Onfido snags Google executive to boost global growth

Background-check start-up Onfido has announced the appointment of ex-Google director Edward Ungar as chief commercial officer, in a bid to accelerate its global growth.

Founded in 2012 by Young Guns Husayn Kassai, Eamon Jubbawy and Ruhul Amin, the company uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to provide automated background, identity, document and criminal checking services.

Hundreds of companies that constitute the $26bn sharing economy use Onfido’s service including RelayRides, Handy and Onefinestay.

Following the opening of its first US office in San Francisco this summer, Ungar will manage the firm’s global relationships with clients valued at $1bn and over, as well as its software partnerships.

Husayn Kassai, Onfido’s co-founder and CEO, said: “Thousands of companies need to thoroughly and efficiently check the backgrounds and identity of the members and contractors who want to work through their platform so as to engender trust among their customers. Ed’s leadership ensures we meet that challenge head-on.”

Ungar: “Onfido are streets-ahead in meeting an exponential demand for fast, accurate and scalable background checks. What the team has already achieved is astonishing, which made the offer to join them all the more compelling.”