# Susan Hobbs

> Susan Hobbs is the Global Operations Chief of Staff to the CEO at Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, and a portfolio of open-source web infrastructure. A veteran Silicon Valley operator who started as a public school teacher, she has spent two decades at the intersection of technology, media, and startups - as first hire at acquired companies (Codian, CoTweet), programming architect behind TechCrunch Disrupt, a partner at CrunchFund, and an operations leader at Cloudflare before landing at Automattic. An active angel investor, board member, and arts patron, she brings rare cross-functional range to high-stakes organizational roles.

- **Role:** Global Operations, Chief of Staff to the CEO at Automattic
- **Organizations:** Automattic, Cloudflare, CrunchFund, Y Combinator, TechCrunch, The Human Board, CoTweet, Codian
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Teaching credential / undergraduate degree, Unknown
- **Known for:** First non-engineering hire at Codian, which was acquired by Cisco via Tandberg, First non-engineering hire at CoTweet, which was acquired by Salesforce via ExactTarget, Produced TechCrunch Disrupt conferences (NY, SF, London) for approximately 4 years

## Career timeline

- **Pre-2004** — Worked as a public school teacher in Southern California
- **2004** — Returned to Silicon Valley; joined Codian as the first non-engineering hire (hardware startup, UK/Silicon Valley)
- **2007** — Codian acquired by Tandberg
- **2008** — Tandberg (with Codian) acquired by Cisco
- **~2008-2010** — Joined CoTweet as first non-engineering hire
- **2010** — CoTweet acquired by ExactTarget
- **2013** — ExactTarget (with CoTweet) acquired by Salesforce
- **~2011-2015** — Director of Global Programming at TechCrunch, producing Disrupt conferences and Crunchies Awards
- **2015** — Joined Y Combinator as Director of Programming and Events; wrote farewell post 'Goodbye TC, Hello YC'
- **2016** — Joined CrunchFund as Partner; helped invest in portfolio companies including Airbnb, Vine, Cruise, Onfido, and X.ai
- **2019** — Became Chief of Momentum at The Human Board (nonprofit); began angel investing and advisory work
- **~2019-2022** — Chief of Staff to the CEO and COO at Cloudflare
- **~2022-present** — Global Operations, Chief of Staff to the CEO at Automattic

## Achievements

- First non-engineering hire at Codian, which was acquired by Cisco via Tandberg
- First non-engineering hire at CoTweet, which was acquired by Salesforce via ExactTarget
- Produced TechCrunch Disrupt conferences (NY, SF, London) for approximately 4 years
- Produced the Crunchies Awards for multiple years at TechCrunch
- Partner at CrunchFund with investments in landmark companies including Airbnb, Vine, Cruise, Onfido, and X.ai
- Chief of Staff at Cloudflare during a period of significant company growth
- Global Operations Chief of Staff at Automattic, overseeing the distributed operations of a 1,800-person company powering 43% of the web
- Active angel investor and board advisor since 2019
- Patron and investor in theatrical productions in New York and London

## Latest updates

- **2022-present** — Serving as Global Operations Chief of Staff to the CEO at Automattic, supporting company operations across 1,800+ distributed employees worldwide
- **2019-present** — Active as angel investor, board member, and advisor; serves as Chief of Momentum at The Human Board

## Links

- Website: https://susanhobbs.blog/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanhobbs/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/slh
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susan/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/susan-hobbs
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-14