Lightspeed Commerce is adding the president of Google’s Android ecosystem, Sameer Samat, and seasoned FinTech CEO Odilon Almeida to its board of directors.
“Their insights will be invaluable as we innovate and scale globally.”
The Montréal-based payments processor said Samat’s deep product and technology expertise and Almeida’s extensive industry experience “fortifies two strategically important areas” for the board as the company executes on its strategic transformation plan.
As president of the Android ecosystem at Google, Samat leads global teams responsible for Android across all form factors, as well as the Google Play Store and developer tools. Samat was also a founding member of Google’s commerce team, where he started Google Shopping.
Almeida was the CEO of global payments software ACI Worldwide, and once served as the president of money transfer service Western Union. He is currently in leadership positions at private equity firms AJ Holdings and Advent International.
“[Samat and Almeida’s] appointments directly align with the capabilities we determined were needed to guide our product-led growth strategy and profitability initiatives,” Lightspeed CEO Dax Dasilva said in a statement. “Their insights will be invaluable as we innovate and scale globally.”
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The appointments will become official on Oct. 1 as longtime board members Patrick Pichette and Rob Williams step down.
Williams served a term as chair of Lightspeed’s risk committee. Meanwhile, Pichette, a partner at early Lightspeed investor Inovia Capital, replaced Dasilva as board chair when he returned to the CEO job in February 2024. Pichette also oversaw Lightspeed’s strategic review committee as it fielded interest from potential buyers earlier this year. The company eventually settled on staying public.
“Patrick’s disciplined leadership, strategic guidance, and trusted partnership have been instrumental in shaping the company’s evolution, and Rob’s insights and commitment have strengthened our governance during a pivotal period of growth,” Dasilva said in a statement.
Feature image of Sameer Samat and Odilon Almeida’s LinkedIn profile photos edited by Alex Riehl for BetaKit.