WP Engine, the Texas-based managed hosting provider for websites built with WordPress, has appointed Heather Brunner as CEO. This seasoned technology executive and former Bazaarvoice COO is to drive WP Engine’s next stage of growth.
As a 23-year technology veteran, Brunner has built a career driving growth and scaling business operations for SaaS companies in large and expanding markets. Prior to WP Engine, she served for five years as COO of Bazaarvoice (NASDAQ: BV), from early, rapid global growth through to IPO and two acquisition integrations. In her new role as CEO of WP Engine, she will build on the company’s product innovation and client success to cement its prominent role in the WordPress hosting market as WordPress continues to emerge as a dominant force in content management for organizations worldwide.
Executive management roles
“This is a very exciting time with the explosive growth of WordPress for digital marketing and content,” said Heather Brunner. “WP Engine has already created a phenomenal business by powering tens of thousands of websites and apps built with WordPress. Now our technology innovation and exceptional customer support give us a rock-solid foundation to take the next step and establish WP Engine as the front line managed WordPress hosting provider for every customer interaction across web, social, mobile and ecommerce.”
Brunner joined WP Engine as COO in May this year to already focus on business strategy, global growth and customer experience. Jason Cohen, WP Engine‘s founder who served as CEO since the company was started in 2010, will assume the role of Chief Technology Officer. He will continue to drive WP Engine’s technology strategy and product vision.
“It is wonderful working side-by-side with Heather as she brings her wisdom and experience in leading us through this phase of remarkable growth,” said Cohen. “I am very excited to work together while being able to focus on growing our technical innovation team and its vision for the company.”
Before joining Bazaarvoice, Brunner served as president and CEO of Nuvo, a wholly owned subsidiary of Trilogy and provider of managed network services, and COO for B-Side (acquired by Slated), a privately funded entertainment technology company. She has held various other executive management roles at leading technology companies, including Coremetrics (acquired by IBM), Trilogy, Concero, Oracle and Accenture.
