# Kate Jillings

> Kate Jillings is the co-founder and co-CEO of ToucanTech, a community-management software company serving schools, associations and other organisations internationally. She previously co-founded BusinessBecause with Maria Ahmed and Sian Morley-Smith; GMAC acquired it in April 2018. An Oxford PPE graduate with earlier corporate marketing experience, she is based between London and Lisbon and has served as a TruRating board member and an investor adviser to Blanc.

- **Role:** Co-founder & Co-CEO at ToucanTech
- **Organizations:** ToucanTech, BusinessBecause, TruRating, BNP Paribas, GlaxoSmithKline, Blanc
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), University of Oxford, Lady Eleanor Holles School
- **Known for:** Co-founded BusinessBecause, acquired by GMAC in 2018., Co-founded ToucanTech, which reports powering 350+ communities in 25 countries on its current About Us page., Helped develop ToucanTech from its early beta to its 2016 commercial launch.

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Management trainee at GlaxoSmithKline, followed by head of strategic marketing for equity derivatives at BNP Paribas.
- **2009** — Launched BusinessBecause with Maria Ahmed and Sian Morley-Smith.
- **2014** — ToucanTech’s company history dates its community-software project to this year.
- **2016** — ToucanTech launched commercially in October.
- **2018** — GMAC completed its acquisition of BusinessBecause on April 10.
- **2019** — Returned to Lady Eleanor Holles to help launch the HollesConnect beta website.
- **2020** — ToucanTech secured £1 million of investment from Pembroke VCT.
- **2026** — Listed as a speaker for CASE-NAIS and ToucanTech events on alumni engagement and administrative workflows.

## Achievements

- Co-founded BusinessBecause, acquired by GMAC in 2018.
- Co-founded ToucanTech, which reports powering 350+ communities in 25 countries on its current About Us page.
- Helped develop ToucanTech from its early beta to its 2016 commercial launch.
- Served as a board member of consumer-ratings company TruRating.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Listed as a speaker for ToucanTech’s September 16 Washington DC Mixer & Masterclass and Baltimore-area advancement roundtable; the published programmes focus on engagement, workflows and AI examples.
- **2026-03** — LEH Alumnae shared an interview with Jillings at a House of Commons women-in-education event, including advice on curiosity and work experience.
- **2026-01** — Listed with Aaron James for the January 25 CASE-NAIS session on Christ Church’s 500th anniversary and alumni reconnection.

## Links

- Website: https://toucantech.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katejillings/

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