Adyen Appoints Nicole Olbe as EMEA President to Accelerate Regional Growth Strategy
Olbe takes over the role on September 1, after three years as Adyen’s UK Managing Director, succeeding Alexa von Bismarck, who moves into the role of Senior Vice President, Global Account Management.
Adyen, the financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, today announced the appointment of Nicole Olbe as President for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), effective September 1, 2026. Olbe succeeds Alexa von Bismarck, who moves into the role of Senior Vice President of Global Account Management, based in San Francisco, with a structured transition period allowing for a smooth handover across regional operations.
In her new role, Olbe will be accountable for the performance and continued growth of the EMEA business. Her mandate spans all regional functions, extending beyond commercial execution to encompass cross-functional strategy, operational alignment, and sharpening Adyen’s global initiatives with a tailored regional lens. The existing organisational structure across the EMEA team remains unchanged.
Olbe brings over 20 years of experience in global payments and fintech to the executive position. Prior to joining Adyen, she held senior leadership roles across merchant acquiring, payment acceptance, and strategic partnerships at Barclaycard and Verifone. Known for her inclusive leadership style, Olbe has built a reputation for fostering high-performing teams, strengthening commercial ecosystems, and championing diversity and inclusion within executive leadership.
Roelant Prins, Chief Commercial Officer at Adyen, said Nicole’s extensive track record in global payments and her commitment to inclusive, team-first leadership make her exceptionally well-suited to lead EMEA operations, adding that her ability to bridge regional needs with the company’s global commercial strategy will be invaluable as the business continues to expand — while expressing deep gratitude to Alexa for her leadership in EMEA and confidence in her new enterprise-wide role.
For her part, Nicole Olbe expressed excitement about taking on the EMEA President role and building on the strong foundation the teams have established, noting that Adyen’s success across EMEA relies on deep local market understanding and close cross-functional collaboration, and that she looks forward to working with regional teams to scale platform capabilities and solidify Adyen’s position as the gold standard for global enterprise commerce.
Olbe will remain based in Adyen’s London office while maintaining a frequent operational presence across EMEA offices.
