# Ben Peterson

> Ben Peterson is the co-founder, former CEO and board co-chair of BambooHR. He and Ryan Sanders founded the Utah HR software company in 2008 with an agreement to protect their friendship. His public writing and interviews describe employee development, candid feedback, usable time off and the responsibilities of leadership. In October 2019, the founders appointed Brad Rencher CEO and moved into board co-chair roles.

- **Role:** Co-founder and board co-chair at BambooHR
- **Organizations:** BambooHR, MyComputer.com, MingleMatch, Inc., BYU Marriott Entrepreneurship Founders
- **Education:** Entrepreneurship (degree designation not specified in the university feature), Brigham Young University
- **Known for:** Co-founded BambooHR in 2008 and served as CEO until October 2019., Led BambooHR during its early international expansion; a 2015 interview described customers in more than 80 countries., Co-developed the workplace approach associated with BambooHR’s historical paid paid vacation policy.

## Career timeline

- **1998** — Graduated from Brigham Young University in entrepreneurship; the university describes him as an early employee of MyComputer.com while a student.
- **2001** — Founded MingleMatch, according to his BambooHR board biography reproduced by CB Insights.
- **2005** — Sold MingleMatch to Spark Networks in May, according to the same board biography.
- **2007** — Joined BYU Marriott’s Entrepreneurship Founders network, according to its member directory.
- **2008** — Co-founded BambooHR with Ryan Sanders and became CEO.
- **2014** — Published accounts of defining employee expectations and coaching his daughter’s soccer team; BambooHR reached 100 employees.
- **2015** — BambooHR introduced paid paid vacation.
- **2019** — On October 15, BambooHR appointed Brad Rencher CEO; Peterson and Sanders moved to board co-chair roles.
- **2022** — Discussed BambooHR’s founding, sales and culture with Ravi Adusumalli in Elevation Capital’s SaaS Builder Series on December 13.

## Achievements

- Co-founded BambooHR in 2008 and served as CEO until October 2019.
- Led BambooHR during its early international expansion; a 2015 interview described customers in more than 80 countries.
- Co-developed the workplace approach associated with BambooHR’s historical paid paid vacation policy.
- Helped build a company recognized on workplace culture lists, including the 2018 Best Workplaces for Women.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — BambooHR employee Brian Quick named Peterson among the leaders he thanked in a public post about the 2026 revenue kickoff and recognition for 2025 work.
- **2025-09** — Brad Rencher’s LinkedIn post celebrating the 2025 Founders Award explicitly connected the award to Peterson and Sanders’s emphasis on culture.
- **2023-11** — Ryan Sanders published a first-person account of co-founding BambooHR with Peterson and protecting their friendship.
- **2022-12** — Peterson appeared in Elevation Capital’s SaaS Builder Series to discuss the BambooHR journey.

## Links

- Website: https://www.bamboohr.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petersonben
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/hwhl

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/ben-peterson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22