# Bill Magnuson

> Bill Magnuson is the cofounder and CEO of Braze, the New York-based customer engagement software company founded as Appboy in 2011. An MIT-trained computer scientist who previously worked at Google and Bridgewater Associates, he began as CTO, became CEO in January 2017, and led the company through its 2021 Nasdaq debut. His public accounts connect a rural Minnesota upbringing, early Android development, a hackathon partnership with Jon Hyman and a chance investor introduction to a sustained interest in helping businesses build customer relationships.

- **Role:** Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer at Braze
- **Organizations:** Braze (formerly Appboy), Google, Bridgewater Associates, Rokt
- **Education:** B.S. in Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Master of Engineering in Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Cofounded Braze as Appboy in 2011., Won the 2011 TechCrunch Disrupt NYC hackathon with Jon Hyman., Led Braze as CEO through its November 2021 public-market debut.

## Career timeline

- **2009** — Graduated from MIT; early career included Google work on App Inventor for Android.
- **Before 2011** — Worked at Bridgewater Associates, where he worked with Jon Hyman.
- **2011** — Won the TechCrunch Disrupt NYC hackathon with Jon Hyman for Gilt-ii; cofounded Appboy with Hyman and Mark Ghermezian and became CTO.
- **2014** — Joined the company board in August.
- **2017** — Became CEO effective January 1; Appboy rebranded as Braze later that year.
- **2019** — Braze surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue.
- **2021** — Braze began trading on Nasdaq on November 17.
- **2026** — Continues as Braze cofounder and CEO; featured in Nasdaq interview and on the Forge 2026 programme.

## Achievements

- Cofounded Braze as Appboy in 2011.
- Won the 2011 TechCrunch Disrupt NYC hackathon with Jon Hyman.
- Led Braze as CEO through its November 2021 public-market debut.
- Braze reached $100 million ARR in eight years and doubled it in less than eighteen months.
- Serves on Rokt’s board of directors.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Braze announced Decisioning Studio Go, Agentic Standards, Operator Connect and conversational AI capabilities on September 29; capabilities were in beta at announcement.
- **2026-09** — Braze announced a strategic collaboration agreement with AWS on September 29.
- **2026-09** — A September 2 recap of Grow with Braze Jakarta describes his argument that AI optimisation can push brands toward sameness.
- **2026-04** — Appeared in Nasdaq’s Live From MarketSite series discussing customer relationships, AI and fiscal 2027.

## Links

- Website: https://www.braze.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billmagnuson/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/billmag

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/bill-magnuson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14