Signaling a new phase of growth for the safety science company, StrongArm Technologies announces that New Lab CEO Shaun Stewart has joined their board, bringing his eye for effective, sustainable development strategies and furthering StrongArm’s mission to keep Industrial Athletes proud, protected, and productive.
As the CEO of the Brooklyn-based New Lab, Stewart has helped build a platform that, in three short years, has championed over 750 entrepreneurs from more than 150 startups (including StrongArm) and positioned its massive facility at the center of innovation for entrepreneurs, corporations, cities, and investors. Prior to joining New Lab, he was the Chief Business Development Officer at Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle company based out of Google X in Mountain View. He joined Waymo after 14 years as an executive at Airbnb, Jetsetter, and Expedia.
In advising StrongArm, Stewart will support the advancement of the company’s signature offering, the FUSE Platform and its complementary IoT sensor – a risk monitoring device that uses machine learning to capture and analyze the risk of musculoskeletal injuries and other environmental dangers. FUSE runs data through an algorithm to generate a worker’s Safety Score – a risk metric tied to the propensity for a lost work-day injury.
Since its launch, the FUSE Platform was named one of TIME Magazine‘s Best Inventions and the reaction from the industry has been equally enthusiastic – leading to programs with various insurance carriers, brokers, and large enterprise organizations. In addition, Strongarm CEO Sean Petterson has been recognized by Forbes, BBC, New York Times, and many others.
“Blue-collar workers, unlike sporting athletes, have been overlooked by the innovation transforming other industries,” explains Petterson. “We wanted to create something to benefit the backbone of society, the lifeblood of our economy, the people who build the world around us.” For perspective, Workplace injuries cost the United States$250 billion per year and the costs seem to be rising.
For StrongArm, both Stewart and New Lab present an exciting opportunity to push that worker-centered message even further. “New Lab is a truly special place,” continues Petterson. “Its community of carefully curated members, smart and supportive staff, access to prototyping and hardware development capabilities, and focus on next-generation programing, were all critical parts of StrongArm’s success – as was Shaun’s deep expertise in managing the operations of rapidly growing organizations. We are confident he will continue to bring real brainpower, a diverse perspective, creative thinking, and an international network to our mission for growth.”
In StrongArm, Stewart sees a company with drive and a clear path to success. “By working with some of the largest tech companies in the world, especially early in their development as they began to scale, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to build for scale, both inside and out,” he says. “It’s clear that StrongArm is a company on the verge of something big. I’m eager to apply my experience and approach to innovation that, at times, integrates unlikely partnerships and external resources, to not only set StrongArm up for success, but also position them for continued growth in the future.”