About Tessitura Network
Tessitura is a unique nonprofit technology company dedicated to arts and culture organizations. Tessitura is working toward a day when every human in every community served has arts and culture as a meaningful part of their life.
Customer relationship management (CRM) lies at the heart of Tessitura’s secure technology platform. Flexible ticketing and admissions work together with fundraising, membership, marketing, education and visitor services. Intuitive reporting and forecasting tools help reduce uncertainty and turn data into insights. Features such as frictionless payments, digital ticketing and integrated e-commerce help build a sustainable, accessible future. Tessitura’s tools and services help its member organizations grow now and anticipate what they will need to prosper in the future. Like its clients, Tessitura is guided by a mission statement that is centered on member success:
Tessitura Network enables and inspires arts and culture organizations of all sizes to achieve their goals by providing continually innovated technology and comprehensive services that improve their efficiency and effectiveness, and by offering learning, knowledge sharing and community collaboration between peers and organizations.
The award-winning Tessitura community is the largest and most active of its kind and includes 800 cultural institutions in 10 countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Sweden.
In every way, the arts and culture community created Tessitura Network. Tessitura is proud that its seven founding organizations are still with them today and that the community influences and guides everything Tessitura does. The Tessitura Learning & Community Conference, regional and topical community group gatherings, and active online forums and groups facilitate the sharing of insights and best practices across the arts and culture sector. To learn more about Tessitura’s community impact please click here.
Tessitura’s focus is on continual innovation to power world-class arts and culture experiences. The 350+ person team provides 24/7 support and offers guidance to grow revenue and build lifelong engagement. In addition to its global team of experts, Tessitura has an experienced Board of Directors composed of leaders from organizations of various sizes, genres and sectors, all of which use Tessitura technology every day for business-critical work.
Unique Business Model
In 2001, Tessitura was established with a member-led, member-owned model. This unique nonprofit business structure benefits users — rather than investors, shareholders or venture capitalists. Tessitura is proud to be governed by its users.
Tessitura’s Organizational Values
- Respect Everybody: We foster an inclusive community and workplace
- Speak Truth: We communicate with integrity, clarity and generosity
- Choose Collaboration: We believe intentional collaboration produces stronger results
- Embrace Creativity: We value creativity, curiosity and learning as essential to innovation
- Focus Upstream: We prioritize long-term solutions over temporary fixes
- Pursue Excellence: We strive to improve ourselves, our technology and our services
Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion (DEAI) Commitment
At Tessitura, our mission is to enable arts and culture organizations to achieve their goals. We recognize that having a diverse team is not only critical to our commitment to adopt equitable behaviors, but it will also fuel collaboration, innovation and creativity as we deliver on our mission. Creating an environment where everyone feels safe and comfortable in bringing their authentic selves to work is both our pledge and our passion. Ultimately, providing an accessible and inclusive workplace will allow the Tessitura community to thrive.
To learn more about Tessitura, please visit the company’s website HERE.
The Opportunity
Tessitura seeks an experienced and visionary Chief Growth Officer (“CGO”) to join its executive team. The CGO will play a critical role in driving the company's growth strategy, leading sales, marketing and partnership efforts and fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation. This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic leader who has a proven track record in B2B SaaS technology and understands arts and culture.
The CGO is responsible for ensuring continued membership growth for the company, while developing and maintaining positive relationships with members, prospects, partners, industry leaders and funders. The CGO must be able to quickly grasp the current and potential market, the competitive landscape, the partner ecosystem and the company’s total offer to create and package solutions that drive the growth of Tessitura’s community.
The CGO leads the Growth team of 23, which includes the Vice Presidents of Marketing and Communications, Strategic Growth and Solutions & Strategic Partnerships, and their related functions. The CGO provides strategic direction, guides the efforts to further Tessitura’s value proposition and growth strategy and influences the development of features, services and partnerships to reflect community and marketplace trends.
The CGO is a member of the executive team, provides input into the development and execution of company strategy, supports company priorities, and collaborates with colleagues on key decisions and efforts.
Specific responsibilities of the Chief Growth Officer include:
Strategic Growth Leadership
- Define and lead the company’s growth strategy, aligning cross-functional teams and regional leadership around clear goals for member acquisition, revenue expansion, and market saturation.
- Lead strategic planning processes with Growth leadership, translating company-wide objectives into actionable growth strategies and team-specific goals with an integrated approach to business development, marketing, and strategic partnerships.
- Collaborate with Product leadership to drive product-market fit, leveraging understanding of cultural organizations' needs.
- Develop and execute a comprehensive go-to-market (GTM) strategy for existing and future products and services, ensuring alignment with company values and long-term vision.
- Champion a customer-centric approach to growth, ensuring strategies are informed by market trends, customer and prospect feedback, regional opportunities, and competitive intelligence.
- Influence product and services development efforts in alignment with industry trends and member needs.
- Provide strategic direction to brand efforts, marketing, communications, and crisis response to drive positive brand recognition and impact.
- Monitor competitors and the overall marketplace to inform feedback to the Product team, identifying risks and opportunities.
- Collaborate on pricing decisions; ensure that pricing is competitive and in line with market expectations to drive sustainable recurring revenue streams.
- Serve as strategic thought partner in the evaluation of partnerships based on member sentiment, functionality offerings, revenue potential, and value to Tessitura's growth objectives to guide partnership investment decisions and prioritization.
- Support strategic partnerships and vendors at the executive level, ensuring they are represented in company-wide decisions as part of broader company strategy.
- Build strong relationships with key stakeholders including members, partners, industry leaders, and internal teams, to ensure alignment and shared success.
Operational Oversight
- Oversee the full sales and marketing funnel, from brand awareness and lead generation to conversion and ongoing member awareness, delivering sales goals while maintaining margins.
- Identify and implement scalable sales and marketing strategies that drive sustainable growth across enterprise and mid-market segments.
- Establish and monitor KPIs to evaluate performance, inform decision-making, and drive continuous improvement.
- Highlight meaningful opportunities to mature and expand Tessitura’s marketing operation.
- Drive effective and efficient sales through direct involvement as an executive sponsor and provide executive leadership to the Business Development team.
- Provide strategic direction to brand efforts, marketing, communications, and crisis response to ensure consistent brand identity across all touchpoints and to drive positive brand recognition and impact.
- Represent the Tessitura brand and act as a brand ambassador, storyteller, and industry thought leader through social media, writing, and public speaking.
- Ensure partnership efforts deliver efficient value to members, prospects, partners, and Tessitura through operational alignment with company goals.
- Attend and present at Board of Directors meetings.
Team Leadership & Development
- Inspire, mentor and grow a high-performing, mission-aligned Growth team across sales, marketing and partnerships functions.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, transparency and accountability, with a strong emphasis on feedback, professional development and recognition.
- Provide executive leadership to Growth Vice Presidents, ensuring clear strategic direction, collaborative decision-making and integrated execution across all growth functions.
- Act as a role model, embodying Tessitura’s company values and DEAI commitment in all interactions.
- Ensure the Growth team operates efficiently in a virtual environment, leveraging tools and processes that support remote collaboration.
- Support leadership development for managers to ensure they foster an environment of collaboration, excellence and high psychological safety.
- Serve as a member of the executive team, contributing to company-wide strategy and representing the Growth function at the highest levels.
Candidate Profile
The Chief Growth Officer will possess the following professional and personal qualities, skills and competencies:
Strategic & Visionary Leadership
- Proven success developing sales and marketing strategies during a period of significant organizational growth.
- Proven executive leadership experience in B2B SaaS technology, with a strong track record in enterprise sales and marketing.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and execute strategic Go-To-Market (GTM) plans that drive measurable growth.
- Visionary thinker who can set a clear direction, pivot when necessary, and inspire confidence through decisive action and transparent communication.
- Ability to execute on long-range goals while simultaneously seeing to immediate, short-term needs.
- Skilled change manager, with the ability to lead teams through transformation while maintaining stability and morale.
- Experience in, or understanding of, the business operations of high-profile, mission-driven organizations.
- Ability to stay ahead of trends impacting the arts, marketing, software and technology sectors and a dedication to ensuring Tessitura is well-positioned for opportunities and changes that could impact its future growth and success.
Sales, Marketing and Partnerships Expertise
- Understanding of SaaS sales cycles, particularly in enterprise contexts with long, consultative decision-making processes.
- Experience in a multinational sales environment and understanding of the cultural, economic, social, and regulatory differences required to operate in an international organization.
- Experience designing, leading and coaching integrated sales and marketing teams, with a focus on data-driven decision-making, continuous improvement and cross-functional collaboration.
- Comfortable generating revenue and scaling strategy with creativity and a growth mindset.
- Understanding of the current and potential market, the competitive landscape, the partner ecosystem, and the company’s total offer.
Building Relationships and Leading Through Influence
- Proven success integrating sales and marketing across departments to ensure alignment and cohesiveness around messaging and branding.
- Highly collaborative and inclusive leadership style, with a commitment to listening, learning, and engaging with cross-functional teams before implementing change.
- Inspiring leader who motivates teams through change, celebrates wins and fosters a culture of learning and recognition.
- Strong presence and communication skills.
- Ability to lead with clarity, foster trust, and energize teams across all levels of the organization.
- Direct communicator who is comfortable with healthy conflict and can navigate complex collaborative decisions with empathy and confidence.
- Commitment to professional development and team growth.
- Comfortable leading in a virtual environment, with a demonstrated ability to build cohesion and accountability across distributed teams.
Passion for the Mission / Cultural Alignment
- Embody the company’s values, with high emotional intelligence and a genuine appreciation for individual contributions.
- Passionate about arts and culture, with an understanding of how to connect with mission-driven and member-based organizations.
- Commitment to furthering and supporting the company’s DEAI efforts.
- Possess a strong sense of ethics, a high degree of integrity and a personal commitment to the success of the organization.
Operational & Analytical Acumen
- Proven success in effective budget development, forecasting, and resource allocation.
- Experience developing and/or executing crisis communication response plans.
- Adept at using analytics to inform strategy, evaluate sales performance, and drive iterative improvement.
- Understanding of both commercial growth strategies and mission-driven organizational dynamics.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The base salary range for this role is $250,000-$300,000. Additionally, the CGO is eligible for a performance-based bonus, a percentage of their annual salary. Tessitura also offers a generous benefits package that includes the following:
- Remote-first, flexible work environment
- Comprehensive insurance plans including health, dental, vision, life, and long-term disability, 100% funded for employee and subsidized for dependents
- 401(k) match
- Sabbatical program: seven-week fully paid sabbatical after seven years of employment
- Paid time off, including vacation days, public holidays, company closure between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day, sick leave, and parental leave
- Stipend to attend arts and cultural events
- Reimbursement for home office expenses
Contact
DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Anne McCarthy and Rhonda Taylor. Express interest in this role by filling out our Talent Profile or emailing the search team directly at [email protected]. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.
DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.