Backbase names Mark Appel as new Chief Marketing Officer

By Gloria Methri

Engagement Banking platform Backbase has appointed Mark Appel as Chief Marketing Officer. Appel will lead Backbase’s marketing organization, bringing over 30 years of experience with technology and growth companies such as Apple, Twinfield (acquired by Wolters Kluwer), Exact Software, and most recently, CM.com.

As Chief Marketing Officer of CM.com, Appel is credited with “quadrupling revenue” in less than three years, while growing the marketing team from 10 to 80 people. In his prior role at Exact, Appel oversaw the transition to SaaS and grew the business “tenfold” during his 8-year tenure.

As CMO of Backbase, Appel will be responsible for supporting growth that has seen Backbase eclipse €200 million in revenue and be named to the 2022 CB Insights’ FinTech 250 list.

“I am excited to bring my experience to Backbase as we pursue our ambitious purpose to improve the daily financial lives of 10% of the world’s population. I look forward to building structures that will continue to drive brand recognition and amplify demand generation,” said Mark Appel, CMO at Backbase.

Appel’s appointment adds to the depth of Backbase’s leadership team, following the recent addition of Markwin Geneste as Chief Commercial Officer and Roland Booijen as General Manager of Ecosystems, in 2022. These additions, along with Motive Partners joining as an investor in June, continue as Backbase matures.

Jouk Pleiter, Backbase Founder and CEO said, “Mark’s curiosity for new technologies and inspirational leadership will build on the foundations to rejuvenate our marketing team as a high-performance revenue engine. Mark represents Backbase’s core values of craftsmanship, entrepreneurship, and can-do, and I am delighted to work with him.”