Introduction
Ben Chestnut (born 1973/1974) is an American billionaire Internet entrepreneur. He is the CEO and co-founder (with Dan Kurzius) of Mailchimp, an email marketing company.
Early life
Ben Chestnut was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia. He went to high school in Hephzibah, Georgia. He is of Thai descent on his mother's side. He studied physics at the University of Georgia, and industrial design at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Career
He is the former CEO of the Rocket Science Group, which he co-founded in 2000.
He is the CEO of Mailchimp, an email marketing company with 15 million users. In 2016, he was recognized as Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year. According to Atlanta Business Chronicle, in August 2017, Chestnut was awarded "Most Admired CEO". On October 2018, Forbes noted that Chestnut was now a billionaire.
Compensatory policies
Chestnut has focused his company's resources in providing compensatory benefits for employees. Chestnut's motivation for his corporate policy stems from his being raised by his military father who had few economic opportunities.
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.