POSaBIT promotes IBM vet Chris Baker to chief operations officer

Bellevue-based cannabis payments company POSaBIT has named Chris Baker as its chief operations officer.

Baker, whose new role was announced Wednesday, joined POSaBIT last year and has been working as the company's chief strategy officer. A POSaBIT spokesperson said Baker will move to Seattle from Arizona for the position, which is new to the company.

"Chris Baker's strategic acumen and commitment to our vision have been pivotal in shaping the trajectory of POSaBIT," Ryan Hamlin, CEO and co-founder of POSaBIT, said in a news release. "His expertise and experience make him ideally suited for the role of COO."

Baker was a mergers and acquisitions consultant for POSaBIT before taking over the chief strategy officer role in January, according to his LinkedIn page, before which he spent over three years as vice president of technology and innovation at the insurance software company Genius Avenue. Earlier in his career, he spent more than 18 years at IBM in different IT roles.

In the release, POSaBIT said Baker will oversee day-to-day operations at the company.

POSaBIT, founded in 2015, helps cannabis dispensaries accept debit and ACH payments, a difficult task since cannabis is still federally illegal and a difficult market for traditional financial institutions to serve. The company also provides a mobile point-of-sale payment solution called Pocket POS.

In April, POSaBIT acquired Phoenix-based competitor Hypur for $7.5 million in cash and equity. POSaBIT in January announced plans to acquire three businesses from Akerna Corp. for $4 million, but POSaBIT in April said it had called the deal off. Akerna had received a better offer from a third party, and the POSaBIT board and leadership decided not to match the offer.

"This decision reflects the board’s commitment to maximizing shareholder value and acting in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders," Akerna said in the release when it called off the POSaBIT deal.