Via appoints former Goldman Sachs Chief Accounting Officer to Board of Directors
July 21, 2021 (NEW YORK) — Via, the global leader in TransitTech, today announces that Sarah Smith has been appointed as an independent member of its board of directors to chair the Audit Committee. Smith is a former member of the Management Committee of Goldman Sachs where she served as Chief Accounting Officer, Controller, and Chief Compliance Officer. She also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation, the parent organization of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), and previously served on the US Treasury Department’s Advisory Committee on the Auditing Industry. Smith is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Sarah to our Board,” said co-founder and CEO Daniel Ramot. “Her outstanding leadership and experience at a major global company will be invaluable as we grow our TransitTech business. We feel very fortunate that Sarah has agreed to join us at this pivotal moment for the company.”
Oren Shoval, co-founder and CTO said, “Sarah brings a wealth of expertise, not only in audit and compliance, but also in scaling up systems and processes. We’re honored to welcome Sarah to our Board, and look forward to working closely with her in the coming years as we deliver efficient, accessible, and sustainable transit solutions to communities around the world.”
This appointment comes at an important time in Via’s growth. The company provides a cloud-based software platform that enables cities, transit agencies, transport operators, school districts, universities, and corporations to transform their legacy transportation systems into advanced digital networks. In the past six months, Via has seen its business grow rapidly as the world started moving again, companies began to plan return to work, and cities adapted to post-COVID community needs. The company’s software now powers more than 500 TransitTech services in 37 countries.
“I’m delighted to join the board of a company that has built transformative technology and has such an incredible mission. Transportation is critical to economic recovery, social equity, and to delivering efficiencies to cities. It’s a very exciting time for Via and I look forward to working alongside Daniel and Oren, and the outstanding leadership team to realize Via’s vision.”
About Via:
Founded in 2012, Via pioneered the TransitTech category by using new technologies to power public mobility systems, optimizing networks of dynamic shuttles, buses, wheelchair accessible vehicles, school buses, and autonomous vehicles around the globe. Building the world’s most efficient, equitable, and sustainable transportation network for all riders — including those with limited mobility, those without smartphones, and unbanked populations — Via works with its partners to lower the cost of public transit and provide accessible options that rival the convenience of a personal car at a reduced environmental impact. At the intersection of transportation and technology, Via is a visionary market leader that combines software innovation with sophisticated service design and operational expertise to fundamentally improve the way the world moves, with 500 global partners on five continents, and counting.