Kristen Cho and Elissa Beckman Join SpotHero To Bolster Digital Marketing & Recruiting Efforts
Top Female Executives Position SpotHero for Growth After Raising $20M in Series B
CHICAGO – Today on-demand parking service SpotHero announced two key executive hires: Kristen Cho as Digital Marketing Director and Elissa Beckman as Head of Talent and Recruiting. Both Cho and Beckman will join SpotHero’s leadership team to help accelerate growth following a $20M Series B led by Insight Venture Partners in August.
Kristen Cho will lead SpotHero’s digital marketing strategy to accelerate customer acquisition and overall company growth. She’ll be responsible for developing creative digital solutions and expanding into additional digital channels. Cho joins SpotHero from DigitasLBi, where she served as VP/Director of Search Engine Marketing and Performance Media. Cho’s resume also includes marketing roles at iProspect and Linkshare.
“SpotHero is the undeniable leader in this space,” said Kristen Cho, Director of Digital Marketing at SpotHero. “I look forward to leveraging over a decade of digital marketing experience to help SpotHero scale to the next level even faster.”
Elissa Beckman will lead SpotHero’s talent and recruiting efforts, where she’ll be responsible for recruiting top talent in Chicago and around the country. She will also oversee onboarding, benefits, performance management and company culture. Beckman joins SpotHero from a series of Chicago tech companies, including Avant where she led recruiting for 770 employees and Belly where she recruited over 100 employees. Beckman’s resume also includes a role as VP of Empowerment at PaySimple, a Denver-based online payments platform.
“I have been passionate about growing talent at startups for the last ten years,” said Elissa Beckman, Head of Talent and Recruiting. “Looking ahead, I am excited to use my knowledge and experience to help maintain SpotHero’s amazing culture as we scale up our team.”
“We are excited to have Elissa and Kristen join our team, two leaders of the highest caliber in their fields,” said Mark Lawrence, CEO of SpotHero. “With their proven expertise driving our recruiting and digital marketing efforts, we know we will see even more success in 2016 and beyond.”
These recent hires continue to fuel SpotHero’s growth, following other key personnel additions. In July, Chicago tech industry veteran Jason Pinter joined the company as VP of Finance and Administration. In June, the company announced that parking industry veteran Tim Maloney joined the company as Vice President of Sales.
In 2015, SpotHero also earned the recognition of Chicago Startup of the Year by BuiltInChicago, acquired ParkPlease in San Francisco, and moved into a new office building to accommodate its growing headcount.
About SpotHero
SpotHero is an on-demand parking service that enables drivers to reserve parking spots with convenient garages, lots and valets. The company makes life easier for drivers across the country, including in cities like Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., and Boston. Founded in 2011 by Mark Lawrence, Jeremy Smith and Larry Kiss, SpotHero has raised $27 million in VC funding. In August 2015, the company raised $20 million in Series B led by Insight Venture Partners and Monkfish Equity, with current investors–Battery Ventures, Bullpen Capital, Chicago Ventures, Draper Associates, OCA Ventures, Pritzker Group VC and 500 Startups–also participating the round. SpotHero previously raised $4.5 million in Series A in June 2014 and $2.5 million in seed capital in December 2012. Learn more at SpotHero.com and find us in the Apple iTunes Store or Google Play.