LAS VEGAS, May 07, 2025 –Aurora Payments, a full-service payment technology provider, today announced that Derek Dean has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Dean succeeds Brian Goudie, who will transition to the role of Executive Chairman after nearly a decade leading the company’s rapid expansion.
Since joining Aurora as Chief Revenue Officer, Dean has expanded the company’s direct sales organization, strengthened marketing, and advanced Aurora’s ISV-focused go-to-market engine. As CEO, Dean will accelerate organic growth and position the company as the end-to-end financial-technology partner of choice across multiple verticals.
“Handing the CEO reins to Derek is the natural next step in a leadership transition we put into motion a year ago,” said Brian Goudie, Executive Chairman of Aurora Payments. “Derek’s energy, customer focus, and ability to scale high-performance teams have already advanced our mission and as CEO he will propel Aurora even faster while I concentrate on long-term strategy and strategic partnerships—including targeted M&A.”
As Executive Chairman, Goudie will guide board governance and long-range strategy while cultivating key relationships with processing partners, sponsor banks, and ISOs. He will also lead Aurora’s M&A agenda to complement Dean’s organic-growth initiatives.
“Aurora combines a powerful technology platform with an unwavering commitment to merchant and partner success,” said Derek Dean, Chief Executive Officer of Aurora Payments. “Brian built an exceptional foundation. My focus now is to unlock the next wave of growth by deepening our fintech capabilities and delivering even more value to our partners and customers.”
Dean brings more than 25 years of go-to-market leadership in enterprise software, data management, and service-commerce platforms. He joined Aurora from Syndigo, an enterprise SaaS data-management company, where he served as President and Chief Revenue Officer. Before that, he was Senior Vice President of Sales and Customer Success at EverCommerce, a service-commerce platform that provides vertically tailored SaaS solutions.
“Aurora’s leadership transition underscores both the strength of its bench and its commitment to long-term value,” added Jeremy Schein, Aurora Payments board member and Partner at Corsair. “We are excited to continue supporting Derek, Brian, and the entire team as they accelerate the company’s fintech journey.”
Dean’s appointment as CEO continues a series of strategic moves Aurora Payments has recently made to position the company for further growth, including the launch of its flagship cloud-based payment solution, ARISE, which empowers small to midsize businesses to manage their payments through one seamless customized tech solution.
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