Sathe Named Blackhawk Network’s New CTO

Blackhawk Network said Thursday (Feb. 11) that Nikhil (Nik) Sathe has been named as the company’s chief technology officer (CTO). Sathe will lead in areas such as product development, systems and security, according to an announcement.

“Nik’s experience in shaping the growth of technology and payments brands fits well within our world-class Blackhawk team and will help us continue to deliver digital payment innovations to our partners,” Blackhawk Network CEO and President Talbott Roche said in the announcement. “We are thrilled to have Nik leading the growth of our global technology strategy.”

Sathe will report to Roche in his new position and will maintain the growth of Blackhawk’s infrastructure, the announcement stated. The executive brings over three decades of experience in many management positions within the technology and financial sector, such as CTO roles at PayPal and American Express and past payments management positions at J.P. Morgan Chase and Google. He most recently served as Google Nest’s vice president of Engineering.

“Blackhawk’s focus is on the future of emerging payments, and it will continue to bring even greater value to brands and consumers,” Sathe said in the announcement. “I’m thrilled to join this passionate team in a time where the digital evolution of payment technologies is deepening the relationship between brands and consumers and enabling new capabilities faster than ever.”

Sathe becomes a part of a workforce of experienced payments industry leaders inside of Blackhawk such as Helena Mao, vice president of Global Product Strategy; Leila Pourhashemi, chief information officer and vice president of Technology Business Operations; and Brett Narlinger, head of Global Commerce, according to the announcement.

As PYMNTS previously reported, the pandemic will ultimately come to an end, but many of the changes it brought will likely persist going forward. Digital has advanced further and quicker than anyone predicted in December 2019, it was noted in December 2020, and the ground that’s been taken is not likely to be surrendered back, Mao noted in a past interview.