Sesame Names Max Metral as New Chief Technology Officer

Metral, a recognized entrepreneur and leader, brings expertise in high-scale systems, privacy, fintech and artificial intelligence to Sesame

NEW YORK, MAY 16, 2023 – Sesame, the company building a radically new healthcare system for uninsured Americans and those with high-deductible plans, today announced that Max Metral has joined its leadership team as Chief Technology Officer.

Metral joins Sesame as an accomplished entrepreneur and technology leader who is recognized for his pioneering work in the areas of artificial intelligence, personalization, mobile development and distributed identity systems. He has founded a total of five companies, taking one of them public and leading acquisitions for three.

Metral’s entrepreneurial journey began with Firefly, an early web-based personalization and artificial intelligence company founded in the mid-1990s. Firefly was acquired by Microsoft, where he was responsible for building Microsoft Passport, one of the earliest distributed identity systems. He later served as the Chief Engineer of PayPal Retail, where he launched the first major new product in over a decade across multiple countries.

For the last seven years, Metral has been the CTO at GasBuddy, one of the most widely distributed and popular mobile apps in the world (ranking #1 in app store downloads as recently as 2021). At GasBuddy, Metral rebuilt the company’s entire tech stack, leading to innovations that drove improved speed, usability and security across the company’s media, payments and software businesses. The company was acquired by PDI Technologies in 2021.

“Max is uniquely qualified to lead a technical agenda that will not only deliver an even better experience for Sesame’s consumers and doctors, but also attract world-class engineering talent,” said David Goldhill, Sesame co-founder and CEO, and the author of The Real Costs of American Health Care. “Max would be the first to tell you that he is a CTO that still writes code. This expertise and bias toward action will enable Sesame to move farther and faster, rolling out innovative, high-quality products that consumers and providers alike will love.”

“I am thrilled to join a company that sits at the intersection of mission, technical challenge and the immense potential for change in the healthcare industry,” said Metral. “It is the most compelling opportunity I've seen since the early days of the Web.”

CTO to Build on Banner Year for Sesame

In 2022, patients could be seen within one hour by one of the over 3,000 providers on Sesame, compared to the industry average wait time of 26 days. Sesame also achieved 95% patient satisfaction – a feat practically unheard of within the healthcare space. Further accolades for Sesame include an 80 NPS, a 4.3 Trustpilot rating, being named one of the top telehealth companies by Forbes and ranking #1 for overall care by Healthline for the second consecutive year.

From saving patients over $25 million on medical care, to executing high-impact partnerships with the State of California and DoorDash, plus appointing top talent into leadership roles, Sesame continues to reinvent the way consumers – and their employers – access the American healthcare system, providing whole quality services at half of the customary price.

ABOUT SESAME:

Sesame is building a radically new healthcare system for uninsured Americans and those with high-deductible plans. The company's marketplace replaces historically inefficient, expensive healthcare with a direct connection – either virtually or in-person – between patients and physicians. This direct connection enables Sesame to offer doctor visits, labs, imaging and prescription drugs at half the price. Sesame is backed by private equity investors that include GV, Virgin Group, General Catalyst and Giant Ventures. The company was ranked #1 by Healthline for overall care in 2021, 2022 and 2023, as well as Best for Doctor Choice in 2023 by Forbes and Best for Easy-to-Make Doctor's Appointments in 2024 by CNET. For more information, please visit www.sesamecare.com.