Photograph — www.pickmeup.ng

Pickmeup Technologies Inc., a leading and fast-growing provider of ride-hailing services in Nigeria, on January 4, 2021, announced the appointment of Taylor Dondich as its first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in a move meant to support the expansion of the startup.

With over 15 years of experience overseeing technology teams at startups and global multinationals including Yahoo, Taylor will lead Pickmeup’s technology development and execution. His vast experience in the tech ecosystem will be instrumental in supporting the company’s platform and infrastructure strategy.

“I’ve always been eager to find organizations that look to better the World. Pickmeup is unique in its mission to provide services we rely on day-to-day in an approachable way that leverages technology. I’m excited to be part of this growing team building something special,” Taylor said.

Prior to joining Pickmeup, Taylor was chief technology officer at ProcessMaker, a low-code business process management software and iBPMS (intelligent business process management suite) platform, which makes it easy to rapidly build automated workflows.

Before that, he spent nearly four years combined as Vice President of Engineering at MaxCDN and StackPath as well as another four as Senior Engineer at Splunk and Federated Media. Between 2007 and 2008, he served as a software engineer at Yahoo, building customer-facing technologies as well as maintaining key backend systems.

Taylor also sits on the advisory board of PunchCode, a coding Bootcamp provided by Tech Impact, and is the founder of Nihongo Master, an online Japanese Language Learning Community that features lessons, drills, quizzes, a dictionary, and more.

“With a broad experience to draw on, Taylor has a rich background of tech expertise, especially in implementing strategy at enterprise-scale,” said Michael Okaredje, Pickmeup Founder and CEO. “Taylor brings huge intellect that we hope to leverage on. We are glad to have his perspective on the leadership team of Pickmeup as we help bridge the ever-widening gap in African transportation.”

Taylor joins the Pickmeup team as the ride-hailing startup surpasses 50,000 customers and is set to embark on an expansion drive that starts with service diversification.

By 2021, Pickmeup plans to launch a Super App that will enable users to commute, eat, deliver packages, socialize, and pay for daily essentials, all with one app like Grab in Southeast Asia. The startup also plans to extend its presence into other cities within and outside Nigeria, including Kenya.

About Pickmeup

Pickmeup is a tech-driven, award-winning, Nigerian ride-hailing platform owned by Pickmeup Technologies Inc. with a focus on capturing un-serviced cities in the country.

Launched in 2017 and headquartered in Delta State, it operates in Warri, Benin City, Asaba, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Uyo, Awka, Akure, and Calabar. In 2018, Pickmeup was named the Auto Business Of The Year, a special recognition conferred on it at the Deltan Excellence Awards organised by The Deltan Queen.

The car-hailing startup offers the lowest service fee of 15 percent for drivers, the flexibility to pay themselves via a digital wallet, free training, and vehicle inspection. While it offers riders the option of favouriting their drivers for future ride requests, even as they enjoy fare transparency and a live-chat support system to resolve queries in real-time. For more information visit www.pickmeup.ng.

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