Wearables fitness start-up GOQii appointed former Google executive Amit Singhal to its board of directors, a move intended to fuel expansion into the US.

The role will be Singhal’s first since leaving his position as head of Google search in February this year, following 15 years at the company.

In a statement, GOQii said Singhal’s experience “will help guide its expansion into new global markets, the first of which will be the US”.

So far GOQii, which is pioneering a new service-based business model, offering contact with fitness coaches for a monthly fee, is only available in India, but its CEO Vishal Gondal told Re/Code the company will launch in the US this month, and in China soon.

It actually offers its own brand of fitness tracker for free, and the service also works with other wearable devices, like Jawbone and Fitbit.

“I’m excited to advance GOQii’s mission as it does cutting edge work by integrating industry leading technology with personal interaction to improve users’ health and wellness,” said Singhal in a statement.

In November last year, the company secured a series A funding of $13.4 million, with China’s Cheetah Mobile a named investor.