Amperity’s founders are taking on the role of CEO, saying they will carry the ‘soul’ of the startup forward
Amperity reinstates its founders.
The Seattle customer data startup announced this week that co-founders Derek Slager and Kabir Shahani will serve as CEOs, taking the helm of the company two years after Amperity hired former Salesforce executive Tony Alika Owens to lead the business.
The leadership change marks a major shift for one of Seattle’s most prominent business software programs as it looks to capitalize on the growing demand for AI-powered customer data tools.
In LinkedIn posts announcing the move, Slager and Shahani said they would lead the company into what they described as a huge opportunity created by the rise of artificial intelligence. Longtime CFO Amy Kelleran Pelly will expand her responsibilities and become president while retaining her CFO role.
“I’ve watched this technology go from interesting to real-time, with a front-row seat where it matters most: customer data,” Slager wrote. “Amperity has built an incredible foundation over the past decade. This is the infrastructure that the AI era is on.”
Amperity hired Owens, a veteran Salesforce executive, as CEO in 2024. At the time, the company said Owens would help guide its next phase of growth as brands increasingly sought ways to integrate customer data across sales, marketing and customer service operations.
In a statement provided to GeekWire, Amperity said that Owens; The departure was planned and “the same revolution.”
“Tony leaves Amperity stronger than he found it, and we are grateful for his leadership and contributions to the company,” the company said.
In 2022, Shahani stepped down as CEO. The company did not disclose additional information publicly at the time. Shahani remained involved with Amperity as a board member and investor following his departure, while Slager continued to serve as chief technology officer.
Shahani, who lives in New York, is also the founder of 3-year-old Seattle marketing tech startup Adora.
Founded in 2016, Amperity built its business by helping large consumer companies consolidate customer information from multiple systems into a single profile. Clients include brands such as Virgin Atlantic, Brooks Running and DICK’S Sporting Goods. Slager and Shahani also worked together at Appature, which they sold to IMS Health in 2013.
Amperity has raised more than $180 million from investors including HighSage Ventures, Tiger Global, Declaration Partners, Madrona and others. It boasts a valuation of more than $1 billion after raising capital in 2021. The company declined to comment on its financial performance, or future fundraising plans.
Amperity is ranked #37 on the GeekWire 200, a list of the top privately held technology companies in the Pacific Northwest. It employs more than 200 people in Seattle, New York, the United Kingdom, Australia and Argentina.
Shahani told GeekWire via email that having the company’s CEOs in two of its largest locations — Slager in Seattle and himself in New York — is a real advantage.
“We consider this to be the right leadership structure for the next chapter of Amperity,” he said. “Derek and I bring complementary strengths, and we are excited to lead the company alongside our newly appointed President, Amy Pelly.”
With AI reshaping how companies use customer information, Amperity’s founders are betting that technological change is creating a new growth opportunity for the startup they founded ten years ago.
“We are carrying the soul of Amperity forward and directing it to our biggest opportunity yet,” Shahani wrote.
