Imperative Appoints Industry Veteran as New Chief Executive Officer to Drive Scaling of Company

Former Shiftboard and Chronus executive Steve O’Brian to lead company experiencing rapid growth

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Imperative, the enterprise peer coaching platform, announced today that Steve O’Brian has joined the company as the Chief Executive Officer.

With the company experiencing rapid growth, including another record quarter of sales in Q2, Imperative adds a proven leader in O’Brian who brings deep HR tech experience and a strong track record of leading high growth B2B SaaS organizations. O’Brian will lead a diverse and highly accomplished executive team. Recently, the company announced the addition of J.R. Jesson as its Chief Technology Officer.

“With the rapid rise of hybrid work, human connection, the very fabric that binds organizations together, has suffered and companies are really struggling to rebuild it,” said Aaron Hurst, founder of Imperative. “I’m incredibly excited for Steve to lead Imperative at a time where we are uniquely positioned to fulfill the fundamental need for employees to build meaningful relationships and purpose in the new world of work.”

O’Brian is a B2B SaaS startup veteran with multiple successful exits and over 20 years of executive experience. Most recently he served as the Chief Operations Officer at Shiftboard, where O’Brian directed the company’s growth strategy, making Shiftboard a market leader in workforce scheduling. Prior to that, O’Brian served as the Vice President of Marketing and Customer Success at Chronus, a leader in mentoring and talent development. Joining the company at a very early stage, O’Brian was instrumental in the company's growth, culminating in its acquisition by a private equity firm.

“It is a rare privilege to have the opportunity to join a highly passionate company that is poised to address one of the most pivotal challenges facing business today,” said O’Brian. “I’m extremely energized to help our amazing customers and the many more to come, build higher performance hybrid workforces and deepen employee connection within their organizations.”

In support of high demand for its solution, Imperative will rapidly scale operations and expand product capabilities and revenue channels. In addition, Imperative is expected to secure additional capital to support growth.

“During the pandemic, Imperative’s business scaled and delivered the platform required by enterprise future of work initiatives,” said Diane Fraiman, Managing Director at Voyager Capital. “Steve brings critical growth experience and scaling acumen that will help Imperative take full advantage of the opportunity. We are thrilled to have Steve on board.”

About Imperative:

Imperative is powered by AI technology which enables employees to accelerate trust and build meaningful relationships with their peers—reducing turnover by 35%. Since its launch in 2020, large and quickly growing companies like Microsoft, Hasbro, Accolade, GSK, Boston Scientific, WebMD, and Zillow have adopted the platform to break down silos within their organizations and empower their employees to align their purpose with their daily work.