Australian payments innovator Zepto has created the new executive role of Chief Business Resilience Officer (CBRO), appointing internal leader Mariana Paun to the position. Effective February 23, 2026, the move signals a proactive response to the complexities of Australia's evolving real-time payments ecosystem. This development unifies key security, risk, and operational functions to fortify the company's commitment to governance and customer protection.
A Strategic Response to Industry Evolution
The creation of the CBRO role comes at a pivotal moment for the Australian payments sector as it navigates significant regulatory shifts. Key initiatives, including the introduction of the Scam Prevention Framework and new PayTo liability settings, are reshaping responsibilities for fraud and scam protection. These changes demand a more integrated approach across technology, operations, and compliance to ensure a secure environment for all participants.
Zepto's Co-founder and CEO, Matt Cheers, stated the move reflects the company's proactive stance and its core belief in embedding resilience. He emphasized that as the company scales its mission-critical payment services, trust is paramount. The unified role is designed to manage risk holistically and support the long-term stability of Australia's real-time payments infrastructure.
Unifying Functions Under Proven Leadership
As the new Chief Business Resilience Officer, Mariana Paun will oversee a consolidated division including Information Security, Operations, and Risk & Compliance. This structure is designed to create a unified strategy for managing risk and ensuring operational excellence. Paun's leadership will be central to navigating the interconnected challenges of the modern financial landscape and maintaining customer trust.
Paun has been with Zepto for over three and a half years, joining as its first dedicated security hire and building the function from scratch. Her remit later expanded to include leading the Operations team, overseeing service delivery and incident management. Her prior experience includes senior security and compliance roles at high-growth companies like Afterpay, Block, and Littlepay.
The appointment also underscores Zepto's commitment to fostering internal talent, a point highlighted by CEO Matt Cheers. He described Paun as a respected leader who was instrumental in building the company's security and operational foundations. Her progression from the first security hire to an executive exemplifies the company's culture of empowering employees to grow with the business.
Embedding Resilience for Future Innovation
In her new role, Paun emphasized that resilience extends beyond managing risk to enabling safe innovation and maintaining trust with stakeholders. She views new regulatory frameworks as a positive step for the industry, reinforcing the need for coordinated customer protection. This perspective aligns with Zepto's mission to build trust as a core component of its value proposition.
As a pioneer in Australia's account-to-account payments system, Zepto is at the forefront of innovations like PayTo and identity verification tools. With payments and identity becoming more closely linked, the need for robust security and operational excellence is critical. The CBRO role is structured to ensure these principles are embedded in every product the company develops.
Zepto's establishment of the Chief Business Resilience Officer role marks a decisive step in adapting to a new era of financial services. This strategic consolidation of security, risk, and operations positions the company to meet evolving regulatory demands and lead in building a more trustworthy payments ecosystem. It reflects a forward-thinking approach where resilience is the bedrock of future growth and innovation in digital finance.