Phonecheck appoints Harby Garchay as EMEA and APAC president

Harby Garchay brings nearly 20 years of experience scaling technology businesses across complex, multi-region markets spanning Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. His remit is to guide Phonecheck through its next growth phase as it seeks to evolve from an established industry standard into a fully AI-led technology company. The timing is deliberate, coinciding with the company’s preparation to launch an AI-powered diagnostics and grading system positioned as a step change for the circular economy.

Vision AI enters grading

At the centre of Phonecheck’s strategy is what it describes as the industry’s first fully automated vision AI product. The system is designed to identify cosmetic damage, screen defects and overall device condition without human intervention. For refurbishers, traders and recommerce platforms operating at scale, the promise lies in faster inspection throughput, greater grading consistency and reduced dependency on manual assessment processes that can vary widely between operators and regions. Phonecheck believes the technology could reshape how devices are inspected and graded across global secondary markets. Automated visual diagnostics directly address one of the sector’s long-standing friction points, namely subjective grading and its downstream impact on pricing disputes, returns and operational inefficiency. By standardising visual assessment through AI, the company is positioning itself to influence not only inspection workflows but also broader trust mechanisms within refurbished supply chains.

Data-driven advantage emerges

According to CEO Chris Sabeti in a response to MobileNews, Phonecheck’s competitive advantage rests on the volume of data flowing through its platform. The company claims to have processed more device inspections than any other provider globally, generating what it considers the largest proprietary dataset in the diagnostics sector. Every inspection feeds back into its machine learning models, continuously improving accuracy and performance as volumes increase. This data scale underpins Phonecheck’s confidence in moving decisively toward AI-led automation. Rather than adding AI as a supplementary feature, the company is leveraging years of inspection history to build models trained on real-world device conditions. For the wider circular economy, this approach reinforces the role of data as a foundational asset in achieving reliable grading, transparent pricing and scalable recommerce operations.

Strategic implications for circularity

The implications of AI-driven diagnostics extend beyond operational efficiency. More consistent and objective grading supports cross-border trade by reducing uncertainty between buyers and sellers operating in different markets. It also strengthens investor confidence in refurbished supply chains by improving predictability and reducing risk associated with device quality disputes. From a sustainability perspective, automated diagnostics can enable higher recovery rates and longer device lifecycles by accurately identifying viable refurbishment candidates. As secondary markets mature, technologies that support lifecycle extension at scale are increasingly viewed as essential infrastructure rather than optional enhancements.

Leadership aligned with execution

Harby Garchay described his decision to change roles as a rare move driven by conviction in Phonecheck’s direction. He emphasised that the company is not a services business retrofitting AI, but a technology platform using its dominant market position to build something fundamentally new. His personal investment as both leader and stakeholder further underlines confidence in the strategy. For Phonecheck, the appointment comes at a critical execution phase. With leadership experienced in scaling technology across diverse regions and an AI roadmap grounded in extensive operational data, the company is positioning itself to redefine its role within the global secondary mobile ecosystem.

Via: MobileNews