Thomas Priore has reworked a 2005 fintech startup into Precedence, a publicly traded firm producing $879.7 million in annual income whereas processing over $130 billion in transactions for 1.2 million prospects. As CEO of one of many main non-bank service provider acquirers in the US, Thomas Priore leads a unified commerce platform that ranked #45 on Forbes’ 2025 checklist of America’s Most Profitable Small-Cap Corporations. His instructional background contains levels from Harvard and Columbia Enterprise College, complemented by eight years at PaineWebber and founding expertise with ICP Capital, the place he managed over $20 billion in belongings. But Priore’s management philosophy extends far past conventional Wall Road metrics, emphasizing what he calls “care-first management” rooted in a piece ethic realized from his grandfather, a landscaper who taught him that 2success requires working “half a day—12 hours.”
From Wall Road to Fintech Pioneer: Thomas Priore’s Profession Trajectory
Thomas Priore’s skilled journey started on Wall Road, the place he spent eight years at PaineWebber creating experience in monetary providers and capital markets. This basis ready him for his subsequent enterprise: founding ICP Capital, an funding administration agency that grew to supervise greater than $20 billion in belongings beneath administration. These experiences supplied Priore with deep insights into each institutional finance and entrepreneurial management that will show invaluable when he co-founded Precedence in 2005.
The early imaginative and prescient for Precedence mirrored Thomas Priore’s prescient understanding of expertise’s position in monetary providers. Twenty years in the past, the idea of integrating software program and funds right into a single platform was, as Priore just lately famous, “a novel concept.” Nevertheless, his Wall Road background enabled him to acknowledge the inefficiencies in fragmented monetary methods that almost all companies have been compelled to navigate. When Priore assumed the CEO position in December 2018, Precedence was already established as a funds processor, however his strategic imaginative and prescient reworked it into what the corporate now calls a “linked commerce platform.”
Below Thomas Priore’s management, Precedence has executed a collection of strategic acquisitions that reveal disciplined capital allocation and market growth. The 2023 acquisition of Plastiq introduced extra B2B cost capabilities and dealing capital optimization instruments into Precedence’s ecosystem. The January 2025 buy of Rollfi added payroll and advantages software program, positioning Precedence within the embedded payroll market projected to succeed in $43 billion by 2026. Most just lately, the October 2025 acquisition of Seller Service provider Providers added roughly $3 million in incremental 4Q income whereas including a brand new vertical market, automotive dealerships.
These acquisitions mirror Thomas Priore’s systematic strategy to constructing complete monetary options slightly than pursuing progress for its personal sake. The mixing success price has been exceptional, with Precedence reporting that 62% of its adjusted gross revenue now comes from recurring income sources; a testomony to Priore’s concentrate on sustainable enterprise fashions.
The monetary outcomes validate Priore’s strategic course. Precedence achieved 16.4% year-over-year income progress in 2024, whereas adjusted EBITDA surged 21.3% to $204.3 million. Working earnings grew a powerful 63.7% to $133.4 million, reflecting the operational leverage inherent in Thomas Priore’s platform strategy. These metrics contributed to Precedence’s recognition by CNBC as one of many world’s high fintech firms for 3 consecutive years.
Thomas Priore’s management philosophy attracts closely from his private background and household influences, emphasizing what he describes as persistent effort and dedication. His grandfather’s work as a landscaper instilled a dedication to laborious work that Priore credit as elementary to his strategy. “My grandfather used to inform me, ‘If you wish to achieve success, you’re employed half a day.’ He actually meant half a day—12 hours,”. This work ethic interprets into his disciplined private routine, together with a 25-year dedication to morning exercises that he considers important to his productiveness and management effectiveness. This dedication to consistency displays a management strategy that emphasizes perseverance and organizational resilience, what could be characterised as a concentrate on sustained effort over fast wins.
Strategic Imaginative and prescient and Business Influence in 2025
Precedence’s present market positioning displays each the alternatives and challenges going through mid-sized fintech firms in an more and more aggressive panorama. Precedence serves 1.2 million prospects whereas administering $1.4 billion in account balances, processing roughly 759 million transactions yearly. This scale supplies significant market presence with out the bureaucratic constraints that always restrict innovation at bigger monetary establishments.
The aggressive differentiation that Thomas Priore has constructed facilities on Precedence’s unified commerce strategy, which integrates gathering, storing, lending, and sending cash right into a seamless platform expertise. Whereas rivals like Fiserv leverage huge scale, processing 35.38 billion transactions price $2.03 trillion yearly, and fintech disruptors like Block (Sq.) concentrate on vertical specialization, Priore positions Precedence’s complete platform as addressing the total spectrum of enterprise monetary wants.
Thomas Priore’s insights on regulatory developments have confirmed significantly prescient. His contribution to the 2024 PYMNTS eBook “Past the Horizon” argued that “FinTechs which have invested in compliance, safety and strong partnerships are well-positioned as regulation will increase.” This angle materialized when Moody’s upgraded Precedence’s credit standing from B2 to B1 in 2025, particularly citing the corporate’s improved compliance posture and capital construction optimization beneath Priore’s management.
The corporate’s 2025 monetary outlook displays Thomas Priore’s balanced strategy to progress and profitability. Precedence tasks income between $970 and $990 million, representing 10.2-12.5% progress, with adjusted EBITDA anticipated to succeed in $222.5-$227.5 million.
Thomas Priore’s position in Atlanta’s fintech ecosystem extends past Precedence’s operations to broader business management. His keynote presentation at Fintech South 2025 coincided with Precedence’s twentieth anniversary, the place he emphasised the area’s evolution as a fintech hub. Precedence employs over 1,000 individuals whole, with 230 at its Alpharetta location. As he famous throughout a: “We’ve bought an extremely beneficiant inhabitants of staff that assist their communities in a bunch of regards.”
Wanting forward, Thomas Priore faces a number of strategic challenges that can take a look at his management and imaginative and prescient. Intensifying competitors from each conventional processors investing in fashionable platforms and fintechs increasing into B2B markets creates strain on market share and pricing. Regulatory scrutiny of banking-fintech partnerships might affect Precedence’s progress methods, significantly in embedded banking providers. Financial uncertainty would possibly have an effect on SMB cost volumes and credit score high quality, whereas ongoing expertise infrastructure investments characterize vital capital necessities.
Nevertheless, Priore’s monitor document suggests he’s well-positioned to navigate these challenges. His systematic strategy to constructing sustainable aggressive benefits, disciplined capital allocation, and concentrate on operational excellence have created a platform able to competing successfully throughout market cycles. Thomas Priore’s transformation of Precedence from a standard cost processor to a linked commerce platform demonstrates the strategic imaginative and prescient and execution functionality that positions the corporate for continued success within the evolving fintech panorama.
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