WEX in the News: Quotable Execs, a New Acquisition, App and HQ

Since the last time we rounded up all the WEX news that’s fit to print, in late 2018, the new year has brought in a wealth of WEX-related headlines across our lines of business. We’re excited to share some of the top highlights:

Our execs meet the press

• Melanie Tinto, our chief human resources officer, gave job search advice on Forbes.com, while Chief Corporate Development Officer Nicola Morris spoke to the outlet on the work that we’re doing at WEX to promote women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

• David Cooper, chief technology officer at WEX, talked to CIO about how to motivate IT staff in the wake of an acquisition.
• Chris Byrd, executive vice president at WEX Health, extolled the tax benefits of health savings accounts on Forbes, while Jeff Bakke, chief strategy officer, dished advice on how to pick the best healthcare plan to SavvyMoney.

CEO Melissa Smith weighs in on industry trends—and, receives an honor

• Our CEO Melissa Smith spoke to both Fast Company and Forbes about her predictions for how business will change in 2019 and about how technology is disrupting project management, respectively.
• She also authored a brilliant Fast Company byline on the subject of “Why you need unlike-minded people on your team (and 3 ways to get them).” In it, she writes, “I care a lot about getting the right combination of skills, grit, tension and chemistry into the mix at the most senior levels of the organization.”
• Having been named among this year’s Most Influential Women in Payments by PaymentsSource, our CEO was profiled by the outlet, which celebrated her “artful use of partnerships to extend WEX’s payments technology in the fuel card, health care and travel sectors.”

Our acquisition of Discovery Benefits

• Melissa Smith also talked to PYMNTS.com about acquiring Discovery Benefits, Inc. In January, we announced that WEX had signed an agreement to acquire the company, which is a high-growth employee benefits administrator to more than one million consumers across all 50 states.
• WEX’s acquisition of Discovery Benefits was covered by DigitalTransactions.net, Mainebiz, MedCityNews, Mergers & Acquisitions, PYMNTS.com, S&P Global Market Intelligence and the Star Tribune.  

Our partnership with AI.io to launch Halo Travel

• We helped launch a new intelligent, voice-activated chat bot for travel—Halo Travel—that we launched with AI.io and that’s powered by Priceline Partner Network. The news perked the ears of outlets including A.I.Thority, Digital Transactions, Hotel Business, Hotel Management, Mirror Review, PaymentsSource and PYMNTS.com.

Our new HQ

• The Portland Press Herald helped us celebrate the opening of our new headquarters in downtown Portland, Maine, alongside U.S. Senator Susan Collins and Maine Governor Janet Mills.

For more on WEX, our employees and why we’re a great place to work, continue exploring our blog.