Campaign Monitor CEO Alex Bard announces resignation

Following the resignation of Gerd Schenkel as CEO of fintech company Tyro last week, another high-profile Australian startup has lost a chief executive, with Campaign Monitor’s Alex Bard today announcing he will be leaving his post as CEO at the end of June.

Bard had joined the company in 2014 following its US$250 million raise; taking over from cofounders Ben Richardson and Dave Greiner, Bard said he was attracted to the company because it had, from its base in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, become a global company.

Working predominantly from the company’s San Francisco office, Bard visited Campaign Monitor’s Sydney headquarters each month.

He said in a statement, “After three amazing years working at Campaign Monitor, I’ve decided to step down as CEO to begin a new career chapter in venture capital. Adam Berger, a seasoned CEO with success in building and scaling companies has stepped in as Board Chairman and will assume CEO duties on an interim basis.

“I will lead the transition through the end of the fiscal year – June 30 – to ensure continued momentum. With over two million customers at more than 200,000 businesses, Campaign Monitor is well positioned for continued growth, and I’m confident the company’s best days are ahead.”

As reported by the AFR, the company stated that in addition to Bard’s departure, Richardson and Greiner had several months ago shifted out of their day to day roles in product management at Campaign Monitor and are now involved solely at board level.

Interim CEO Adam Berger has previously served as chief executive of companies including Spark Network and Digital Room, where he is currently chairman of the board of directors.

Through his time as CEO, Bard pushed a focus on small business (SMB) customers; while Campaign Monitor boasts the likes of Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed as clients, the bulk of its client base is comprised of SMBs.

Speaking to Startup Daily earlier this year, Bard said he was attracted to joining the company because of its potential to impact the growth of SMBs.

“I was incredibly excited about our greater purpose, and our greater purpose is to help businesses grow…for me, these businesses all over the world are the global economic growth engine, so if we can be on the growth side, and have a meaningful impact, I feel we’re creating positivity in the world,” he said.

With around 250 employees now spread across its Sydney, San Francisco, and London offices, roughly 40 percent of the company’s customers are based in North America, 40 percent in Europe, and the rest around Asia-Pacific.

Under Bard’s leadership, Campaign Monitor acquired GetFeedback in late 2014, a move which saw it take over GetFeedback’s San Francisco office and bring on its team, allowing it to establish a US presence, and data platform Tagga earlier this year.

Image: Alex Bard. Source: Supplied.