“We are very excited to welcome both Henk and Chris to our leadership team,” said Greg Smith, co-founder and CEO of Thinkific. “They reflect a strong strategic addition to our executive ranks and will play key roles, building high-functioning teams around them and optimizing investment as we continue to carve out an increasingly prominent and differentiated position in the global market.”
Henk brings more than 20 years of marketing and leadership experience across the communications, brand, and social impact space. He joins Thinkific from social media management platform Hootsuite where he was VP of corporate marketing and led global marketing strategy, driving brand awareness and market leadership. Prior to Hootsuite, Henk held the role of VP of brand and communications at global CRM powerhouse Salesforce, where he built and led the brand and communications team. Previously, he held senior positions at Fenton and Edelman, and developed communications and award-winning campaigns for a range of brands including Starbucks, Tiffany’s and Unilever.
“I am thrilled to join such a talented and purpose-led team that is laser focused on customer success,” said Henk. “Through a relentless drive to innovate and improve, Thinkific is providing the next generation of online entrepreneurs the ultimate set of tools they need to build and grow their own thriving businesses.”
Thinkific has also appointed Chris McGuire as its new CTO. Moving from his current role of Thinkific’s VP of engineering, McGuire will take over the CTO position from Thinkific co-founder, Matt Payne. Payne will remain with Thinkific in the newly created role of SVP of innovation where he will lead exploration of unique and compelling opportunities for future platform expansion as Thinkific continues to grow.
As CTO, McGuire will provide strategic direction over Thinkific’s data-driven technology solutions and oversee their alignment with overall business goals and customer needs. Prior to joining Thinkific in early 2021, McGuire held CTO roles at Checkfront, an online global booking platform, and at Foodee, a technology startup in the catering industry, where he led software development, product management, IT and security.
