• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, April 16, 2024

Two vendors in the marketing space have seen their founders step down and hand the reins to new CEOs. 

Erik Matlick, founder of the intent data provider Bombora, is giving up his title as CEO and will now serve as executive chairman. He will be replaced as CEO by Mark Connon, who has been president of Bombora since May 2023.

Prior to founding Bombora, Matlick was founder and CEO of such ad-tech companies as Madison Logic, which he sold to Clarion Capital.

Matlick feels that serving as executive chair at Bombora will enable him to remain close to the company.

Connon was chief operating officer at Tapad when Experian acquired it in 2020. He also served as general manager of Tapad and executive vice president of product and marketing for Experian Marketing Services before joining Bombora. 

Bombora’s Company Surge Intent provides permission-based data from visitors to the 5,000+ firms in its data co-op. These include publishers, marketers, agencies, technology providers, research firms and events companies.  

“This is a pivotal moment for Bombora, as we expand our offerings to address an even larger addressable market,” Matlick says. “I'm fortunate to be able to hand the baton to someone with Mark's extensive track record of success operating and growing companies like Bombora.” 

In another major executive change, Chris Donald is stepping down from his role as CEO of InboxArmy, which he has held since founding the email marketing agency in 2016, and will now serve as executive chairman. His replacement as CEO is Scott Cohen. 

Cohen has more than 20 years of experience across the brand and agency sides of email marketing. 

“I’ve hired Scott multiple times for a reason,” Donald says. “He’s a smart, dedicated, and proven email marketer our clients love working with.” 

For his part, Cohen says, “Taking over for an industry legend like Chris is not a step I take lightly.” 

But he adds: “We pride ourselves on continued excellence in delivery of work, expansion of skill sets, and being a ‘GSD’ agency for our clients.”

Cohen argues, “Email continues to be a powerful channel for communication.”