Adyen has appointed Nicole Olbe as EMEA President, effective September 1, expanding her leadership remit after three years as the financial technology company's UK Managing Director.
After three years leading Adyen’s UK business, Nicole Olbe is stepping into a broader regional leadership role as President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, effective September 1, 2026.
Olbe will succeed Alexa von Bismarck, who is moving to San Francisco to become Adyen’s Senior Vice President of Global Account Management. A transition period is underway to support the handover across regional operations.
The appointment expands Olbe’s responsibilities considerably. As EMEA President, she will be accountable for the region’s performance and continued growth, with a mandate spanning commercial execution, cross-functional strategy and operational alignment. Adyen said its existing organisational structure across EMEA will remain unchanged.
Olbe brings more than 20 years of experience in global payments and FinTech. Before joining Adyen, she held senior leadership positions across merchant acquiring, payment acceptance and strategic partnerships at Barclaycard and Verifone.
Roelant Prins, Chief Commercial Officer at Adyen, highlighted Olbe’s global payments experience and inclusive, team-first leadership approach, saying her ability to connect regional requirements with the company’s wider commercial strategy would be valuable as the business expands.
For Olbe, the new position builds on leadership experience already developed within Adyen. She will remain based in the company’s London office, while maintaining a regular operational presence across its EMEA locations.
Her September appointment brings an experienced internal leader to the regional presidency while von Bismarck moves into an expanded global role, creating leadership continuity across both EMEA and Adyen’s wider account management organisation.
Source: Adyen press release
