About Us

As Chief Executive Officer, Ben’s core focus is discovering new ways to tap into the latest technologies to create opportunities for financial institutions to increase digital engagement and improve their customer’s experience. Ben leads the strategic vision, operational execution, and global expansion of the company. He brings a 20+ year proven track record of successfully driving shareholder value in global fintech, payments, and card networks. Prior to joining First Performance, Ben was Founder of Debx, the industry’s first daily credit card payments platform. Prior to Debx, Ben was EVP of the Financial Institution Group and Network Services at Cardtronics (NASDAQ: CATM) where he was responsible for overseeing the rapid growth of Allpoint, bank branding and managed services. Ben Founded Allpoint (which Cardtronics acquired), a global surcharge-free ATM network spanning 3 continents, 55,000 ATMs, 1,200 financial institutions and 60m cardholders. Ben holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from West Virginia University.

As Cheif Technology Officer (CTO) Raghu leads the product and technology organizations to drive vision, execution and operations. His focus is to shape First Performance’s core capabilities to enable financial institutions to improve their consumers’ digital engagement, share of wallet and financial wellness. He brings 20+ years of fintech and banking technology experience, building innovative solutions and taking them successfully to market. Prior to First Performance, Raghu was the CTO of Digital Banking at NCR, where he helped transform the largest independent digital banking platform in North America, serving banks and credit unions. He was also the CTO of PrimeRevenue, a trade finance company; and the founder of Crosscues, an AI company focused on banking. He was also the head of Product Development at S1 Corporation, where he built and deployed the world’s first omni channel solution at some of the largest banks around the world. Raghu holds a masters degree in computer science from Pondicherry University and an MBA from The Wharton School.

As Chief Operating Office Laura oversees the day-to-day operations and general management of the company. She is an innovative executive with foresight and imagination and provides the vision necessary to ensure that the company has the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, and people in place to effectively grow the organization and to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency. Prior to joining First Performance Global, Laura was the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at BlueSHIFT7, a full service digital marketing agency, and AppedOn, a division of BlueSHIFT7, that focused on the development of mobile applications for iPhone and Android. Laura previously held marketing and operations consulting positions and was instrumental in increasing the company’s brand awareness and company growth. She is a member of numerous organizations including the COO Network, Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association, and COO Forum. Laura holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia.

As Chief Financial Officer, Sean is responsible for the company’s budgeting and forecasting processes, overseeing the preparation of financial statements and reporting, supporting the business development team in contract pricing and negotiations, and providing strategic recommendations to the CEO and other members of the leadership team.

Prior to joining First Performance, Sean was a Vice President at Croft & Bender, an Atlanta-based investment banking firm, where he provided strategic advisory services for clients in the technology, consumer, business services, and industrial sectors. Prior to joining Croft & Bender, Sean was an Associate at CCMP Capital Advisors, a private equity firm focused on making buyout and growth equity investments in North America and Europe. Prior to CCMP, Sean worked as an Analyst in the Consumer/Retail Investment Banking Group at RBC Capital Markets in Atlanta and New York. Sean received bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Spanish, summa cum laude with honors, from the University of Georgia.