Approov appoints Rex S. Jackson as chairman of board

Approov has appointed Rex S. Jackson Chairman of its Board of Directors, succeeding Dr. Lucio Lanza, who will remain on the board as a non-executive director.

The appointment was approved unanimously by the board and shareholders, with backing from investors including Maven Capital Partners, Lanza Tech Ventures and Scottish Enterprise.

Jackson brings more than three decades of experience in Silicon Valley technology companies in executive and board roles. He has served as chief financial officer and general counsel at several public and private technology businesses.

Most recently, he was chief financial officer at ChargePoint, where he helped lead the company through its merger and public listing. He also serves on the board of Terra Innovatum, where he chairs the audit committee and sits on the compensation committee.

Based in Edinburgh and Palo Alto, Approov focuses on mobile app attestation and API security. The company works with mobile-first businesses in sectors including financial services, healthcare and automotive.

Its technology is designed to verify that software connecting to an API is a genuine app, has not been tampered with and is running in a safe environment. This is intended to block bots, altered clients, credential abuse and unauthorised AI agents.

Board change

Jackson replaces Lanza, an early backer who chaired the board through the company's growth. Lanza will continue to advise Approov in his role on the board.

Ted Miracco, chief executive officer of Approov, described Jackson as a leader with deep knowledge of the business.

"Rex is a rare combination of financial, legal and operational leadership, and he knows Approov deeply," Miracco said.

"As autonomous AI agents, mobile apps and APIs become the front line of enterprise security, the opportunity ahead of us is enormous. Rex's experience guiding technology companies through their most consequential phases of growth makes him the ideal independent chairman to help take Approov to the next level."

Miracco also paid tribute to Lanza's role in the company's development.

"Lucio's conviction, vision and dedication have shaped Approov from the beginning," he said.

"His belief in our technology and our team never wavered, and his fingerprints are on every milestone this company has achieved. We are delighted that the board will continue to benefit from his counsel."

Industry focus

Approov's pitch centres on the growing need to verify what is making requests to digital services, particularly as app-based services and automated software tools become more common. It argues that trust at the API level is becoming increasingly important across industries that rely heavily on mobile applications.

Lanza linked that issue to the changing software landscape as he reflected on the handover.

"It has been a privilege to chair this board and to watch Approov define a category," said Dr. Lucio Lanza, non-executive director of Approov.

"The question of whether software talking to your APIs is genuine - an authentic app, untampered, on a safe device - has never mattered more than it does in the age of AI agents. Rex is precisely the leader to guide Approov's next chapter, and I look forward to supporting him and Ted from my seat on the board."

Jackson said he had followed the company's progress closely before taking on the chairmanship.

"Approov solves a problem the entire industry is waking up to: proving what is on the other end of an API call," said Rex S. Jackson, chairman of the board of Approov.

"I have watched this team build remarkable technology and a business, and I am honored to serve as chairman. I look forward to working with the company to capture the opportunity ahead."