Fingerprint Cards appoints new CEO amid lukewarm financials and diversification push

Fingerprint Cards AB has appointed Adam Philpott as its new President and CEO starting from September 1, 2023.

Previously, Adam was Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Trellix, a cybersecurity company formed from a merger of McAfee Enterprise and FireEye in October 2021.

Adam was previously elected to the Board of Directors of Fingerprint Cards in May 2023 and will remain as a board member after assuming the role of President and CEO.

He takes over for Ted Hansson, who took the role on an acting basis from long-term CEO Christian Fredrikson in November, 2022.  Hansson will continue as the interim CEO through the transition period, and remain in a key role, according to the announcement.

The news comes as the Swedish biometric sensor-maker could be in an uncertain position from a growth perspective, but may have a new product focus on the horizon.

According to Fingerprint Cards‘ interim Q1 report, it lost 70 million Swedish kronor (roughly $6.5 million), or SEK 0.17 per share, on revenue of SEK 117 million ($10.8 million) for the period ending March 31.

That compares with a loss of SEK 26 million ($2.4 million), on revenue of SEK 300 million ($27.7 million) during the same period last year.

In the report, the company chalked up the first quarter results to “intense price competition and lower volumes compared with the preceding year,” alongside subdued demand for smartphones and computers across the board.

The company also pointed towards high inventory levels among itself and competitors, as well as “rising interest rates and uncertainty surrounding economic development.”

In the interim report, Fingerprint Cards said it “has a clear diversification strategy” and predicted its operations outside of capacitive sensors for mobile phones, will grow from just over 35 percent of sales in the first quarter, to around 45 percent at the end of 2023.

Hansson explained his perspective on the company’s diversification efforts in an interview with Biometric Update earlier this year.

Looking into the future, Philpott highlights “extensive opportunities for the company to both capitalize upon its existing sensor business and expand into new, exciting biometric and cyber-security market adjacencies” in the announcement detailing his appointment.

Prior to joining Trellix as CRO in 2022, he worked for McAfee for over four years, first as leader of the company’s EMEA business and later as CRO.

Prior to Philpott’s stint at McAfee Enterprise, he spent over 15 years in a variety of leadership positions across Australia and Asia-Pacific, and Japan (APJ) at Cisco, eventually leading the company’s EMEA Security Sales business.

Article Topics

appointments  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  Fingerprint Cards  |  fingerprint sensors