• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, April 17, 2018

Andrew Chen left Google, where he was a lead product manager from the local search unit, to forge a new path at Mapbox helping engineers. The company licenses maps to software developers to better understand consumer desires.

Mapbox, which competes with Google, OpenStreetMap and other software mapmakers to provide data for mobile apps, told Reuters on Tuesday that Chen will serve as head of product for maps and search. The company provides the data to Snap, DoorDash, and MasterCard, among others.

Mapbox Chief Executive Officer Eric Gundersen told Reuters that the company has “less live traffic information and fewer details on 'social' places such as bars than Google.”

Chen joined Mapbox in March, according to his LinkedIn profile. He spent five years and six months at Google as lead product manager for local search. Prior to his time at Google, Chen was at Simply Hired working as director of product management for over three years. He also founded a startup job site for startups called CoNotes in February 2007.

In a LinkedIn recommendation, Uri Kogan called Chen “an idea machine, with the executional ability and willpower to match.”

FastCompany calls Mapbox a “favorite mapping tool among developers thanks to its focus on letting developers customize the mapping data it provides.”

The one thing lacking, per FastCompany, is “abundant live traffic information and point-of-interest information for social places, such as bars, when compared to Google," which could explain the reason for hiring Chen.