Approov’s new chairman brings decades of financial, legal, and operational experience as the company prepares for growing mobile app, API, and AI-agent security challenges.
Approov has appointed Silicon Valley technology executive Rex S. Jackson as independent chairman of its Board of Directors, positioning the mobile app and API security company for its next phase of growth.
Jackson succeeds Dr. Lucio Lanza, an early Approov investor who has chaired the board through several years of expansion. Lanza will remain involved as a non-executive director.
The transition comes as mobile applications, APIs, and autonomous AI agents are creating new questions about digital trust. Authenticating a user is no longer enough. Organizations also need to determine whether an API request originates from a genuine application operating in a trustworthy environment—or from a tampered app, automated bot, malicious script, or unauthorized AI agent.
That distinction sits at the center of Approov’s technology and appears likely to shape Jackson’s priorities as chairman.
“Approov solves a problem the entire industry is waking up to: proving what is on the other end of an API call,” Jackson said. “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.”
Financial, Legal, and Operational Experience
Jackson brings more than three decades of executive and board experience with public and private technology companies.
He has served in both chief financial officer and general counsel roles, giving him experience across finance, corporate governance, legal affairs, investor relations, and business operations. Most recently, he served as CFO of ChargePoint and helped guide the electric vehicle charging company through its merger and public listing.
Jackson currently serves on the board of Terra Innovatum, where he chairs the audit committee and serves on the compensation committee. He holds a law degree from Stanford Law School and a bachelor’s degree from Duke University.
Approov CEO Ted Miracco said Jackson’s combination of experience makes him well suited to help guide the company as the security implications of mobile apps, APIs, and AI-driven automation become more significant.
“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.”
Miracco added that Jackson’s experience guiding technology companies through consequential periods of growth made him “the ideal independent chairman to help take Approov to the next level.”
A Leadership Transition, Not a Departure
The company also emphasized Lanza’s continuing role.
Lanza supported Approov early in its development and helped oversee the company’s work in cloud-based cryptographic mobile app attestation. That technology is designed to verify that API requests come from authentic, untampered applications running in acceptable environments.
“Lucio’s conviction, vision and dedication have shaped Approov from the beginning,” Miracco said. “His belief in our technology and our team never wavered, and his fingerprints are on every milestone this company has achieved.”
Lanza said the ability to establish whether software communicating with an API is genuine has become increasingly important in the era of AI agents.
“The question of whether software talking to your APIs is genuine—an authentic app, un-tampered, on a safe device—has never mattered more than it does in the age of AI agents,” Lanza said. “Rex is precisely the leader to guide Approov’s next chapter.”
Strengthening Trust at the API Boundary
Approov provides cloud-based mobile app attestation and API security. Its technology evaluates the integrity of an application and its runtime environment before allowing access to protected APIs and backend systems.
The objective is to prevent bots, cloned or modified apps, stolen credentials, automated scripts, and other unauthorized clients from successfully impersonating legitimate mobile applications.
That capability has implications for mobile-first organizations across financial services, healthcare, automotive, retail, gaming, and government. As more sensitive services move through APIs—and AI makes automated probing and impersonation easier—the ability to verify the software initiating a request may become an increasingly important part of zero-trust security.
Jackson’s appointment was approved unanimously by Approov’s board and shareholders, including Maven Capital Partners, Lanza Tech Ventures, and Scottish Enterprise.
Approov is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, with U.S. operations in Palo Alto, California.
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Steven Bowcut is the Editor-in-Chief of Brilliance Security Magazine and host of the BSM Podcast. He has spent years covering cybersecurity and physical security, focusing on the technologies, strategies, and leadership insights that matter most to security practitioners and decision-makers. Through the magazine and podcast, Steven brings readers and listeners practical content with industry leaders, innovators, and experts shaping the future of security. Follow and connect with Steve on Instagram and LinkedIn.