GRIN, The World’s Leading Creator Management Platform, Announces Former Hootsuite Executive as CPTO

Company sees significant growth as a category leader in the creator economy space

GRIN, the leading creator management platform for direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands, announced an expansion of its leadership team. The expansion comes after a successful $113 million Series B funding round, revenue tripling YoY from 2020 to 2021, and new recognition for the company’s ability to provide brands with an advertising option that is more stable.

Among the new hires is Ryan Donovan, who joins the GRIN executive team as chief product and technology officer. Donovan, who previously served in similar roles at Hootsuite and Sitecore, will lead the company’s international expansion and innovation among the product, design, engineering, security, and data teams.

“Ryan’s background as chief technology officer is a perfect fit for this new role at GRIN as we look to expand our platform to even more DTC brands and creators,” said Brandon Brown, CEO and co-founder of GRIN. “His passions for technology leadership and product development will enable him to take our teams to the next level within the booming creator economy.”

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Donovan, who will work closely with GRIN’s soon-to-be-announced chief revenue officer, said, “This company has a true spirit of authenticity that fuels its innovations. I look forward to increasing the pace at which we continue to set ourselves apart as category leaders in the creator economy space.”

In October, GRIN closed its $113 million Series B funding round, led by Lone Pine Capital. The round also included participation from BOND, a host of top content creators like Danielle Bernstein and The Chainsmokers, and existing investors like Imaginary Ventures.

In addition to being the first platform to have creator investors in addition to brand investors, GRIN has received other notable recognition:

• Named top influencer marketing platform for ecommerce and DTC brands multiple years in a row by G2
• Listed #1 across all top review sites including Capterra and Influencer Marketing Hub
• Launched Creator Management category
• Certified by Great Place to Work, a global authority on workplace culture

“A big part of our innovation comes from GRIN’s ability to provide brands with a more stable advertising option amidst the current climate, particularly given the huge decline in performance on social with non-creator-led content,” Brown said.

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