It takes a village to help creators everywhere turn their ideas into impact, especially today. Remember when selling merch was just a side hustle? Creators today are now inventing entire product lines and building business empires — and we’re here to support them as they do it.
That’s why we’re so excited to announce we’re adding some new faces to our creator growth and customer success teams, all with the goal of helping even more creators expand their businesses.
First at bat is our new Executive Vice President of Global Growth, Derek Francis. Derek brings over 24 years of experience, and has previously worked with companies like Microsoft, American Express, and Disney. Derek joined the team to help build out our client-centric growth strategy, as he calls it, which means we’re committing to putting creators at the center of our future growth plans. As Derek himself said when he announced he was joining Amaze, “As a 24-year SaaS veteran, it’s always the goal to skate to where the puck is heading, and I can’t imagine selling into an industry hotter than the creator economy, which is expected to reach a value of $485 Billion Dollars by 2030.”
Derek is just the start, though, when it comes to our new leadership team. We’ve also hired Yoheswaran Gnavavel (better known as Yogi), who joined at the end of July as our Director of GTM for Europe and India expansion. Yogi’s been a strategic GTM advisor for much of his career, with a particular bend towards partnerships and marketing. He previously worked at Canva and helped them expand into India. He’s been busy since starting at Amaze and helped us officially launch in India in August. 🇮🇳
Our third big hire is Jude Trapp as our Director of Global Partnerships. Jude comes to us with years of experience in building out great partnerships for tiny companies like SiriusXM, where he was the cross-functional sales lead (and managed a $10 million portfolio) across key accounts on Pandora, SoundCloud, Stitcher Podcasts, and the SiriusXM platforms. At Amaze, he’ll help us connect with even more creators, suppliers, and brands.
Talk about making big moves. 🔥
At Amaze we’re expanding globally, but we’re also working hard to help creators go beyond merch and establish full-fledged product lines. We’re setting the stage for a new era where creators are not just making sales — they’re building brands.
Our new hires are here to help make that a reality in every way, from developing new and interesting partnerships that creators can leverage, to building out a customer success function that helps creators grow. For creators, this means next-level opportunities. You’ve got the vision and the audience. We’re bringing the business savvy and global reach to amplify what you do best.