# Martin Payne

> Martin Payne is the CEO of TextUs, the Denver-based business texting platform built for recruiting, inside sales, and customer service teams. A career operator of growth-stage technology companies, he came up through the U.S. Air Force, Global Healthcare Exchange, GutCheck, and Mersive Technologies before taking the TextUs helm in 2020. He runs the company on a 'do the right thing' philosophy and is betting that text - conversational, human, and immediate - is the future of how businesses talk to people.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at TextUs
- **Organizations:** TextUs, Mersive Technologies, GutCheck, Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX), Dell Technologies, U.S. Air Force
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** MBA, General Business Administration and Management, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Leads TextUs, a platform that has processed more than one billion SMS messages, Closed a $22M Series C round for TextUs in 2021 (roughly $30M total funding raised), Drove industry-leading growth at Mersive Technologies in the wireless collaboration market

## Career timeline

- **early career** — Captain and program manager at the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center
- **1997-1999** — Earned his MBA at Harvard Business School
- **mid career** — Held roles at Dell Technologies and served as VP/General Manager at Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX)
- **—** — President and COO at GutCheck, an agile consumer-insights and analytics provider, later advisor
- **—** — Chief Marketing & Services Officer at Mersive Technologies, driving growth in the wireless collaboration market
- **2020** — Became CEO of TextUs, the business texting platform
- **2021** — TextUs raised $22M in Series C funding (closed December 2021)
- **2024** — Launched short codes for SMS marketing and a SAP SuccessFactors HCM integration

## Achievements

- Leads TextUs, a platform that has processed more than one billion SMS messages
- Closed a $22M Series C round for TextUs in 2021 (roughly $30M total funding raised)
- Drove industry-leading growth at Mersive Technologies in the wireless collaboration market
- Repeat operator of growth-stage technology companies across software, healthcare, and consumer insights
- Featured speaker at Staffing World 2022 and 2023

## Latest updates

- **2024-10** — TextUs introduced short codes as a supported number type to enhance SMS marketing for businesses.
- **2024-11** — TextUs launched a SAP SuccessFactors HCM integration to strengthen HR communications.

## Links

- Website: https://textus.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-payne-6a23921

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/martin-payne
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-10