CellPoint names new leaders after USD $34 million backing

CellPoint has appointed Kevin Murphy as Group Chief Executive Officer and Michael Kelly as Chairman, secured US$34 million from Toscafund, managed by Penta Capital, and launched its Zenith payments platform.

Patrick Uckermark has also joined the executive team as Chief Product and Technology Officer, with responsibility for the company's AI and data roadmap. The funding will support CellPoint's expansion in airline and hospitality payments and finance 50 new roles across Europe, the Americas and Asia across product, data, AI, sales and partnerships.

Penta Capital, the private equity affiliate managing the Toscafund investment, appointed Murphy and Kelly. Their remit is to reshape the business around airline and hospitality clients, where payment systems affect operating margins, revenue collection and the ability to manage disruption.

Zenith is designed as a decisioning layer that sits above a payment orchestrator, either CellPoint's own system or a third-party platform. This structure allows airlines and hotels to use the software without replacing their existing payments infrastructure.

New backing

The investment marks a significant capital injection as the group expands in sectors where payment acceptance, transaction routing and cost control directly affect financial performance. The platform is intended to turn payment data into automated commercial decisions for travel and hospitality operators.

Murphy outlined the management team's priorities in his first comments after the appointment.

"Payments are one of the largest controllable cost and revenue lines in an airline or hotel P&L, and one of the least well managed," said Kevin Murphy, Group Chief Executive Officer of CellPoint.

"Our job is to change that. Zenith uses AI to raise approval rates, cut cost of payments, recover lost revenue and give CFOs a live view of what their payment stack is actually doing. The US$34 million investment lets us build it at pace."

He also set out how the company plans to build on its existing position in the market.

"CellPoint has the data, the customers and the technology to lead this category. We have been given a clear mandate: focus the company, invest in AI, and deliver measurable financial impact for our airline and hospitality customers. Zenith is how we do it," said Murphy.

Sector focus

CellPoint specialises in payment technology for airlines and hospitality groups, two sectors that handle high transaction volumes across multiple channels, geographies and payment methods. Operators in both industries face growing pressure to improve conversion rates, reduce payment costs and recover revenue lost through failed or rejected transactions.

The company is positioning Zenith as a software layer that sits across those payment flows and directs decisions based on commercial outcomes. In practice, that means using transaction data to influence how payments are processed, rather than requiring customers to replace the systems already in place.

The latest funding will also be used to expand the workforce. The planned 50 hires suggest CellPoint is strengthening both product development and commercial coverage as it grows in existing and new markets.

Penta Capital said its investment was based on both the management team and the strategy for the business.

"We backed the team and the plan. Kevin and Michael have the experience to transform CellPoint and the discipline to turn AI into measurable financial results for airlines and hotels. Zenith is a genuinely differentiated position in a category that matters. Our US$34 million reflects our confidence in that outcome," said Steven Scott, Managing Partner at Penta Capital.

Murphy's appointment as Group Chief Executive Officer and Kelly's move to Chairman place new leadership at the centre of the company's next phase, with Uckermark overseeing the product and technology agenda as CellPoint expands its push into airline and hospitality payments.