HubSpot, a leading inbound marketing and sales software company, today announced that Kipp Bodnar has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately. This role will continue to report to JD Sherman, HubSpot’s President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Bodnar joined HubSpot in 2010, and has served as Vice President of Marketing for HubSpot for the past two years.
Mr. Bodnar replaces Mike Volpe who has been terminated for cause following a determination that Mr. Volpe violated the Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics in connection with attempts to procure a draft manuscript of a book involving the Company. This determination was made in connection with an independent review overseen by the Board, with assistance from outside counsel. The Company announced that Joe Chernov, Vice President of Content, resigned before the Company could determine whether to terminate him for similar violations. The Company has notified the appropriate legal authorities about these matters.
In addition, the Board concluded that Brian Halligan, HubSpot’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, was recently made aware of Mr. Volpe’s and Mr. Chernov’s actions and did not report their actions in a timely manner. The Board determined that Mr. Halligan was not involved in the underlying conduct and that his lack of timely reporting did not impede the review. Mr. Halligan fully cooperated with the Company’s review and has been appropriately sanctioned by the Board.
Lorrie Norrington, Lead Independent Director, said, “While we wish Brian had reported promptly, we are confident as a Board in his ability to lead HubSpot and our outstanding team of dedicated employees going forward. We are disappointed by the actions of Mike and Joe. Our Board and HubSpot took these matters seriously and acted swiftly and thoroughly once learning of this through an internal report.”
These matters did not involve the Company’s operational performance, financial condition or financial reporting. The Company will report its second quarter 2015 financial results after the U.S. financial markets close on Thursday, August 6, 2015.
JD Sherman said, “Kipp is an industry-recognized expert in Inbound Marketing, a great leader and has been instrumental in the growth of HubSpot’s marketing team. We have a strong, deep bench of talented and experienced executives and we are confident that in his new role, Kipp will help us build on our success as a leading inbound marketing and sales platform, as we continue to meet the needs of our customers and execute on our strategies to deliver enhanced shareholder value.”
Mr. Bodnar said, “I look forward to leading our outstanding marketing team as CMO. I’m excited to be working with the rest of the management team as we continue to help our customers grow their businesses through inbound marketing and sales.”
About Kipp Bodnar
Kipp Bodnar is Chief Marketing Officer at HubSpot, a leading inbound marketing and sales platform. Over 15,000 customers in over 90 countries use HubSpot's award-winning software, services, and support to create an inbound experience that will attract, engage, and delight customers. As CMO, Kipp sets HubSpot’s inbound marketing strategy to drive awareness and demand for inbound marketing globally. Prior to his role as CMO, Kipp served as Vice President, Marketing, for the company, overseeing all demand generation activity worldwide, hiring and building out the EMEA and APAC marketing teams, building out an award-winning content team, and managing HubSpot’s field marketing, localization, strategic partnerships, and social media efforts.
Kipp is co-author of The B2B Social Media Book: Become a Marketing Superstar by Generating Leads with Blogging, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Email, and More (John Wiley & Sons), an industry-leading speaker and blogger, and strategic advisor to three companies. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Marshall University. Prior to joining HubSpot Kipp worked in the marketing agency industry helping clients to adopt inbound marketing strategies. Kipp serves as a marketing advisor for SaaS companies including SimplyMeasured, InsightSquared and Guidebook.
About HubSpot
HubSpot is a leading inbound marketing and sales platform. Over 15,000 customers in over 90 countries use HubSpot's award-winning software, services, and support to create an inbound experience that will attract, engage, and delight customers. Learn more at www.hubspot.com.