Featurespace announces new CEO appointment following acquisition by Visa
Featurespace has announced that the CEO mantle has passed from Martina King to Jason Blackhurst following the company's successful acquisition by Visa.
Featurespace provides ground-breaking solutions using AI to help banks and financial institutions crack down on fraud. It has built a model optimized for real-time data analytics, capable of recalibrating in real-time to help identify and prevent both existing and new forms of fraud.
More than 100,000 businesses put their trust in Featurespace’s technology. Founded in 2008, and headquartered in Cambridge, UK, Featurespace has more than 400 team members, operating globally from six locations.
Visa completed the acquisition of Featurespace in December for a reported £700million.
King's retirement marks the culmination of a remarkable 12-year tenure at Featurespace. During this time, she led the company's growth from its early stages to its current position as a global leader in machine learning-powered fraud detection, now a Visa Solution.
Jason Blackhurst has been based at Visa’s San Francisco Bay area premises since joining from Bank of America in 2015. He is relocating with his family from the US to Cambridge to oversee Featurespace’s continued innovation and growth.
James Mirfin, SVP, global head of Risk and Identity Solutions at Visa, said: "We are thrilled to see Jason move to lead Featurespace and to have a Visa presence in Cambridge. If you're going to solve dynamic problems, you need dynamic leadership and relationships - and Featurespace has built that over the past 12 years. Jason's vision will be invaluable as we continue to deliver cutting-edge fraud prevention solutions to our clients globally.”
"I am excited to build upon Featurespace’s strong foundations and drive further innovation in the rapidly evolving fraud prevention landscape,” said Jason. “I have been inspired by how deeply the team thinks about problems and solutions under Martina’s leadership and hope to continue that legacy."
In addition to Blackhurst’s appointment, Featurespace is reinforcing its commitment to its academic heritage by securing a six-year lease at its current head office location in Cambridge.
This investment underscores its longstanding ties to the University of Cambridge, where its technology originated, with Visa's dedication to fostering innovation within the vibrant Cambridge technology ecosystem.
"Cambridge is Featurespace's innovation heartbeat,” noted Jason. “Our continued presence here allows us to tap into the exceptional talent pool and collaborate closely with the University of Cambridge, ensuring we remain at the forefront of artificial intelligence's advancement. This long-term lease demonstrates our dedication to the Cambridge community."
