Jawbone appoints new president as it prepares to enter payments market

The wearable tech company has appointed Sameer Samat as its new president. Before joining Jawbone, Samat worked at Google as the vice-president of Product Management. One of his key responsibilities was overseeing Google Shopping.

Samat will be on the company’s executive team and will be in charge of Product and Engineering teams at the company.  He will be overseeing all Product and Business Developments, as well as Product Management and Software Engineering.

 “He is a world-class executive with a great track record in building amazing products and services that people love,” said Hosain Rahman, founder and CEO at Jawbone.

The hiring comes at a crucial time for the company. There have been some hiccups this year, most noticeably the delay of its UP3 device because the company struggled to make it waterproof.

However, more recently, the company secured $300m from funding, valuing the company at $3 billion, and are planning to enter the contactless payments industry.

Jawbone has partnered-up with American Express in a collaboration that will allow AmEx card users to tap to pay with the new Jawbone UP4. The company says the device will benefit from all the security and fraud prevention technology that American Express uses to protect its cards.

“They provided the innovative and forward-thinking approach needed to create this new experience, combined with a sophisticated and robust payment system, and a wide range of supported merchants,” said Travis Bogard, vice president of product management and strategy at Jawbone.

 

 

 

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