Blackhawk Network, a global financial technology company and provider of payment technology and solutions, today announced that veteran tech manager Nikhil (Nik) Sathe has been named chief technology officer. Sathe will lead Blackhawk’s continued innovation in global payments technology, including product development, infrastructure and security.
Sathe brings more than 30 years of experience in a variety of technology and finance leadership roles, including CTO roles at American Express and PayPal, and senior payments leadership roles at Google and JPMorgan Chase. Most recently, he was Vice President of Engineering at Google Nest, where he was responsible for the strategy, design and development of the Nest, Chromecast and Home branded products and Google’s smart home ecosystem.
“Nikhil’s experience in shaping the growth of technology and payments brands fits in well with our world-class Blackhawk team and will help us continue to innovate digital payments for our partners. We are excited to have Nikhil lead the growth of our global technology strategy, ”said Talbott Roche, CEO and President of Blackhawk Network. “Every modern payment brand must also be a technology leader. We strive to stay at the forefront of technology that affects the way we shop, spend and save today and tomorrow. “
In his new role, Sathe will report directly to Roche and continue to expand Blackhawk’s technology systems to ensure continued growth in the global retail landscape.
“Blackhawk is focused on the future of emerging payments and will continue to add even more value to brands and consumers,” said Sathe. “I’m very excited to be joining this passionate team at a time when the digital evolution of payment technologies is deepening the relationship between brands and consumers and enabling new features faster than ever before.”
Sathe joins a team of seasoned payments leaders in Blackhawk including Brett Narlinger, director of global commerce; Leila Pourhashemi, CIO and Vice President of Technology Business Operations; and Helena Mao, vice president of global product strategy, all of whom are supporting the growth of Blackhawk’s digital payment and commerce solutions.
