operations manager and has worked closely with Raiz’s Managing Director/Group CEO George Lucas since then.

He has also been a valuable member of the Raiz team, including Australian CEO & Group COO Brendan Malone and James Poon, Chief Product Officer & International, to grow Raiz since it began operations in 2016 under the Acorns banner.

Lucas said, “Raiz is delighted to announce Alex’s promotion to CFO. Alex joined Instreet before it was part of Raiz, and has contributed strongly to Raiz’s growth having been involved in all stages of the business from the beginning of an idea to where we are now. We are confident Alex will continue to add value to Raiz and look forward to his success in the role.”

New CFO Gao said, “I am honoured to be appointed CFO of a company that is enjoying such strong growth not only in Australia, but also Malaysia and Indonesia. COVID tested the business but we have emerged a stronger and more competitive company, with a proven business model through the most difficult of times. I am confident we have the right strategies and team for this growth to continue apace.”