Leandra Fishman Joins Proof as Chief Revenue Officer

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 5, 2024--

Leandra Fishman has been appointed as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Proof, where she will drive the company’s next phase of growth and revenue strategy. Leandra brings over three decades of experience leading high-impact sales teams and scaling revenue in the technology sector, with a proven track record across both enterprise and consumer markets.

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Prior to joining Proof, Leandra served as CRO at Apollo.io, where, during her tenure, the company’s revenue doubled and achieved a $1.6 billion valuation after their most recent funding round. At Apollo.io, she led the company’s global go-to-market strategy, expanding sales, customer success, and support functions during a period of rapid growth. Her strategic vision helped Apollo.io secure its position as the leading sales intelligence platform on G2.

Leandra’s career is marked by successful leadership roles at Intercom, Twilio, and SendGrid, where she helped take the latter through a successful IPO and significantly increased its market cap within its first year as a public company. Her experience extends beyond large enterprises to scaling early-stage startups, where she has been pivotal in positioning ventures for successful acquisitions.

At Proof, Leandra will leverage her expertise to drive the deployment and adoption of Proof’s Identity Authorization Network (IAN)—a groundbreaking suite of solutions designed to secure every digital interaction and transaction. This network includes the Identify, Verify, Notarize, Sign, Defend, and the soon-to-launch Certify products. As the company’s identity-secured authorization solutions gain traction, Leandra’s strategic leadership will be crucial in scaling sales operations and building deeper relationships with enterprises across industries facing increasing threats from AI-driven fraud and deepfakes.

“Leandra’s extensive experience in scaling revenue operations and her strategic approach to building high-performance teams make her an invaluable addition to Proof,” said Pat Kinsel, CEO of Proof. “Her leadership will be instrumental as we continue to enhance our platform and secure critical transactions in this era of AI and deepfake challenges.”

Leandra is excited to join Proof at a time when securing trust in digital interactions has never been more critical. “The Identity Authorization Network suite of products is uniquely positioned to redefine digital trust, and I look forward to accelerating its deployment across industries that require the highest levels of security,” said Fishman.

Known for her collaborative leadership style, Leandra excels in aligning people, processes, and products to achieve ambitious business goals. At Proof, she will play a key role in expanding the company’s reach into new verticals and enhancing its impact in securing digital transactions, including innovations like identity-secured authorizations and AI-driven fraud protection​​​.

About Proof

Proof (formerly Notarize) is helping to secure the digital economy. As more critical commerce shifts from in-person to online, companies need to be able to trust who is behind every digital interaction. As a pioneer of remote online notarization, Proof has built the largest network of professional notaries. The Notarize Network has thousands of compliant and approved notaries. The average wait time for a notary is less than a second. Every year, millions of customers in all 50 states trust the Notarize Network to notarize important documents or to verify their identity. With industry-leading compliance and built-in fraud prevention tools, Proof secures trust at every customer touchpoint using a transaction platform that cryptographically binds verified legal identity to signatures, documents, and data. Proof is trusted by more than 7,000 organizations, from some of the largest brands in financial services to small businesses. Proof’s platform serves a wide range of industries, from estate planning to property management, retirement, health care, construction, legal, credit unions, small business lending, and government. For more information, visit https://www.proof.com.

Leandra Fishman, chief revenue officer, Proof (formerly Notarize) (Photo: Business Wire)

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Borussia Dortmund hoped that reaching the Champions League final would lay a platform for further success. Instead, it's gone backward.

Firing coach Nuri Sahin on Wednesday was largely seen as inevitable after one win from the last nine games, but there's no clear path to a turnaround.

Youth coach Mike Tullberg will take charge against Werder Bremen on Saturday in the Bundesliga while Dortmund searches for Sahin's replacement. Reports in Germany identified the favorite as ex-Bayern Munich and Monaco coach Niko Kovac but he told Austrian TV on Wednesday, “No one has spoken to me.”

Whoever does take over will inherit an underperforming squad on course for its worst league placing in years.

Here's a look at what's gone wrong for one of Germany's most storied soccer clubs:

With Dortmund 10th in the Bundesliga, it's on track to miss out on the Champions League next season for the first time in a decade.

Sahin, in charge since June, had rocky patches early in his tenure but things were going from bad to worse with four straight losses to start 2025.

His fan favorite status as an ex-Dortmund player and close relationships with senior players may have bought him time.

Even before Sahin took charge, Dortmund's run to the Champions League final arguably masked underlying issues.

Dortmund placed fifth in the Bundesliga last season under Edin Terzic, who resigned at the end of the season, and was arguably fortunate to beat Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semifinals after PSG repeatedly hit the post and crossbar.

Last Friday, Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl pledged Sahin his full support. Five days later, Sahin was gone.

The apparent hesitation as Dortmund slid down the table over the last month was a contrast to the ruthlessness shown to former coaches. Lucien Favre was fired in December 2020 when Dortmund was fifth, and Peter Bosz lasted five months in 2017.

The difficulties also come at a time when Dortmund's long-term strategy is uncertain. Chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke is leaving later this year after 20 years.

Dortmund used to develop Europe's best young players such as Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho. Now it's fighting to keep up.

Dortmund's German rivals Bayer Leverkusen and Leipzig are competing for the best youngsters and Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz is one of the most in-demand players in world soccer.

The 20-year-old English winger Jamie Gittens is having a strong season with 11 goals from 27 games but Dortmund's youth teams are no longer packed with first-team-ready talent.

When teens have covered for injured first-team players this season they've struggled, and players once considered Dortmund's future haven't developed as planned. Injuries have disrupted 22-year-old U.S. attacking midfielder Gio Reyna, while striker Youssoufa Moukoko has scored only twice all season on loan at Nice.

Money isn't the problem at Dortmund after its lucrative Champions League run last season and the promise of millions more at the Club World Cup in the United States.

The issue has been who to spend it on.

Dortmund has relied heavily on experienced names such as Emre Can, Pascal Gross, Marcel Sabitzer and, until he was injured, Niklas Süle. The squad that reached the Champions League final last season was one of the oldest in the competition, too.

After striker Niclas Füllkrug, signed at 29 and now at West Ham, was a success at Dortmund, the club signed a string of older, late-blooming players based largely on Bundesliga form, with mixed results.

Since the start of last season, Dortmund's only permanent first-team signing from outside the German league is 33-year-old former Brighton midfielder Gross.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Dortmund players run during a training one day ahead of their Champions League soccer match against FC Bologna, in Dortmund, Germany, Monday Jan. 20, 2025. (Federico Gambarini/dpa/dpa via AP)

Borussia's coach Nuri Sahin looks on during the Champions League soccer match between Bologna and Dortmund at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium, in Bologna, Italy, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Michele Nucci/LaPresse via AP)

Dortmund's players react after the Bundesliga soccer match between Holstein Kiel and Borussia Dortmund at the Holstein Stadium in Kiel, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (Gregor Fischer/dpa via AP)