PREPLY APPOINTS CHARLIE WICKERS AS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

A highly skilled leader with 20 years of financial strategy experience in the tech sector, Wickers joins Preply from Rover and will oversee the company's finance function

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Preply, the #1 global language learning marketplace, today announces the appointment of Charlie Wickers as Chief Financial Officer to support the company's ongoing global expansion amid strong, sustained growth. Wickers brings two decades of financial leadership experience across technology companies spanning pre-IPO, public, and private markets. Most recently, he served as CFO of Rover, the world's largest online marketplace for pet care, from 2022-2025.

During his tenure at Rover, Wickers played a pivotal role in navigating major financial milestones, including the company's public listing and its subsequent take-private acquisition by Blackstone. His expertise includes driving financial strategy, optimizing operations, leading financial planning and analysis, and leveraging business analytics to foster sustainable growth.

"Charlie's deep financial expertise within technology and marketplace companies, combined with his proven track record of guiding businesses through critical transitions, makes him an outstanding addition to Preply's leadership team," says Kirill Bigai, CEO and co-founder of Preply. "As we continue to expand globally, his leadership will be instrumental in strengthening our financial foundation and driving our mission to deliver personalized, life-changing learning experiences in a way that no other platform can."

Wickers' appointment comes at a time when Preply is accelerating its global expansion, deepening its impact for learners and tutors, and positioning itself as the global leader in online language learning. This momentum aligns with a rapidly growing global language learning market, projected to reach $115B by the end of 2025, driven by advancements in technology, increased mobile adoption, and breakthroughs in AI.

Just recently, the company unveiled a new suite of AI tools designed to support tutors and accelerate goal-driven language learning. Since launching in 2012, Preply has combined one-on-one human-led lessons with smart technology to drive measurable results. Its latest AI innovations, paired with human instruction, bring an even greater level of personalization to both tutors and learners, helping them achieve real, efficient progress.

Of joining Preply, Wickers says, "I'm excited to come on board at such a dynamic time in the company's growth. Preply's unique focus on connecting learners with real, expert tutors worldwide resonates deeply with me, and I look forward to helping scale the business responsibly while advancing its mission."

Wickers has been recognized as a 2025 Puget Sound Business Journal CFO of the Year Honoree and currently serves as an Executive Board Member of The F Suite. His appointment as Chief Financial Officer at Preply is effective immediately.

ABOUT PREPLY
Preply is the human-led, AI-enabled language learning platform building the future of learning. With a global network of more than 100,000 tutors teaching over 90 languages, we are the category leader and the largest online marketplace that brings human tutors together with learners from 180 countries, supporting them with always-on, AI-powered tools to deliver real progress with every lesson.

Our mission is to create life-changing learning experiences by powering real progress through personalized learning, motivation, and high-quality tutoring at scale. We believe that we are uniquely positioned to become the company that understands human learning better than anyone else on the planet.

SOURCE Preply