Ascenda Appoints Paul Smitton as President of International Partnerships

 Former Asia Miles CEO to lead loyalty ecosystem growth and expand partner opportunities

NEW YORK, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascenda, the global leader in loyalty-as-a-service, announced today the appointment of Paul Smitton as President of International Partnerships. In this role, Paul will spearhead commercial strategy, building new avenues of value creation for Ascenda's partners.

Paul joins Ascenda from Cathay Pacific, where he led Asia Miles, the foremost travel and lifestyle rewards program overseeing a network of over 12 million members and 800+ global partners. During his time at Cathay, Paul also served on the Asia Pacific Advisory Council for Mastercard. 

Under his leadership, Asia Miles expanded its partner network, launched high-impact alliances with Mastercard, Standard Chartered, and Marriott Bonvoy, and unified multiple loyalty programs into a single ecosystem. Paul pioneered a no-expiry mileage model, redefined redemption opportunities, and introduced new earn-and-burn partnerships across travel, retail, and financial services – transforming loyalty into a major growth engine.

"Loyalty should be more than just points. It's about creating meaningful value for both members and partners," said Paul Smitton. "At Asia Miles, we showed how expanding earning and redemption opportunities drives deeper engagement and stronger revenue. Ascenda's unparalleled global network is unlocking new value streams for financial institutions and merchants, and I'm excited to be part of that journey."

Kyle Armstrong, CEO of Ascenda, added: "Paul's track record speaks for itself - he has built and optimized some of the most commercially successful loyalty programs in the world. His ability to align rewards ecosystems with revenue objectives will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our merchant partnerships and expand Ascenda's global footprint. We're thrilled to welcome him to the team."

As Ascenda continues to scale globally, Paul will play a pivotal role in advancing the company's mission to power the most connective loyalty ecosystem for financial institutions and merchants.

For more information about Ascenda, visit www.asceda.com. 

source: Ascenda