Leadership

Hikmet Ersek is President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of The Western Union Company, a Fortune 500 global leader in digital and retail cross-border money transfer and payments services.

With more than 30 years of executive experience in financial services, Ersek joined Western Union in 1999 and became CEO in 2010. Under his leadership, Western Union has successfully diversified and evolved its business to become a global payments company.

Significant accomplishments include growing the company’s digital and mobile offerings; expanding the company’s portfolio into the B2B payments sector; growing its retail money transfer business; implementing a new technology platform; and significantly upgrading the company’s global compliance programs.
Founded more than 168 years ago, Western Union has become one of the world’s most global companies, serving customers in 200 countries and territories, with a diverse base of agents, frontline associates, and employees. A purpose-led company, a remarkably high 84 percent of employees contributed to the Western Union Foundation in 2019.

A citizen of Austria and Turkey, Ersek draws on his international background to speak out publicly for the rights of migrants and refugees worldwide. He has been publicly recognized for his commitment to community and corporate responsibility, including as Corporate Responsibility (CR) Magazine’s Responsible CEO of the Year.

In 2019, Ersek received the Global Economy Prize in Business from Keil Institute for the World Economy for his international influence on global issues and was honored for his meritorious services to the Republic of Austria with the Decoration of Honor. A recipient of the Best FinTech CEO, he also received Manager of the Year 2018 from his Alma Mater, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien. In 2016, Ersek was awarded Austrian of the Year by Die Presse and currently serves as the Austrian Honorary Consul for Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico.

Ersek is frequently quoted by major global media outlets on business and societal topics such as migration, digital payments, and global business transformation. He is a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum and the Business Roundtable.

Ersek began his career in financial services in Europe when he joined Europay/MasterCard in Austria in 1986. A decade later, he joined General Electric (GE) Capital, where he also represented the GE Corporation as the National Executive in Austria and Slovenia.

He speaks English, German and Turkish fluently, and enjoyed a short career as a professional basketball player in Europe prior to his private sector experience.
Ersek holds a Master's (Magister) degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Wirtschaftsuniversität (University of Economics) in Vienna, Austria.

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As Chief Financial Officer, Raj Agrawal is responsible for leading Western Union’s global finance organization, including financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, tax, treasury, internal audit and investor relations. As a member of the Executive Team, he also provides guidance on the Company’s operations and strategic direction. Agrawal also previously had responsibility for Western Union’s Global Operations, helping drive the Company’s transformation to a more efficient, customer-focused organization. Agrawal is based at the Company’s global headquarters in Denver, Colorado.

Prior to serving as CFO, Agrawal was Executive Vice President and President of Western Union Business Solutions. Agrawal has been with Western Union since 2006 and has held roles of increasing responsibility with the company, including Treasurer and Senior Vice President for Finance in the EMEA/APAC region.

Prior to joining Western Union, he served in a dual role of Treasurer and Vice President of Investor Relations for Deluxe Corporation. Agrawal started his career in the automotive industry at General Motors Corporation in Michigan, and later worked at GM as a manufacturing engineer. He also held several roles in finance at Chrysler Corporation and at General Mills, Inc., including Assistant Treasurer.

Agrawal holds an MBA from Columbia University.

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As President of Western Union’s Global Network, Jean Claude Farah is focused on creating a customer-and agent-experience-driven network by managing all Agent relationships, improving the productivity of our Agent Network and expanding into new channels, including mobile wallets.

In his previous role as President, Global Payments, Farah led the expansion and growth of the company’s business payments portfolio. Before that, he served as President, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and CIS, and was responsible for driving rapid growth in the company’s consumer-to-consumer money-transfer business in those regions. He joined Western Union in 1999 as Marketing Manager, Middle East & North Africa.

In addition to holding a senior executive role with Western Union, a Fortune 500 company, Farah is a thought leader in corporate responsibility and shared value. He is an active member on the board of directors of the Western Union Foundation.

Farah started his career in 1995 with Renault SA, where he gained extensive experience in marketing. Prior to joining Western Union, he was Area Manager for Orangina Pernod Ricard, one of the world’s leading beverage brands.

Farah was born and raised in Lebanon and has studied and worked in France. He currently resides in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. He has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from St. Joseph University in Lebanon and an MBA from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris in Paris.

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Khalid Fellahi is responsible for the Company’s Consumer Money Transfer Business globally, in particular, leading initiatives to transform the customer experience, expand customer base and accelerate our Digital First approach to grow the business.

In his previous role as Senior Vice President and General Manager for Western Union Digital, Fellahi established and led the rapid global growth and expansion of Western Union in the digital space. Previously, he was Head of the Mobile Transaction Services group, as well as Western Union’s Head for Africa. Fellahi joined Western Union in 2002.

Prior to working at Western Union, Fellahi held roles within SIS-Groupe Compagnie Bancaire (Paribas) and Price Waterhouse Management Consultants. In addition, he has heldsenior leadership positions at small and medium enterprises in the service industry.

A Moroccan-French national, Fellahi has an engineering degree from the National Institute of Applied Sciences in France (INSA-Lyon) with a major in Information Technology, and an MBA from INSEAD.

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As Chief Corporate Affairs and Communications Officer, Nicole Vogrin spearheads Western Union’s corporate brand, affairs and communications strategy with a focus on elevating and protecting the company’s reputation. In this role, Vogrin actively shapes Western Union’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitment while strategically aligning it to the company’s global advocacy efforts for migrants, refugees and displaced people around the world. She is based at the company’s global headquarters in Denver, Colorado.

Vogrin joined Western Union in 2009. Through her tenure, Vogrin has held roles in Europe and the United States. Most recently, she served as Head of Corporate Relations and Chief of Staff to Western Union’s CEO. In this capacity, Vogrin played a key role in accelerating the company’s transformation agenda.

Previously, Vogrin held finance, accounting and marketing positions in the health care and electronics industries in Europe.

Vogrin was born in Vienna, Austria and holds a Master’s in Business Administration and Economics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria.

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As Chief People Officer, Richard Williams oversees Western Union’s Human Resources functions around the globe. He is based in at the company’s global headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Williams was responsible for leading the organization’s successful implementation of the “WU Way,” a program designed to transform Western Union’s operating model to better enable innovation, improve the customer experience and drive productivity. In addition to holding a senior executive role with Western Union, Williams is a thought leader in corporate responsibility and shared value. He is an active member on the board of directors of the Western Union Foundation. Williams joined Western Union in 2009 as the Vice President of Human Resources for the Americas region. Prior to joining Western Union, Richard worked for Fullerton Financial Holdings (a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings) as its Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, based in Dubai. Williams also spent more than 17 years with American Express, holding senior human resources roles in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the U.S. In his last role with American Express, Williams was the Vice President of Human Resources for the Latin America, Caribbean and Canada region. Williams also has held senior-level roles with Dunia Finance in the UAE, a joint venture between Fullerton Financial and Mubadalla, and with ACNielsen. Williams was born in Mombasa, Kenya and has lived in seven countries. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from San Diego State University.

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Caroline Tsai is Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Western Union and a member of its Executive Team. Tsai is responsible for the overall strategic leadership and oversight of Western Union’s global legal affairs, enterprise risk, public policy and regulatory affairs, ethics, privacy and corporate secretarial functions. Tsai also oversees compliance. She is based at the Company’s global headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Prior to joining Western Union, Tsai was Deputy General Counsel and Chief Regulatory Officer at BMO Financial Group. While at BMO Financial Group, Tsai advised on advocacy and policy initiatives, as well as all bank regulatory and supervisory issues for BMO’s global operations, including Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management and Capital Markets. She also served as Chief Legal Officer, U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking at BMO Harris Bank. Earlier in her career, Tsai served as Senior Vice President & Associate General Counsel at Bank of America Corporation (BAC) where she was responsible for a broad range of issues, including litigation, bank regulatory matters, the CFO Group and Global Banking and Markets. She began her legal career at the global law firm Jones Day, specializing in complex structured transactions for investment banking clients. Tsai is a strong champion for diversity and inclusion and served as Co-Chair of the Women's Leadership Network of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tsai is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and a juris doctor degree, magna cum laude, from The American University, Washington College of Law and served as Executive Editor of The American University Law Review.

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Shelly Swanback is our President, Product & Platform (from January 2020). From January 2014 to January 2020, Ms. Swanback served as the Group Operating Officer at Accenture Digital where she was responsible for accelerating growth, executing business strategy, and leading the global business operations. She previously served as the lead for Accenture Technology, North America from August 2012 to January 2014, where she was accountable for sales support, solution design, and delivery of Accenture’s technology services and offerings. Prior to that, she served as managing director for the North American operating unit of the Accenture Communications, Media, and Technology operating group from February 2011 to August 2012. Shelly earned her Bachelor’s of Science, Computer Information Systems and Finance from Colorado State University, and completed the IMD Executive Management program at Lausanne in Switzerland.

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Andrew Summerill is President of Payments at Western Union, responsible for the business customer segment and its international payments needs. Summerill maintains his previous role as Chief Financial Officer of Western Union Business Solutions; before that he was Vice-President of Finance for Asia Pacific, based in Sidney, Australia.

He came to Western Union in the 2011 acquisition of Travelex, where he held positions as APAC Finance Director, APAC Financial Controller and UK Head of Finance for Retail. Before moving to the financial services sector, he held senior positions in various industries including construction, manufacturing and utilities. He has worked and lived in various countries.

Summerill is based in London. He holds a degree in business administration and is a chartered accountant.

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Jacqueline Molnar is Chief Transformation Officer and Global Head of Compliance for Western Union. She is based in our global headquarters in Denver, Colorado. In Molnar’s twenty years of experience as an attorney and compliance officer, she has focused her practice on AML/CTF, Sanctions, Anti-Bribery/Corruption, Consumer Protection, Fraud and Litigation Defense. She has led large international teams in the successful development of global AML programs across multiple jurisdictions and has represented numerous Fortune 500 companies in complex legal and regulatory matters around the globe. Molnar also serves as Board Chair of the Western Union Foundation, an organization that supports education and disaster relief efforts as pathways toward a better future. Since its inception in 2001, the Foundation has funded more than $120 million in137 countries, benefiting 940,000 people. Before joining Western Union in 2013 as Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, she served as Vice President, Associate Global Anti-Money Laundering Officer at Toronto Dominion Bank Group in Toronto, Canada. Prior to joining TD, Molnar was Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at Wells Fargo & Company in Charlotte, North Carolina. She also practiced law at Gibson Dunn and at Latham & Watkins LLP in California, and at Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney, Australia. Molnar received her Doctor of Jurisprudence and her Bachelor of Education from the University of Hawaii and teaches AML Compliance Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law in Honolulu. Molnar clerked for The Honorable Hiram Fong at the Federal District Court for the District of Hawaii and for The Honorable Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon, Hawaii State Supreme Court. She is licensed to practice law in Hawaii and California.

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