Ben Chestnut

Ben Chestnut (born 1973/1974) is an American Internet entrepreneur. He is the co-founder (with Dan Kurzius) and former CEO of Mailchimp, an email marketing company.^[2][3][4] As of November 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$4.1 billion.^[1]

Ben Chestnut
Chestnut in 2019
Born	1973 or 1974 (age 50–51)[1] Augusta, Georgia, US
Education	University of Georgia Georgia Institute of Technology
Occupation	Internet entrepreneur
Known for	Co-founder and former CEO of Mailchimp
Children	2

Early life

Ben Chestnut was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia^[5] and attended high school in Hephzibah, Georgia. He studied physics at the University of Georgia and industrial design at the Georgia Institute of Technology.^[6]

Career

He is the co-founder and former CEO of Rocket Science Group,^[7] commonly known as Mailchimp^[6] a CRM with 15 million users.^[8] In 2016, he was recognized as Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year.^[9] According to Atlanta Business Chronicle, in August 2017, Chestnut was awarded "Most Admired CEO".^[10] In October 2018, Forbes noted that Chestnut was a billionaire.^[11] In August 2022, Chestnut abruptly stepped down as CEO one month after sending a nearly 1,400-word email to a small group of employees identifying what he considered an alarming trend in his workforce: new hires introducing themselves in virtual meetings with their preferred pronouns.^[12]

Compensatory policies

Chestnut has focused his company's resources in providing compensatory benefits for employees.^[13] Chestnut's motivation for his corporate policy stems from his being raised by his military father who had few economic opportunities.^[5]

Risks of social media

In an interview with Forbes Magazine, Chestnut countered arguments that social media would replace the need for email and email marketing.^[14]

Personal life

Chestnut is married, with two children, and lives in Atlanta, Georgia.^[1]