ControlUp appoints Tim Freestone after USD $100m ARR

ControlUp has appointed Tim Freestone as an Adviser to the Board after passing USD $100 million in annual recurring revenue.

Freestone brings more than 20 years of strategy and marketing experience in the technology sector. He is currently Chief Strategy Officer at Kiteworks, having joined the business as Chief Marketing Officer in 2021.

The appointment comes as ControlUp looks to build on its position in digital workplace software and expand its focus on what it calls Autonomous Endpoint Management, an evolution from its earlier work in Digital Employee Experience tools.

Chief Executive Officer Jed Ayres said he has worked with Freestone over the past two decades.

"I have had the pleasure of working with Tim over the past two decades. He is a bold and brilliant mind. His real-world experience building and optimizing global marketing and strategy functions through the use of AI at leading enterprise technology companies makes him an invaluable addition to our advisory bench," said Ayres.

Ayres said the appointment aligns with the company's commercial and product direction.

"As we lead the shift from DEX to AEM, Tim's perspective will help sharpen our GTM strategy, strengthen our positioning, and accelerate our next phase of growth," he said.

Freestone said he will work with the leadership team as the company develops that approach.

"ControlUp is at a pivotal moment as it leads the IT shift from reactive to autonomous management," said Freestone.

"I am excited to work with Jed and the leadership team to help scale the impact of AEM and solidify ControlUp's position as the definitive market leader in this new groundbreaking category," he said.

Career background

Before moving into the strategy role at Kiteworks, Freestone held senior marketing positions at several cybersecurity and enterprise technology companies. His background includes corporate strategy, brand development, and go-to-market operations.

At Contrast Security, he served as Vice President of Marketing, where he built the company's global marketing organisation and helped raise its profile in application security. Earlier, at Fortinet, he was Vice President of Corporate Marketing, leading a rebrand and overseeing go-to-market operations for several product groups spanning more than 30 products.

Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles at NetApp, working on demand strategy and operational processes across the Americas. He also co-founded a marketing services agency that worked with technology companies of varying sizes.

Growth phase

The advisory appointment comes as software companies place greater emphasis on AI-related products and on reducing the number of tools used by corporate IT teams. ControlUp's strategy is to combine workplace monitoring and IT operations in a single system that can identify and resolve some issues before workers are affected.

The company describes Autonomous Endpoint Management as a category centred on more automated oversight of employee devices and digital workspaces. The aim is to reduce manual troubleshooting and lower support ticket volumes while bringing together functions often handled by separate software products.

Freestone's experience includes work on how sales, marketing, and product teams use AI in software businesses. ControlUp said that background is relevant as it refines its market strategy for its next stage of growth.

The company did not disclose further details about the scope of Freestone's advisory role or whether it includes a formal board seat. He joins the advisory bench as ControlUp looks to extend its presence in workplace management software.

ControlUp has framed the appointment as part of a broader effort to strengthen strategy and market execution after crossing the USD $100 million annual recurring revenue mark. Freestone described the company as "at a pivotal moment as it leads the IT shift from reactive to autonomous management".