Techstars, the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed, appoints industry veteran Matthew Grossman to its newly created role of chief brand and communications officer. Following the company’s January announcement of Maëlle Gavet as CEO, Grossman joins Techstars’ executive leadership team supporting high-growth companies through the global expansion of its accelerator programs and strategic early-stage investments.
Based in London, UK, Grossman brings to Techstars an extensive background in marketing communications as well as brand building, managing teams, and optimizing operations. Most recently, he spent 12 years at The Walt Disney Company Europe, Middle East and Africa as vice president of corporate communications, publicity and social responsibility. Grossman was responsible for the entertainment conglomerate’s regional communication strategy, crisis and issues management, media relations, internal communications, and consumer public relations during a time of significant business growth.
“Matthew’s successful track record at building widely known brands in a decentralized environment make him the perfect fit for this role,” said Gavet. “With his experience in international strategic message development, I am confident that Matthew will be an asset to our team and help advance our business objectives around the globe.”
Prior to Disney, Grossman counseled a wide array of multi-national clients as the Paris-based senior vice president of international corporate at Edelman Public Relations. He also held previous roles in the company’s Los Angeles office, where he led strategic corporate communications, analyst and media relations, integrated public awareness, and issues management programs for prominent entertainment and technology clients. In the early years of his career, Grossman was director of digital strategy and corporate communications for the Motion Picture Association, had various roles at an Idealab-backed dot com and holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Business.
Stepping into his new role at Techstars, Grossman plans to leverage his broad and varied range of global experience to help elevate awareness around how Techstars can support entrepreneurs through every aspect of their journey while also building and growing the Techstars brand globally. In this versatile position, Grossman will be responsible for both high-level strategy as well as daily, operational leadership across Techstars’ marketing and communications teams.
Techstars invests in early-stage startups led by unstoppable entrepreneurs with transformative businesses. With 45+ accelerators worldwide, an unrivaled network of alumni, mentors, commercial partners, investors, and dedicated operating teams, Techstars supports entrepreneurs throughout their entire startup journey while helping to build thriving startup communities. Since 2006, we have invested in more than 4,400 portfolio companies, accelerating the growth of businesses including Chainalysis, Zipline, DataRobot, Alloy, and many, many more. www.techstars.com