Former Mastercard EVP And NYC CTO Joins Silicon Valley-Based Startup As Chief Experience Officer And Founding Partner
By Godson Umejiego, Senior Correspondent, USA
The technology company behind the mobile application that helps cities fight misinformation and strengthen relationships with residents, Simplicity Tech Inc., has welcomed Miguel Gamiño Jr. as its Chief Experience Officer and Founding Partner. Miguel previously served as Executive Vice President and Head of Global Cities at Mastercard and brings over 20 years of rich experience working with cities and local governments.
“I can’t think of a better time to accelerate an application like Simplicity to help improve trust and transparency between urban residents and their local government,” said Miguel Gamiño Jr. “This is certain to increase the effectiveness of the critical services delivered by cities daily. The chance to scale this impact in cities across the US and worldwide is an incredible opportunity that I’m thrilled to join.”
While at Mastercard, Miguel’s team developed its ‘City Possible’ program to help cities accomplish inclusive economic growth and prosperity. This became a worldwide network of over 320 cities, states, and other organizations. Simplicity Tech Inc. began its search for a CXO due to the growing interest of large cities in utilizing the Simplicity app following its launch in the US last year. Some of the 30+ cities using the app today include Oakland and the entire San Mateo County, which has nearly half of the Silicon Valley cities.
With the Simplicity app, municipalities and residents can combat the growth of misinformation on social media, improve the speed of information sharing, and reduce the environmental impact of printed materials. The app lets residents choose the type of alerts they want to receive, including updates from various municipal agencies and departments critical to residents’ daily lives, such as the health department, road closures, upcoming events, and emergency notifications. Last year, the company raised over US$10 million from institutional investors to fuel its fast growth.
“We developed a unique solution which affects every resident’s daily life in a city,” comments co-founder of Simplicity, Juraj Gago. “With Miguel’s rich experience in the industry, we will be able to help a city of any size to utilize the app to its fullest potential.”
Prior to his role at Mastercard, Miguel served as Chief Technology Officer for the City of New York; before that, he was City Chief Information Officer and Executive Director of the Department of Technology for the City and County of San Francisco, and Chief Information and Innovation Officer for the City of El Paso.
