WEX names new chief tech officer; former UnitedHealth exec joins board

Courtesy / WEX Inc. Sachin Dhawan, left, is the new chief technology officer at WEX Inc., while Aimee Cardwell has joined the company's board.

Write a Comment

By Renee Cordes

Portland-based WEX Inc., a provider of global e-commerce platforms, has tapped Sachin Dhawan as its new chief technology officer, succeeding David Cooper.

In his new role, Dhawan will lead product and platform technology, architecture, cybersecurity, infrastructure and cloud engineering, technical operations, enterprise applications and corporate IT, and technology-risk management.

He previously served as CTO of Stitch Fix, a San Francisco-based online personal styling service, leading product and technology development.

Prior to joining Stitch Fix, Dhawan was Visa’s senior vice president of infrastructure and operations. His other experience includes growing PayPal’s consumer products and shaping Microsoft’s advertising business, in more than 16 years at those two companies.

He started his career in software design engineering and holds a B.S. in computer science from the Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology in India.

"I am honored and thrilled to be joining the remarkable team at WEX, especially at such an exciting time,” Dhawan said. “With a robust technological foundation spanning employee benefits, corporate payments, and mobility, WEX is positioned to contribute to the ongoing AI technological transformation in the global fintech market."

New board member

Another new face at WEX is Aimee Cardwell, a former executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group who has joined the WEX board of directors.

Cardwell worked for Minnesota-based UnitedHealth out of Boston for the past two years, overseeing the company’s efforts to reduce its cybersecurity risks. She brings over 20 years of leadership experience at companies active in the payments and health sectors.

Before joining UnitedHealth in June 2021, Cardwell worked as chief information officer at Optum Financial and held senior positions at American Express, eBay and Expedia. She also previously served on the technology advisory board of Rent the Runway, a New York-based ecommerce platform.

At WEX, Cardwell will serve on two board committees, one focused on audit and other on technology and cybersecurity.

In it last quarterly earnings report issued in late October, WEX posted third-quarter earnings that surpassed market expectations and raised its full-year financial guidance.

In November, WEX completed the acquisition of Payzer, a cloud-based field service management software provider based in Charlotte, N.C. The purchase price was around $250 million, plus up to $11 million in contingent payments based on defined performance metrics.