Papaya expands senior leadership team

By Edlyn Cardoza

Papaya, a mobile bill payment application that simplifies bill payments for consumers with computer vision technology, announced two new senior leadership hires to accelerate its growth and increase access to its frictionless payment solutions. Papaya has named Bryan Haynes as Chief Revenue Officer and Shemika Jones as Chief Compliance and Risk Officer. Haynes and Jones will play key roles in Papaya’s expansion in their new positions as it seeks to become the preferred bill payment method for consumers and businesses across the United States.

“We are thrilled to have Bryan and Shemika join the Papaya team,” said Patrick Kann, CEO and co-founder of Papaya. “Their skills and experience will be invaluable as we continue to grow the company and introduce new products this year. Bryan and Shemika’s decision to join us is a testament to the strong culture and mission we have cultivated here at Papaya.”

Bryan Haynes joins Papaya as the company’s Chief Revenue Officer, bringing over twenty years of experience as a payments executive. Haynes previously co-founded Blackhawk Network in 2001, where he served as Senior Vice President of Business Development before taking over as Group Vice President of Strategic Sales in 2008. In this role, Haynes managed Blackhawk’s sales and business development teams, was responsible for Blackhawk’s go-to-market strategy, and led new product initiatives, including originating the prepaid gift card concept, which became the company’s primary business model and resulted in retail and restaurant prepaid gift cards available in 60,000 stores across the country. Prior to Blackhawk, Haynes spent five years at ARCO AMPM, now BP, as a financial analyst in their retail division. He holds a BS in Business Management from the University of Southern California.

“Like most people, I was fed up with the hassle of paying bills and was blown away when I experienced Papaya’s frictionless solution firsthand,” said Haynes, Chief Revenue Officer at Papaya. “Besides Papaya’s incredible technology and the company’s immense potential, what really stood out to me was the culture. When I first spoke to Patrick, I was immediately drawn to his passion for the product and desire to create a mission-driven team.”

Shemika Jones joins Papaya as the company’s Chief Compliance and Risk Officer. She brings over two decades of experience in risk and compliance in the payments industry, most recently holding the same position at cash payment network PayNearMe, a subsidiary of Handle Financial. Before PayNearMe, Jones spent five years at Green Dot Corporation, where she served as Vice President of Enterprise Risk Management and led risk and compliance functions for three acquired portfolios. Prior to Green Dot, she was the Vice President of Operational Integrity at WesCorp. Jones began her career at KPMG LLP, where she spent six years as an Audit Manager. She holds a BS in accounting from Illinois State University.

“What drew me to Papaya was the infectious passion and authenticity that resonates across the entire organization,” said Shemika Jones, Chief Compliance and Risk Officer at Papaya. “Also, as someone with a heart of service, Papaya offered me the opportunity to help others by addressing the number one source of stress for American families: finances.”

These new appointments come on the heels of Papaya’s $50 million Series B round in December 2021 led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Expanding the core team is one of the top priorities for this additional funding, and Papaya is actively seeking qualified candidates for various positions across the organization.