Sebastian Plubins is the Managing Director for EMEA and South Asia (EMEASA) at Ria, the money transfer division of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT). He has held this position since 2008 and in that time Ria’s global network has more than doubled in size.

In his current role, he oversees the sales, finances, and operations in Europe and manages two hubs in Dakar, Senegal and Mumbai, India. Sebastian has been an integral part of the organization since 2005, working across different divisions, including roles as Country Manager for Switzerland and Sales and Marketing Manager for Europe.

An experienced payments professional, his money transfer career began in 2001 at Cambios Inter Services, a sub-agent of Western Union in Chile; he later worked in London, United Kingdom at Chequepoint – a foreign exchange powerhouse of Europe.

During his tenure, Sebastian has strengthened Ria’s management team with strategic appointments and overseen the significant expansion of Ria’s Agent and Retail network throughout Europe. Under his leadership, he has also driven business growth through identifying key market opportunities and fostering successful partnerships.

Entrepreneurship is in the DNA of almost every leader at Ria and Sebastian is no exception. Sebastian believes that his role also carries with it a social responsibility: to support the reduction of poverty through facilitating the flow of low-cost remittances and to increase financial inclusion for those with limited access to formal financial services.

As a strong advocate for open markets and healthy competition, in future Sebastian would like to see an industry where exclusivity agreements are forbidden and more responsible remittance players are able to enter.

Sebastian holds an MBA in International Business and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Universidad Gabriela Mistral. He also completed postgraduate study in Strategy and Innovation from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.