IDEX Promotes CCO Eklof to Chief Executive

IDEX Biometrics has promoted Catharina Eklof, a former Mastercard executive, to the role of CEO. Eklof replaces Vince Graziani, who took the helm in 2020, and will continue to serve the company in an advisory role.

Eklof joined IDEX as Chief Commercial Officer in June of 2021, after previous positions with Defentry and Securitas Group. The longest term in her career had been with Mastercard, which she joined in 2007 as VP of the company’s European co-brand development team, and departed in 2019 as the global SVP of loyalty and marketing services for the financial, travel, retail, and telecommunications sectors.

In announcing her appointment as CEO of IDEX, the company said in a statement that she “has been instrumental in the transformation from a component provider to a full biometric solution company.”

In recent months, IDEX has demonstrated progress in the commercialization of its biometric payment card solution. In May, the company announced that one of the biggest smart card manufacturers in South Asia had begun production of its fingerprint-scanning cards, and in June it revealed that it had received a production order from Beautiful Card Corporation (BCC) after BCC obtained a Letter of Approval (LoA) from Mastercard.

“I’m delighted to announce Catharina as the new CEO for IDEX Biometrics,” said IDEX board chair Morten Opstad. “With her leadership, and industry experience within payments and cybersecurity Catharina is the ideal person to lead IDEX into the future.”

Opstad added that IDEX would be focusing its efforts on the “fast-growing markets in Asian and EMEA”, particularly with respect to payments and access control.

For her part, Eklof said she was “most pleased” to assume the role. “In an all-connected world, with growing security threats, IDEX will continue to evolve and execute on our strategy, securing proof of identity in a seamless and customer-centric way,” she said.

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August 19, 2024 – by Alex Perala