Navan, a leading all-in-one business travel and expense management platform, has appointed Anré Williams to its board of directors, effective immediately.
Williams, formerly chief executive officer of American Express National Bank and group president of enterprise services at American Express, brings more than 35 years of senior leadership experience in the financial services and business travel industries. He is currently serving as senior executive advisor at American Express.
Navan operates a unified platform that combines corporate travel booking, expense management, and payment solutions. The company focuses on simplifying and modernising the corporate travel experience through advanced AI capabilities and traveller-first product design.
Williams’ new role will see him contribute strategic oversight and leverage his extensive industry expertise to support Navan’s mission of transforming business travel and expense management. His experience spans leadership across FinTech, enterprise technology, and global travel, positioning him to provide valuable guidance as the company scales.
Over his decades at American Express, Williams played a central role in the firm’s global growth. He led initiatives to expand card acceptance among small businesses, built strong partnerships with major corporations, and managed consumer travel operations alongside digital platform strategies. In addition to his executive career, Williams has held board positions at Illinois Tool Works Inc. from 2010 to 2023 and at Ryerson Holding Corp. from 2004 to 2007.
His appointment coincides with Navan’s recent product developments, including the launch of Navan Cognition, an AI-powered platform enhancing customer support via the company’s AI assistant, Ava. The firm has also introduced the Navan Business Travel Index, providing new data-driven insights into corporate travel trends and spending patterns.
Williams joins an established board that includes Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz, Oren Zeev of Zeev Ventures, Arif Janmohamed of Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mike Kourey, Clara Liang, Sandesh Patnam, and Navan’s co-founders, Ariel Cohen and Ilan Twig.
Navan CEO Ariel Cohen said, “Anré’s proven leadership across fintech, enterprise technology, and travel uniquely positions him to help drive Navan’s commitment to revolutionize business travel and expense management. We look forward to leveraging his expertise as we further build out our platform and deliver even more value to our customers around the world.”
Williams said, “I’ve spent my entire career at the forefront of payments, travel, expense management, and technology, and I am incredibly excited to join Navan during a period of rapid innovation and growth. Navan is disrupting the status quo and I support the company’s ambition to simplify and modernize business travel through their cutting-edge AI initiatives and their focus on building a platform that puts travelers first.”
Keep up with all the latest FinTech news here
Copyright © 2025 FinTech Global
