# Andrew Higashi

> Andrew Higashi is the Co-founder and CEO of ChangeEngine, a San Francisco-based AI-powered employee experience platform that helps companies communicate with and engage their people the way the best brands engage customers. A three-time company builder, he spent a decade honing enterprise sales and go-to-market strategy at Gigya, WorkSpan, and Sendoso before founding ChangeEngine in 2021 with the same co-founding team he has worked alongside for ten years. ChangeEngine has raised $15.5 million in total funding, including a $10 million Series A led by Threshold Ventures in 2024, and serves 310+ employees globally with operations in the US, UK, and Latin America.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at ChangeEngine
- **Organizations:** ChangeEngine, GTM Venture Studio, Emerging Leaders Syndicate
- **From:** New Jersey, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in International/Global Studies, University of California, Irvine
- **Known for:** Raised $15.5M in total funding for ChangeEngine across seed and Series A rounds, Built ChangeEngine to 310+ employees with operations in US, UK, and Latin America, Third-time co-founder with the same core team across a decade-long entrepreneurial partnership

## Career timeline

- **2001** — Moved with family to Singapore during 9/11 period
- **2010** — Graduated UC Irvine with BA in International/Global Studies during post-recession job market
- **2010** — Joined Gigya as one of its first Business Development Representatives; mentored by Patrick Salyer (later CEO of Gigya)
- **2014** — Moved into enterprise sales leadership roles
- **2017** — Joined WorkSpan as VP of Enterprise Sales, building the sales org from scratch
- **2019** — Joined Sendoso as VP of New Markets
- **2020** — Co-founded GTM Venture Studio in San Francisco; became Principal Member at Emerging Leaders Syndicate
- **2021** — Co-founded ChangeEngine (September 2021) with Kes Thygesen, Gaurav Saini, and Rick Tank
- **2022** — Raised $5.5 million seed round led by Struck Capital
- **2024** — Raised $10 million Series A led by Threshold Ventures (May 2024); total funding reaches $15.5M

## Achievements

- Raised $15.5M in total funding for ChangeEngine across seed and Series A rounds
- Built ChangeEngine to 310+ employees with operations in US, UK, and Latin America
- Third-time co-founder with the same core team across a decade-long entrepreneurial partnership
- One of the first BDRs hired at Gigya; helped build its early go-to-market motion
- Built enterprise sales organization from scratch at WorkSpan as VP of Enterprise Sales
- Author at Fast Company on corporate social responsibility
- Advisor to Nexla, a unified data operations company
- Led full-stack company creation at GTM Venture Studio for next-generation SaaS products
- Invested in companies including GoSite, Gappify, and Sales Impact Academy through Emerging Leaders Syndicate

## Latest updates

- **2024-05** — ChangeEngine closed $10M Series A led by Threshold Ventures, with participation from Struck Capital and Bonfire Ventures
- **2024-08** — Featured in Threshold Ventures Founder Q&A, discussing ChangeEngine's mission and building company culture
- **2024-06** — Appeared on 'How to Change' podcast with Mike Hauck discussing organizational change management

## Links

- Website: https://changeengine.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewhigashi
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/andrewhigashi
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/andrewhigashi.bsky.social
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewhigashi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewhigashi/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrew.higashi

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/andrew-higashi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-27