Midway through a tumultuous year, local tech company When I Work announced Monday that CEO and Founder Chad Halvorson is stepping into a new position, giving the top leadership role to Martin Hartshorne.
This is the first significant change to When I Work's executive team since it was founded in 2010. Halvorson will now serve as When I Work's first-ever chief experience officer, focusing his efforts on "driving a unified brand experience across all customer touchpoints," the company said.
"As I looked at the future of When I Work and how we position the company for its next phase of growth, it became clear that it was time for me to pass the baton to someone who could bring new skills and experiences to the table," Halvorson said in a statement.
Hartshorne comes to When I Work after serving as chief strategy officer of Ultimate Software, where he spent six years as a leader helping the company grow its revenue from $350 million to more than $1 billion and tripling the number of employees worldwide.
Last year, Hartshorne helped lead the sale of Ultimate to a private equity consortium for $11 billion. Prior to Ultimate, he was the founder and CEO of EmployTouch, a creator of hardware and software solutions for labor data collection.
"I'm honored to be joining When I Work at such an important point in its journey," Hartshorne said in a statement. "Chad and his team have built a successful company with a solid foundation, stellar reputation and near limitless opportunities for growth."
Hartshorne added that he will focus on scaling to meet the demand for When I Work's products and innovating further to help more workplaces.
Minneapolis-based When I Work offers a workforce scheduling platform, and has been growing consistently over the last decade. The company says its software is utilized by more than 150,000 workplaces worldwide.
As Covid-related closures began affecting hourly workers earlier this year, When I Work's business took a hit. At the time, the company said many of the businesses that When I Work serves suspended, canceled or downgraded their accounts.
As a result, the company decided to lay off 55 full-time employees, eight part-time employees and furloughed one full-time employee. The cuts accounted for about 35% of the company's workforce.
"Martin's deep domain experience, founder journey and proven track record of success as an outstanding leader are exactly what When I Work needs to take full advantage of this opportunity ahead," Halvorson said. "I couldn't be more excited for Martin to join the team."
