Chertsey, 26 September Semafone, the secure voice payments specialist, has further strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Katherine Grover as chief financial officer following the company’s recent recruitment of Sam Harry as development director. Katherine will help to direct Semafone’s rapidly developing business, which last year grew its revenues by 500% and saw a 50% increase in staff.

Semafone’s technology is deployed in contact centres worldwide, enabling organisations to accept card payments securely by telephone without compromising customer service. Semafone was awarded a patent earlier this year for its unique ability to allow customers to enter card details into a telephone keypad, masking the tones so that contact with a service agent need not be interrupted. Sam Harry, who has over 12 years of software design and development experience working with startups based across the UK, Australia and the US, will be responsible for taking this technology to the next stage of development and for drawing up a new product roadmap for the future.

Katherine joins Semafone from KnowledgePool Group Limited, where she was group finance director. Her previous experience includes 17 years working with fast-growing companies in the biotechnology, healthcare, outsourcing and information technology markets. She has been actively involved in raising and managing venture capital funding and also floating companies on both the NASDAQ and London Stock Exchange. Katherine will be based at Semafone’s headquarters in Surrey and will work closely with chief executive officer Tim Critchley as the company continues to grow its business across a number of sectors including financial services, travel and leisure, utilities and telecommunication.

“It is very exciting to be joining Semafone as it gains momentum in new markets and on new continents,” commented Katherine. “The company has an incredibly talented management team and I am delighted to be working with Tim again.”

“With our business developing fast in the UK, Australia, North America and South Africa, we needed someone with the right level of experience and skill to help us manage Semafone as it grows,” added Tim Critchley, chief executive officer of Semafone. “We are delighted that Katherine and Sam have agreed to join us and look forward to welcoming them to the management team.”