Mitek Names New CTO

Mobile capture and identity verification firm Mitek said on Wednesday (March 23) that it has appointed Stephen Ritter as the firm’s chief technology officer. In that role, the company said in a release, Ritter will spearhead and lead the development of Mitek’s core offerings, along with overseeing Mitek Labs, which is the company’s scientific and computer vision operations.

The firm said that, prior to coming on board at Mitek, Ritter served as senior vice president of engineering and research for Emotient, which was acquired by Apple. That firm used what are known as deep learning techniques in order to address computer vision issues. At Emotient, said Mitek in the release, Ritter helped fashion an emotion detection offering based on subjects’ facial expressions.

Prior to Emotient, Ritter worked as an engineering executive at Websense and McAfee, both security firms.

In the release, Ritter noted: “As global companies look for ways to engage with customers in the mobile channel, Mitek is perfectly positioned to create fast, easy and secure processes that will enable the mobile revolution. I am excited to lead the Mitek Labs and engineering teams and help create the future of mobile commerce.”

Earlier this month, Mitek CEO James DeBello was named chairman.

Separately, the firm announced that it has reached a deal that would bring the its mobile payments offerings to “a leading lending platform.” Mitek’s Mobile Fill platform allows users to “populate” data fields through the use of a visual image, say, of a driver’s license. The firm said that it sees online lending as a market worth as much as $1 trillion within the next decade.