# Kaustuva Das

> Kaustuva Das is the San Francisco-based co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thermal, a specialist public relations and strategic communications agency. His communications career includes work at Ogilvy Public Relations, Chandler Chicco Agency, and FleishmanHillard. At Thermal, he works with scientists and founders, including Jennifer Doudna, on public narratives, executive positioning, and media relations.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Thermal
- **Organizations:** Thermal, Ogilvy Public Relations, Chandler Chicco Agency, FleishmanHillard
- **Education:** Bachelor of Laws, Cardiff University, Master of Business Administration, University of San Francisco School of Management
- **Known for:** Co-founded Thermal, a specialist communications agency based in San Francisco., Leads the agency credited alongside UC Berkeley in the 2020 North America SABRE Award for Crisis Management; this is a team award., Thermal lists 2022 recognition among the San Francisco Business Times 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies.

## Career timeline

- **2008-2009** — Worked at Chandler Chicco Agency, according to The Org’s employment record.
- **2009-2012** — Worked at FleishmanHillard, according to The Org’s employment record.
- **—** — Previously served as Vice President at Ogilvy Public Relations, according to Crunchbase.
- **2014** — Co-founded Thermal with Brenna Sweeney; Thermal PR, LLC was registered in California on August 21, 2014.
- **2020** — Thermal and UC Berkeley won the North America SABRE Award for Crisis Management.
- **2024** — Thermal listed among MM+M Best Places to Work, as recorded on Thermal’s careers page.
- **2026** — Continues to be listed by Thermal as co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Thermal, a specialist communications agency based in San Francisco.
- Leads the agency credited alongside UC Berkeley in the 2020 North America SABRE Award for Crisis Management; this is a team award.
- Thermal lists 2022 recognition among the San Francisco Business Times 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies.
- Thermal lists MM+M Best Places to Work recognition in 2024.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Thermal’s current team page lists Das as co-founder and Chief Executive Officer; observation date, not a new appointment.
- **2026-01** — Shared a Jennifer Doudna conversation with Ashlee Vance, describing it as a long time coming; date derived from the LinkedIn activity identifier.

## Links

- Website: https://about.me/kaustuvadas
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaustuva
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/kaustuva_das

---

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