Kitchener-Waterloo

Thalmic Labs hires former Under Armour exec

Thalmic Labs of Kitchener has hired an executive from Under Armour to oversee the consumer's product experience

Abhi Bhatt to oversee product experience

Abi Bhatt has been hired by Thalmic Labs in Kitchener to lead the overall product story, definition, and execution of future products. (provided photo)

Kitchener-based ​Thalmic Labs has hired Abhi Bhatt, a former executive with Under Armour, as its vice president of product experience.

At Under Armour, Bhatt was in charge of the company's connected products, including the HealthBox fitness tracking system and the SpeedForm Gemini 2 running shoes.

In his new role at Thalmic Labs, Bhatt says he will lead the overall product story, definition, and execution of future products.

'Understand the consumer'

"Put simply, my job is to understand the consumer, their context, and what's possible from a technology perspective," said Bhatt in a statement to CBC K-W. "From there, I'll then translate this understanding into products that consumers will love."

In a statement, Thalmic Labs calls Bhatt's hiring another step in building a world-class team at Thalmic.

In late 2016, Thalmic Labs announced a $120 million expansion to San Francisco, the opening of a 50,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Kitchener-Waterloo, and the hiring of a senior director of marketing of VR at Samsung Electronics.    

The company says the new hires and expansion is an important piece of a bigger picture for Thalmic Labs, as they continue their growth into what is expected to be another groundbreaking year.