Appcast Announces CEO and Leadership Transitions

Appcast, the leading recruitment marketing platform powered by programmatic, announced that Matt Molinari, currently the chief operating officer, will become the chief executive officer on January 1, 2025. Molinari succeeds Chris Forman, founder and CEO, who will retire after more than a decade of building and growing the company.

Molinari has been with Appcast since 2017, leading business development, partnerships, strategy and day-to-day business operations. He’s overseen Appcast’s substantial growth from an early leader in programmatic advertising technology to the world’s leading recruitment marketing platform and buyer of recruitment media. Prior to Appcast, Molinari was one of the first 30 employees at Indeed rising to the position of VP of business development and playing an instrumental role in the company’s growth and eventual sale to Recruit for more than $1 billion.

“Matt is an experienced leader with deep industry knowledge and a strong track record in innovating the job ad industry,” said Sebastian Dettmers, CEO of Appcast’s parent company, The Stepstone Group. “We’re excited to have him lead Appcast into its second decade.”

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“I’m humbled,” said Molinari. “The 500+ Appcastians across the globe are world-class: smart, hardworking, ethical and kind. They have built an incredibly innovative, performance-driven business.”

In addition to a new CEO, Appcast is reorganizing its executive leadership ranks to support the next phase of its growth:

• Stacie Yamaguchi is joining Appcast as chief financial officer. Yamaguchi joins the company following almost four years as a senior finance leader at tech company Avid Technologies
• Kristi Sampson, former SVP of people at Appcast, has been promoted to chief people officer
• Heather Salerno, Appcast’s former chief marketing officer, steps into the role of chief growth officer
• Kelsey Krater, Appcast’s former VP of delivery, will be taking on the role of chief platform officer
• Andrea Abbott, former VP of delivery at Appcast, will be its new chief customer officer

“I’m so pleased that Appcast – an organization that I care deeply about – is in Matt’s experienced, capable hands; he is going to do a fantastic job leading Appcast into its next chapter,” said Chris Forman. “Matt will be supported by an exceptional leadership team. I’m proud that we have gender parity in Matt’s direct reports (in fact, 65% are women!), a rarity in HR tech. Furthermore, 100% of our C-level team members attained their first-ever C-level positions at Appcast, and 90% of the senior leadership team grew their skillsets and careers at Appcast. This internal growth speaks volumes about the remarkable depth of talent within our organization.”

“We are so lucky to have a stellar roster of leaders in our organization,” said Molinari. “I’m delighted to be working alongside this group to continue driving Appcast’s growth, innovation and success as we look to the future. These leadership transitions uniquely position Appcast to hyper-focus on what matters most to customers when they think about recruitment marketing performance: hires.”

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Moving forward, the Appcast team will continue to build on the strong foundation laid by Forman and the entire team. Forman founded Appcast in 2014 alongside a small team of recruitment innovators, the majority of whom continue to lead and grow Appcast. Under Forman’s leadership, the company achieved record revenues and profits, expanded its global presence, joined The Stepstone Group, diversified its product portfolio, and won awards for its technology, innovation and unmatched company culture – including a three-time win of Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces. Forman also led the successful integration of Bayard Advertising, the first acquisition in the company’s history, in 2023. This fusing of the two organizations was transformative for numerous reasons: the power of combined solutions of Appcast’s programmatic capabilities and the depth of Bayard’s offerings, the doubling of top-talent employees, and the elevation of its customer base. Forman will remain “part of the family” serving in advisory and governance roles.