Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Feb. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FreedomPay, the global leader in Next Level Commerce™, today announced the promotion of Liesl M. Smith, as its Chief Marketing Officer.  Smith, who previously served as the SVP of Global Marketing and Communications, has more than 25 years of experience in developing and implementing content, brand creation, lead-generation strategies and the launch of blockbuster B2B products.

“We are excited to elevate Liesl Smith to CMO, where she will lead the next stage of our double-digit growth advancing our product portfolio and our Rule Your World brand. Smith has built one of the best marketing teams in the world, and she continues to elevate the company’s profile and scale a newly formed international Growth team,” said Chris Kronenthal, President at FreedomPay.

Since joining FreedomPay in 2019 Smith has led extraordinary marketing results, building capabilities at scale from North America and the U.K. to 117 countries worldwide, achieving 50%+ marketing ROI YoY.

“I am tremendously excited to lead the Marketing function at a time of significant technological change, we have endless opportunities in the world of Marketing from Artificial Intelligence tools to emerging technology partners,” said Liesl Smith. “Our shared goal as the world’s most trusted agnostic payments company is to help our customers stay in control, protected and independent.”

FreedomPay’s omnichannel switch service connects directly to 48 acquirers and processors covering 90% of the global payment card market exclusive of China, Russia and Iran. FreedomPay secures payments for many of the leading brands such as Subway, Marriott, IHG, L’Oreal, Pret a Manger, Four Seasons, Dine Brands, Primark and many more.

Smith arrived from payment hardware giant Verifone as the Vice President of Europe for Marketing and Communications where she applied indirect and direct B2B strategies across several markets including the Nordics, France, Germany, Russia and the U.K.

Prior to Verifone, Smith led Global Payments Communications at Western Union.

Smith worked in SMB policy and communications at the Federation of Small Businesses in London following an award-winning career as a national Journalist and News Editor in the BBC.

About FreedomPay 

FreedomPay is the global leader in Next Level Commerce™—transforming the way businesses power payments and experiences across the world. More than a payment solution, FreedomPay is a world-class independent payment gateway engineered to simplify complexity, break down the barriers of legacy systems, and revolutionize every point of interaction—whether in-store, online, or mobile. Chosen by the leading brands across retail, hospitality, sports and entertainment, food service, healthcare and higher education, FreedomPay delivers technology strength, integration breadth, and deep expertise in global payments innovation. 

As one of the first solutions in North America validated by the PCI Security Standards Council for P2PE, FreedomPay sets the gold standard for payment security, trust, and performance. With a unified technology stack, lightning-fast APIs, and integrated solutions across payments, FreedomPay gives businesses total peace of mind plus the freedom to choose any hardware provider. Move faster, act smarter, and lead markets—not chase them. www.freedompay.com 

Jennifer Tayebi Burson for FreedomPay +1 734 395 0780 jennifer.tayebi@bursonglobal.com