Last week, David Cancel, the co-founder and conversation marketing leader behind Drift Inc., announced he's stepping down from his role as CEO of the marketing and sales software maker. In a blog post, Cancel said he will take on a new role as executive chairman of the Boston-based company.
Into his place steps Scott Ernst, a leader with more than three decades of experience in marketing technology and consumer data. He is the former CEO of Tubular Labs and of Macromill, a Tokyo-based global marketing research business.
Ernst described himself as a go-to-market leader with a strong operational approach in an interview with BostInno. At Macromill, he helped the company open 20 new offices around the world, add over 1,000 employees, push revenue growth to over $400 million and led the company through an IPO.
Ernst said he joined Drift to lead it through its “next phase of growth.” But Ernst also has a long history with the company to build on. He has known co-founders Cancel and Elias Torres for more than two decades and was an advisor for Drift since 2015.
“I’ve known Scott for more than 20 years, having worked with him at my first company, Compete, and then later as he served as an early advisor to Drift — before we even had a name, and were simply an idea,” Cancel wrote in his blog post. “After thoroughly vetting many CEO candidates, I couldn’t be more thrilled with how the stars have aligned: Scott is a purpose-driven and collaborative leader. He is not just a big company guy or a start-up guy: he’s both.”
Ernst recently spoke with BostInno about taking on his new CEO role at Drift.
What were those early days like as an advisor to Drift? Really early on at Drift in 2015, before we had a product, before we had our go to market, I was, I think, the first strategic advisor for the company. At that early stage when there were six or 10 of us sharing offices inside of CRV’s office in Cambridge. I was able to kind of set some of the initial pillars and goals for what is now in place at Drift.
How does it feel to be joining Drift as CEO? It almost felt a little bit like karma. A little bit like lighting striking twice and having an opportunity to partner with David and Elias who had become good friends and colleagues.
What is it about Drift’s mission that has kept you involved over the years and pulled you to step into this new role as CEO? What was really exciting and appealing to me is this opportunity to really fix what has become a broken process in B2B buying and apply some of the things David and I were talking about in 2006 in conversant marketing and personalization. Now the market is ready for it. Technology is ready for it.
Cancel has said that the company has its sights on going public. Drift achieved unicorn status last year. Is an IPO in your roadmap? I think what we’re really focused on is building a strong and enduring company and something that creates opportunities for all of our stakeholders. A very logical path to that is an IPO. So that’s a kind of great way and a great milestone to shoot for. And that’s very much part of the goal. But having taken a company public before, it is just a milestone on the journey. I remember very vividly the day after the IPO, saying to myself, “But it’s back to business. We’re back to growing and building a strong company.”
How will you and he work together moving forward? I think because we’re so complimentary, because our superpowers don’t really overlap, I think we have a unique opportunity to create a natural balance and connection with what we do together. And it’s not awkward for us because we have that history and context.
We’re four days in and we need to be clear on roles and responsibilities and who does what. But I think because with his product focus, with his focus on the brand, with his high customer centricity, that’s a great compliment for me and my go to market, my enterprise, my operating rigor.
It’s a little bit about the yin and the yang of a perfect partnership. Or peanut butter and chocolate. However you want to describe it.
