Ben Chestnut | |
|---|---|
 Chestnut in 2019 | |
| Born | 1973or1974(age 50–51) [1] Augusta, Georgia, US |
| Education | University of Georgia Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | Internet entrepreneur |
| Known for | Co-founder and former CEO of Mailchimp |
| Children | 2 |
Ben Chestnut (born 1973/1974) is an American Internet entrepreneur. He is the co-founder (with Dan Kurzius) and former CEO of Mailchimp, an email marketing company. [2] [3] [4] As of November 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$4.1 billion. [1]
Ben Chestnut was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia [5] and attended high school in Hephzibah, Georgia. He studied physics at the University of Georgia and industrial design at the Georgia Institute of Technology. [6]
He is the co-founder and former CEO of Rocket Science Group, [7] commonly known as Mailchimp [6] a CRM with 15 million users. [8] In 2016, he was recognized as Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year. [9] According to Atlanta Business Chronicle, in August 2017, Chestnut was awarded "Most Admired CEO". [10] In October 2018, Forbes noted that Chestnut was a billionaire. [11] In August 2022, Chestnut abruptly stepped down as CEO one month after sending a nearly 1,400-word email to a small group of employees identifying what he considered an alarming trend in his workforce: new hires introducing themselves in virtual meetings with their preferred pronouns. [12]
Chestnut has focused his company's resources in providing compensatory benefits for employees. [13] Chestnut's motivation for his corporate policy stems from his being raised by his military father who had few economic opportunities. [5]
In an interview with Forbes Magazine , Chestnut countered arguments that social media would replace the need for email and email marketing. [14]
Chestnut is married, with two children, and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. [1]
