# Talbott Roche

> Talbott Roche is the co-founder, CEO and president of Blackhawk Network. She joined its predecessor division inside Safeway in July 2001, became president in November 2010 and CEO in February 2016, helping build the business across retail gift cards, digital payments and incentives. A Stanford economics graduate based in Lafayette, California, she has also served on Electronic Arts’ board and joined Gen’s board in October 2026.

- **Role:** CEO and President at Blackhawk Network
- **Organizations:** Blackhawk Network, Safeway, Gen Digital, Electronic Arts (former board member), Landor Associates, News America Marketing, The Clorox Company, Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (former board member)
- **Education:** B.A. in Economics, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and helped expand Blackhawk Network from a gift-card business within one grocery chain into a global branded-payments company., Led Blackhawk’s retail and digital businesses and served as president through its 2013 IPO., Became Blackhawk Network CEO in February 2016.

## Career timeline

- **1996-2000** — Held executive positions at News Corporation, including sales leadership at Smart Source iGroup and News America Marketing.
- **2000-2001** — Branding consultant and director of new business development at Landor Associates.
- **2001** — Joined Safeway’s specialty marketing division as assistant vice president in July; co-founded the business that became Blackhawk Network.
- **2005** — Became senior vice president of marketing, product and business development in January.
- **2010** — Appointed president in November.
- **2013** — Served as president during Blackhawk Network’s April IPO.
- **2016** — Appointed CEO on February 22, retaining the presidency; joined Electronic Arts’ board effective June 6.
- **2018** — Led Blackhawk during its take-private transaction with Silver Lake and P2 Capital Partners; announced transaction consideration was approximately $3.5 billion including debt.
- **2020** — Received Women in Payments’ Advocate for Women award and the Woman in PayTech award.
- **2026** — Gen announced her appointment to its board on October 9.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and helped expand Blackhawk Network from a gift-card business within one grocery chain into a global branded-payments company.
- Led Blackhawk’s retail and digital businesses and served as president through its 2013 IPO.
- Became Blackhawk Network CEO in February 2016.
- Received an inaugural San Francisco Business Times Inspire Award in 2017.
- Received the 2020 Women in Payments Advocate for Women award.
- Received the 2020 Woman in PayTech award.
- Joined Electronic Arts’ board in 2016 and Gen’s board in 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Gen Digital announced Roche’s appointment to its board of directors on October 9.
- **2026-07** — Discussed customer needs, organizational design, AI-assisted commerce and measurement in an interview published by Adam Mendler on July 14.
- **2026-04** — Published the LinkedIn article The Always-On Marketing Platform on April 28.

## Links

- Website: https://blackhawknetwork.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talbottroche

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/talbott-roche
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23