Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews) Inside Amex Digital Labs: Luke Gebb on Piloting and Scaling Emerging Tech
5 snips
Jan 5, 2026 In this engaging conversation, Luke Gebb, the Executive Vice President of Global Innovation at American Express, shares insights on driving digital innovation within a legacy company. He discusses Amex Digital Labs' stage-gate process for piloting and scaling emerging technologies like generative AI and blockchain. Luke elaborates on the successful launch of peer-to-peer payments and the intriguing Passport system using NFTs for travel. He also explores the importance of cross-functional collaboration and how customer-centric tools are reshaping user experiences.
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Labs Focuses On Market-Ready Pilots
- Amex Digital Labs focuses on emerging tech where business units lack time or expertise.
- The lab's highest goal is to build pilots that scale and graduate into business units.
Building Send & Split With PayPal/Venmo
- Labs built a peer-to-peer 'send and split' feature by integrating with PayPal and Venmo.
- That allowed Amex customers to pay Venmo users directly from their Amex account.
Stage-Gate: Start Small, Kill Fast
- Use a stage-gate process: start with a one-page idea and ramp resources only if it shows scalability.
- Kill projects early when feedback shows poor scale or negative signals to conserve resources.
