Why I’m Joining Front as CMO

Today, I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve officially joined Front as Chief Marketing Officer.

When I announced my departure from Gainsight earlier this summer, I referred to my decision as a search for proof points – proof that companies who recognize and serve the humanity behind each logo or LinkedIn profile in the marketplace can both build a generational business and leave lasting impact in their respective industries. I wrote about this philosophy in my newly released book called Category Creation (available now).

I didn’t expect to find a company dedicated to this very mission.

You see, there are so many factors that have created a chasm between our work and our humanity – examples include:

·      Our always-on connectivity given the proliferation of mobile devices

·      The interruptive nature of alerts, notifications, cold calls and messages

·      The never-ending stream of marketing emails and bloated inboxes

·      New ‘productivity’ solutions requiring yet another app or tab to maintain

We’ve lost the appreciation for where work ends and where life begins – and the solutions that we’ve introduced to address this problem have only added to the noise.

But while the world of work may have changed all around us, one paradigm has remained constant for over three decades: our corporate email. Except for a few iterative advances (I’m looking at you, send later button), email has been grossly overlooked in an era of reusable rockets and self-driving cars. As a result, we are more over-worked, more burned out, and are lacking vocational fulfillment unlike ever before.

Our inboxes are a window into our work, and for too long, that’s been a really bad thing.

That’s the problem Front is solving in the marketplace – creating a new window into work that works for you and your teams. Starting by reimagining our email inboxes and workflows for the 2020s (rather than the current 1980s paradigm), Front is helping thousands of businesses work together with purpose, helping humanity find more meaning (and less anxiety) in their work.

This mission is deeply meaningful to Front founder and CEO Mathilde Collin. I consider myself lucky to join her side in telling this story.

Mathilde and team have created an incredible product that customers love using (I’ve seen the NPS comments and am blown away). Also, the way the business has been managed is the envy of its peers, with an addressable market spanning across all segments, industries, and geographies. What an opportunity.

With that being said, I am hiring in Paris, Phoenix, and San Francisco, and am looking to add to this world class marketing team as we advance Front’s mission in the world.

Welcome to Front – how work should work.