Waterloo-based TextNow, which uses cloud-based technology to make phone plans cheaper, has appointed Sean McCabe as its new chief technology officer.
McCabe was formerly the vice president of engineering at Aeryon Labs, the Waterloo-based drone maker. Earlier this month, Aeryon Labs’ CEO and founder Dave Kroetsch stepped down from his role and became the company’s first-ever CTO.
McCabe has held roles in product development and commercial introduction at BlackBerry, making him TextNow’s second recent hire of a former BlackBerry executive.
“So much of what we do as engineering leaders is about technology, people and transformation. This can be a potent combination and when you get it right, magic happens. At TextNow, the team has so much of this foundation already in place,” said McCabe. “With the incredible people and technology at TextNow, it is a privilege to be joining a team focused on the collective mission of transforming how the world communicates.”
“We are excited to welcome Sean to our leadership team and leverage his deep technology expertise and management experience.”
McCabe will oversee TextNow’s engineering department, where he will be responsible for product development, quality, and technical infrastructure. He manage a team of approximately 60 engineers in Waterloo and San Francisco, and works with TextNow’s CEO Derek Ting on the company’s long-term strategy.
“We are excited to welcome Sean to our leadership team and leverage his deep technology expertise and management experience,” said Ting. “We are looking forward to having someone of Sean’s caliber working alongside our teams to execute on our roadmap, and delivering on new innovative solutions to exceed the expectations of our customers.”
In addition to hiring McCabe, TextNow also announced that it has been selected as one of Canada’s Top Small and Medium Employers for 2017, marking the second year the company’s received this recognition from Mediacorp Canada. The award recognizes small and medium-sized employers with strong workplaces and forward-thinking human resource policies.
TextNow was selected for its culture and growth in recent years, as the company grew its team by 45 percent with a total of 90 employees in 2016, and said it has had revenue growth of 277 percent over the last five years.
“At TextNow, we have set out to build exceptional products and services for our customers, and we know that it takes the best, most passionate team to deliver on our commitments,” said Ting. “I attribute TextNow’s growth and momentum to the dedicated employees who are focused on delivering the absolute best experience for our customers every single day.”
These announcements come just over a year after TextNow’s expansion into the US, which included opening an office in San Francisco. TextNow partnered with Waterloo-based Sandvine to power its TextNow Wireless service in the US.