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David Thompson

IPO Positioning expert & Marketing visionary, SaaS leader, fractional CCO/CMO/CEO former CMO @Freshworks/Ustream/Webex/Auction.con

David Thompson is a visionary go-to-market and product leader with extensive experience in both private and public SaaS and consumer companies like WebEx, Domo, Freshworks, Ustream, and Genius.com.

He has 22 years of executive experience in B2B and B2C sales and marketing strategy and operations, having held roles such as CEO, CSO, and CMO.

David has a successful track record in investor-exit strategies with 3 IPOs and 5 mergers under his belt.

His expertise lies in business strategy, digital marketing, M&A, global field operations, marketing analytics, communications, and public company board/investor management.

He is an industry thought leader in cloud technology, digital marketing, ITSM/ESM, web conferencing, customer and employee experience, AI, data science, collaboration, online marketplaces, and LGBTQ+ workplace issues.

David Thompson is known for creating the WebEx brand, positioning Freshworks as a global SaaS powerhouse, repositioning Domo in the enterprise cloud space, founding Genius.com, rebranding Auction.com as Ten-X, and contributing to consumer advertising and SaaS revenue growth at UStream.

His specialties include building startups into successful businesses, creating shareholder value, sales and marketing alignment, branding, positioning, PR, fundraising, social marketing, customer experience, team building, and industry-wide alliances.

Outside of work, David is passionate about public policy, economics, theater, science education, and LGBTQ rights.

He holds a Bachelor's degree in Humanities/Humanistic Studies from Yale University and has been involved with organizations like reMARCable GTM, NAACP, Freshworks, Domo Inc., Auction.com/Ten-X, Ustream, LeadRocket/Genius.com, WebEx, Microsoft, Quarterdeck, and StarNine Technologies.

Highlights

Mar 22 · linkedin

To move UP, move sideways! I did this early on in my career, not within a firm but between a large and smaller, startup company. I took a pay cut, but boy! Was it worth it. So much learned! “A study carried out by Donald Sull of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his co-authors in 2021 found that the availability of lateral career opportunities has a marked impact on employee retention. Their research found that chances to move sideways were two and a half times more important than pay as a predictor of workers’ willingness to stay at a firm. Another paper, by Xin Jin of the University of South Florida and Michael Waldman of Cornell University, concluded that lateral moves did not just benefit organisations: employees who experienced them were more likely to be promoted and to enjoy higher wage growth later in their careers than employees who did not. You can move up by first moving sideways.” https://lnkd.in/gJ7pJeZn from The Economist

David Thompson
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Location

San Francisco, California, United States