# Sameer Kazi

> Sameer Kazi is the CEO of Pantheon, the leading WebOps platform powering websites for The Home Depot, Kaiser Permanente, and Doctors Without Borders. A two-decade SaaS veteran who scaled ExactTarget through its $2.7B Salesforce acquisition, ran Cheetah Digital across 18 countries, and served as ActiveCampaign's first-ever president, Kazi brings a rare combination of operational rigor and growth instinct to Pantheon's 10,000-customer platform.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Pantheon
- **Organizations:** Pantheon, ActiveCampaign, Cheetah Digital, Operating Capital, Simply Measured, ExactTarget, Salesforce, Sentinel Technologies
- **Nationality:** American (immigrant)
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona, MBA, Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management
- **Known for:** Led ExactTarget through near-IPO and subsequent $2.7 billion acquisition by Salesforce in 2013, As CEO of Cheetah Digital, built one of the world's largest independent enterprise martech companies with 18-country footprint, Served as ActiveCampaign's first-ever president, bringing operational structure to a fast-growing SaaS company

## Career timeline

- **pre-2008** — VP of Business Development at Sentinel Technologies, Chicago-based systems integrator
- **2008** — Joined ExactTarget as Executive VP when company revenue was under $50M; witnessed IPO filing (withdrawn due to market collapse)
- **2008-2013** — Led EMEA operations from London as ExactTarget grew 55-56% annually
- **2013** — ExactTarget acquired by Salesforce for $2.7 billion; continued as Executive VP at Salesforce
- **2015** — Relocated from London back to the US; began advisory work with KKR and Bessemer Venture Partners
- **2015-2018** — Interim CEO of Simply Measured (social analytics startup, later acquired by Sprout Social); advisory and investing roles
- **2018** — Co-founded Operating Capital investment firm with Peter McCormick; acquired Experian's marketing services business (~1,600 employees, ~$300M revenue) and rebranded as Cheetah Digital
- **2018-2022** — CEO of Cheetah Digital; scaled into one of the world's largest independent enterprise martech companies with offices in 18 countries
- **2022** — Cheetah Digital merged with CM Group in February 2022
- **2022** — Joined ActiveCampaign as President - the company's first-ever president - reporting to founder/CEO Jason VandeBoom
- **2024-11** — Appointed CEO of Pantheon, the leading WebOps platform for WordPress and Drupal

## Achievements

- Led ExactTarget through near-IPO and subsequent $2.7 billion acquisition by Salesforce in 2013
- As CEO of Cheetah Digital, built one of the world's largest independent enterprise martech companies with 18-country footprint
- Served as ActiveCampaign's first-ever president, bringing operational structure to a fast-growing SaaS company
- Co-founded Operating Capital and executed complex carve-out acquisition from Experian
- Leading Pantheon's 10,000+ customer platform serving The Home Depot, Kaiser Permanente, Okta, and Doctors Without Borders
- Pantheon named WebOps Platform of the Year 2025 by CIO Review under his leadership
- Consistently ranked as a G2 Leader for WebOps (11 consecutive quarters)

## Latest updates

- **2024-11** — Appointed CEO of Pantheon, succeeding Bill Ingram who moved to CFO
- **2025-03** — Pantheon appointed Michelle Curless as Chief Customer Officer under Kazi's leadership
- **2025-04** — Pantheon named WebOps Platform of the Year 2025 by CIO Review

## Links

- Website: https://pantheon.io
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sameerkazi
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/Sameer_Kazi

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/sameer-kazi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-23