Hayden Brown

Background

About Hayden Brown

President & CEO of Upwork (NASDAQ: UPWK), the world’s largest AI+human-powered work marketplace. We connect millions of independent professionals with businesses of all sizes—from the Fortune 100 to SMBs. Passionate about building tech for good - working with founders, CEOs and boards to navigate disruption, drive sustainable innovation, and steward long-term value creation. Scaled Upwork from a $10M revenue startup to a $750M+ revenue public company with $4B of client spend annually. Expertise across product, marketing, strategy, operations, M&A, and organizational design. Values-centered leader known for building high-performing global teams. Revitalized Upwork’s culture and business model, including executing four high-impact acquisitions since 2023 and the transformation of Upwork's platform to be AI-native. Stewarded the creation of Lifted, Upwork's enterprise-specific subsidiary. Expanded product and pricing models and built a substantial ads and monetization business. Repeatedly delivered record results in revenue, profitability, and free cash flow. Have enjoyed operating at every stage of growth—early stage startup, IPO, and small and large public company. Industry expertise spans technology, digital platforms, SaaS, AI, and the future of work. Deep knowledge in serving customer segments including businesses of all sizes and independent talent globally. Hands-on experience scaling across international markets, managing capital allocation, and guiding digital transformation. Excited to be building the future of work with AI and humans at the center.