After Ryan Holmes announced last year that he was stepping down as Hootsuite’s CEO, the Vancouver-based company – founded by Holmes in 2008 – announced on Monday that it has appointed Tom Keiser, former COO of Zendesk, to fill Holmes’ role.
In a release, the company said Keiser brings more than 30 years of global technology and business transformation experience from both retail and technology sectors to his new role.
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“Hootsuite is the pioneer in social media management software, and continues to lead the pack — I couldn’t be more excited and proud to join the company at this pivotal point in its journey,” said Keiser. “I have tremendous respect for the global brand and enterprise Ryan and the team have built for over a decade while maintaining a strong company culture.
Holmes will officially pass the torch to Keiser on July 6.
“Tom stood out from the start as a rare leader who has been successful in building high-performance teams that lift each other up while improving the customer experience and increasing the speed of value delivery,” said Holmes. “It’s with pride and confidence that I hand over the reins to Tom and watch excitedly from a new seat as Hootsuite drives into its next era of growth and potential.”
In his more-than-decade-long tenure as CEO of Hootsuite, Holmes grew Hootsuite from a small start up into the world’s leading social media management platform supporting more than 200,000 organizations and 18 million customers with around 1,000 employees across the globe.
The company said Holmes will play a strategic role in supporting Keiser’s transition into the CEO position and continue at Hootsuite as Chairman of the Board.