Former Mailchimp Marketing Leader Amanda Malko appointed as Chief Revenue Officer
Former Hootsuite CTO Ryan Donovan appointed as Chief Product & Technology Officer
Kyle Scott (formerly NBC, Sell It) joins as GM of High Growth Creators
Clovis Cuqui (formerly Shopify) appointed VP, Head of Thinkific Commerce
VANCOUVER, BC, June 26, 2024 /CNW/ - Thinkific, a leader in the growing movement of creator educators and online learning experiences, today announced the expansion of its leadership team with the appointment of two new executive leaders. Former G2 CMO and Mailchimp marketing leader, Amanda Malko, steps in as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), and Ryan Donovan, former Hootsuite CTO, takes on the role of Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO). Thinkific has also appointed two exceptional senior leaders to supercharge key growth areas of the business. Kyle Scott (formerly NBC, Sell It) joins as GM of High Growth Creators and Clovis Cuqui (formerly Shopify) as VP, Head of Thinkific Commerce.
Speaking to the strengthened C-suite, Thinkific CEO, Greg Smith, commented, "Amanda and Ryan's extensive experience and proven track records in driving growth and innovation will be invaluable as we continue to scale and advance our platform to better serve our customers and continue to grow value for our shareholders. Amanda's immense expertise in revenue generation and market expansion, combined with Ryan's deep knowledge of product and technology, I believe will add another level of depth and strategic excellence to our leadership team and enable us to fully capitalize on the immense opportunities ahead of us."
The executive hires represent a transformative new stage of evolution for Thinkific as it continues to advance its cutting-edge platform to support high-growth creators like Miss Excel and Jon Yousheai; and gear up for further expansion with business customers through Thinkific Plus, serving prominent customers such as Datadog, ActiveCampaign, Columbia University, and the New Zealand Parliament. The company is also committed to accelerating growth across key strategic areas of the business, including Thinkific Commerce which helps creators and businesses that use Thinkific sell more.
Speaking about her new role, Amanda said, "I'm excited to join Thinkific at a pivotal moment in the company's growth and when the need for quality digital learning experiences and trusted expert content has never been more important. My mission is to help more creators and businesses join and find long-term success with Thinkific, while also inspiring entrepreneurs everywhere to build the business of their dreams. I'm motivated by having a positive impact on the world and hearing stories from among the 200 million people that have been impacted by Thinkific made joining an easy choice."
"This role is a unique opportunity to meld transformative product strategies at the intersection of the rapidly growing Creator Economy while also helping businesses deliver world-class learning experiences," added Ryan Donovan, speaking to his appointment. "We are committed to delivering world-class user experiences that help more creators and businesses be successful with, and on, Thinkific. Together, we will build upon Thinkific's legacy of innovation to deliver exceptional value to our customers and stakeholders."
Amanda Malko, Chief Revenue Officer
Amanda Malko brings over 20 years of experience in scaling high-growth technology companies, driving significant revenue growth and shareholder value. Her career spans pivotal roles at renowned technology companies including G2, Mailchimp (acquired by Intuit), 360i and IgnitionOne (both acquired by Dentsu), and Massive (acquired by Microsoft).
Before joining Thinkific, Amanda was CMO at G2, the world's largest software marketplace. Prior to G2, she led the partnership program and marketplace business at Mailchimp ahead of its $12 billion acquisition by Intuit. At 360i, Amanda ran sales, marketing, and operations, contributing to its recognition as one of the most influential marketing firms of the 21st century by AdAge and Forbes.
A frequent speaker and writer on digital marketing, Amanda has featured in Web Summit, AdAge, Adweek, SaaStr, Pavilion, AMA, Forrester Marketing Forum, and more.
Ryan Donovan, Chief Product and Technology Officer
Ryan Donovan joins Thinkific with over 20 years of executive experience in product, engineering, and technology operations. His leadership will drive all aspects of Thinkific's product development, technology, and product-led growth strategies.
Ryan's career includes notable C-suite roles at Hootsuite and GRIN, where he led transformative product and technology initiatives focused on social media and the creator economy. Previously he also served as CTO with Sitecore, establishing them as a leader in digital experience platforms; its transition to the cloud, and a successful exit from venture to private equity. He also held multiple executive roles in the commerce space at Smith Commerce/Ascentium (with an exit to Sitecore) and at Microsoft Corporation.
Kyle Scott, GM of High Growth Creators
Kyle Scott joins Thinkific to partner with scaled creators on the platform across industry verticals. After nearly a decade at NBC News, Kyle went on to cofound 'Sell it' with Ryan Serhant, a hugely successful subscription content business, achieving nearly eight-figure revenues and serving over 25,000 enrollees in 126 countries. A renowned expert in content and media as well as creating, launching, and scaling digital products, Kyle is a highly regarded mentor for entrepreneurs and a prolific conference speaker on building subscription businesses and storytelling for business growth.
Clovis Cuqui, VP, Head of Thinkific Commerce
Clovis Cuqui joins Thinkific as Head of Commerce, bringing over 20 years of leadership experience in growing start-ups, mid-sized, and large software companies. As the former VP of Merchant Acceleration at Shopify, Clovis is a highly accomplished executive with expertise in corporate strategy, operations, online payment processing, banking, compliance, e-commerce, product, sales, customer success, and risk management. Known for his strong leadership and strategic direction, his addition to Thinkific is expected to further advance the company's commerce capabilities and support the growth of its creator and business community.
Thinkific (TSX:THNC) makes it simple for creators and established businesses of any size to scale and generate revenue by teaching what they know. Our platform gives businesses everything they need to build, market, and sell digital learning products - from courses to communities - and to run their business seamlessly under their own brand, on their own site. Thinkific's 50,000+ active creators earn hundreds of millions of dollars in direct course, membership and community sales while teaching tens of millions of students. Thinkific is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with a distributed team.
This news release includes forward-looking statements and forward–looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements''). Forward-looking statements are based on Thinkific's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions that were made by the company in light of the information available at the time the statement was made and considers Thinkific's experience and its perception of trends. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the expected benefit of the executive appointee's experience and skillset as a member of Thinkific's executive management team and the expected benefits the new executive appointees may bring to position the company for greater success and value creation in the future. Although Thinkific's management believes that the assumptions underlying these statements and information are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward–looking statements and information speak only as of the date on which they are made and Thinkific undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward–looking statement or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some that are similar to other companies with online learning products and some that are unique to Thinkific. Thinkific's actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by its forward-looking statements, so readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them.
The Annual Information Form of the Company dated March 4, 2024 and other documents filed by it from time to time with securities regulatory authorities describe in greater detail the risks, uncertainties, material assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results and such factors are incorporated herein by reference. Copies of these documents are available under our profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.