• by Ray Schultz , June 19, 2017

Campaign Monitor, the Australia-based technology company, has had a management shakeup: CEO Alex Bard has resigned to join a venture capital firm, and will be replaced in the short term by Board Chairman Adam Berger, according to press reports appearing in Australia over the weekend.  

“After three amazing years working at Campaign Monitor, I’ve decided to step down as CEO to begin a new career chapter in venture capital,” said Bard in an email, according to Financial Insider.

“I will lead the transition through the end of the fiscal year – June 30 – to ensure continued momentum. With over two million customers at more than 200,000 businesses, Campaign Monitor is well positioned for continued growth, and I’m confident the company’s best days are ahead,” he continued, according to Business Insider Australia.

This has been accompanied by recent management changes, the reports add: Board members Dave Greiner and Ben Richardson, who founded the company in 2004—have stepped back from operational duties, citing a desire to spend time with their families.  

"As parents with young kids, they're taking the time they didn't have when building Campaign Monitor over the past decade to spend more time with their family," a spokesperson said in statement, according to Business Insider Australia.

Bard added that “Adam Berger, a seasoned CEO with success in building and scaling companies has stepped in as board chairman and will assume CEO duties on an interim basis,” Business Insider Australia continued.

Allie Cefalo, the San Francisco-based head of communications, left the company in April, Business Insider Australia added.

Financial Review described Campaign Monitor as a $600 million email marketing company.

MediaPost sent an inquiry to Campaign Monitor early Monday morning. 

Bard, who joined the company in 2014, worked primarily out of the firm’s San Francisco office. He did not disclose which VC firm he is joining.

Earlier this year, Bard told Startup Daily, “I was incredibly excited about our greater purpose, and our greater purpose is to help businesses grow…for me, these businesses all over the world are the global economic growth engine, so if we can be on the growth side, and have a meaningful impact, I feel we’re creating positivity in the world.”

Startup Daily added, “With around 250 employees now spread across its Sydney, San Francisco, and London offices, roughly 40 percent of the company’s customers are based in North America, 40 percent in Europe, and the rest around Asia-Pacific.”

Bard previously worked for Salesforce. When leaving that firm to join Campaign Monitor, he told Forbes that he was “tempted by the VC route,” but wanted to run a company again.

Business Insider Australia reported that “Bard was a former executive vice president at Salesforce after his own startup Assistly, which was bought out by the cloud giant in 2011. He’s also involved with multiple startups at a board and advisory level, including New Zealand accounting software provider Xero and electronic signature firm DocuSign.”