Latest news with #ChrisHulls
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Life360 names COO Lauren Antonoff as its new CEO to succeed cofounder
Life360 has named Lauren Antonoff as its new CEO to succeed cofounder Chris Hulls. The move, which has been in the works since Antonoff joined the company in 2023 as chief operating officer, was announced Monday along with second-quarter earnings results for the San Francisco-based developer of popular family safety apps. No one has office friends anymore. Why that's bad news for employers The leadership strategy that's more valuable than performance reviews New research shows why remarkably productive people don't work nearly as hard (or as fast) as you might think The company reported today another quarter of record subscribers, now totaling approximately 88 million monthly active users, up from nearly 71 million a year ago. As the company explores further growth opportunities ahead, including expanding its reach in international markets and adding new offerings, Hulls will stay on as executive chair of the Life360 board and continue working very closely with Antonoff. 'We both have a vision for it becoming a much bigger company,' Antonoff tells Fast Company in an exclusive interview. 'We see ourselves as the family super app, making everyday family life better.' Opportunity for growth The company is more than halfway toward reaching one of its long-term strategic goals of 150 million monthly active users, though it's not as far along in achieving annual revenue that exceeds $1 billion. In addition to adding new subscribers, particularly in markets outside the U.S., Life360 wants to serve those customers in new ways, such as expanding its focus on aging parents, Antonoff says. 'Our opportunity is really unlimited,' she adds. 'We are still very early in our journey, and we have a ton of value to create.' Founded in 2008, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Life360 offers both a free and paid service that allows users to track the locations of their family and friends in real time via a smartphone app. The company acquired Tile Bluetooth trackers in 2021, and users can now keep tabs on the locations of pets and other valuables, while it has also built upon an advertising program from last year that includes targeted ads based on the real-world behavior of users. It has been making 'good progress' toward these long-term goals, Antonoff says, and stock market investors seem to agree. Since its initial public offering in June 2024, Life360 shares (Nasdaq: LIF) have nearly tripled in value. What's for dinner? Antonoff came to Life360 after rising the ranks at GoDaddy to president of its U.S. small business segment, as well as a nearly 20-year career at Microsoft. One commonality between her days at Microsoft and Life360, she says, is that the people who are paying for the products may have differing priorities than the users. At Microsoft, that was the IT department; at Life360, that's overwhelmingly moms. The only way for Life360 to be successful for families is if teenagers also get something out of the experience, Antonoff says. And one testament, she says, is that many children opt to return to the app after turning 18 because they also like to know where their parents are. 'You have to make a product everybody feels good about using, otherwise you don't get the adoption,' she says. Even though she's 'not a big worrier,' Antonoff has found more use cases for the apps than she ever would have imagined—it makes something as simple as picking someone up much easier. 'Knowing where your people are makes life better in 1,000 ways you didn't expect,' Antonoff says. 'Often, I'm just checking when my husband is bringing home dinner.' Family focus Antonoff has been key to the company's expansion—including adding tracking for pets and other items, along with the launch of the ads platform. Looking ahead to some of the goals for her first year in this new role, she says one thing users can expect is a richer app experience. Following last year's integration with Uber, she says Life360 will look for additional integration opportunities—all in an effort to better serve the needs of everyday family life. More tech companies are vying to provide location services to their users. Instagram recently debuted a location-sharing Map feature that has raised privacy concerns and prompted many users to turn it off. Meanwhile, Apple has for years offered a free location app. And yet, people still opt for Life360 because it provides the answers people want—faster, more reliably, and in a family-oriented way. Despite more competition, users still opt for Life360's services, even as other companies explore location-based services. 'They're not investing in family the way that we are,' Antonoff says. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘I disdain corporate speak': Tech founder disregards comms and legal in tell-all sign-off post about the heavy weight of being CEO
Life360 co-founder Chris Hulls ignored legal advice and the boilerplate, 'I want to spend more time with my family' in an announcement about why he's leaving the CEO role. Hulls said there were aspects to being the CEO that he loved, but there are parts that drain him. 'The honest truth is that my brute-force style got results and still can, but being the backstop of last resort, 24/7, year after year, comes with a constant weight.' He is now the executive chairman and ex-COO Lauren Antonoff is the new CEO. Life360 cofounder Chris Hulls is resigning in his own unfiltered way after 20 years—and he isn't sanitizing the reason the $9 billion location-tracking company has appointed chief operating officer Lauren Antonoff as his replacement. 'I disdain corporate speak and owe more than the standard 'I want to spend more time with my family and Lauren is a great visionary product-centric strategic operator,'' wrote Hulls in a sign-off blog post. 'Comms wrote me a draft. Legal wanted to chime in too. A lot of people had advice on what to say. But I ignored it and decided to share my own thoughts without talking points or filters, in this single message to anyone who wants to read it.' According to Hulls, he's burned out. 'After nearly two decades of being the last line of defense, I feel it more than I used to,' wrote Hulls. 'There are parts of the CEO role I love that fuel me, and parts that drain me. When I'm running on empty, everything suffers.' Hulls wrote that he told the board two years ago when he turned 40 he wanted to transition out of the CEO position before he turned 45, and when the company and the senior leadership team were ready for it. Hulls is stepping aside now to serve as executive chairman because the CEO role should be held by someone who is 'all in on every aspect of it, every single day, and that's Lauren,' he wrote. Hulls said his brain isn't wired for cleaned-up messages and superlatives common in CEO communications. 'I've never overhyped or played into the Silicon Valley kool-aid drinking tech bro stereotypes,' wrote Hulls. Antonoff's appointment took effect this week. Record-High Turnover in the Corner Office The CEO transition triggered at Life360 comes as corner-office turnover is smashing new records for frequency. Data from executive recruitment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found CEO exits at U.S. companies rose 12% during the first half the year with 1,234 CEOs leaving their jobs behind. The latter is a 12% increase over last year and the highest year-to-date number since Challenger began tracking CEO departures at public, private and non-profit companies in 2002. Among tech firms, 138 CEOs left their roles through June 2025, a 16% increase over 2024. Challenger attributed the rise in CEOs heading for the hills to uncertainty, seismic shifts in tech, and mounting pressure on traditional leadership structures. The firm found one-third of new CEOs were interim appointments rather than full-fledged, succession-vetted replacements. Overall, some 47% of CEO replacements came from outside the company while internal appointments, like Antonoff's at Life360, occurred 53% of the time. Only 25% of new CEO appointments in 2025 so far are women. Future Plans Antonoff has served as chief operating officer at Life360 since May 2023 and previously held senior positions at GoDaddy and Microsoft. As CEO, Antonoff will collect a $515,000 salary and a target bonus of the same amount. Life360 also granted her one-time promotion equity grants valued at a total of $8.4 million and split among restricted-stock units and performance-based stock units. She also got another performance-share grant valued at $3.6 million. Hulls said he and Antonoff are completely aligned when it comes to Life360 users and long-term vision, but in other ways the two are 'polar opposites.' 'The challenges that wear me down at this scale are exactly the ones that fire her up,' Hulls wrote. 'She's fresh, relentless, and loves the work. I can call her at midnight to talk Life360, and she's not just available, she's energized.' Over the past year, Hulls and Antonoff have been testing out a setup in which Hulls served as exec chair with Antonoff steadily taking on more and more responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the company, he wrote. Hulls and Antonoff found the two 'click in a way that makes product work a joy.' 'We spar, challenge each other, and sharpen ideas, and we have a lot of fun doing it,' Hulls wrote. 'I hope one day we can be like Jeff Weiner and Reid Hoffman at LinkedIn, one of those leadership duos people point to as a model for how to scale and evolve a company. Much of what's launched this year, and what's still to come, has her fingerprints all over it.' The Life360 board will also undergo a small shakeup with the Antonoff appointment. John Philip Coghlan, who served as chairman of the board for 16 years, will continue on as a director while Hulls serves as executive chair. The board appointed Mark Goines as lead independent director to counterbalance the new structure. Goines has served as a board member since 2019. In a statement, Antonoff thanked Hulls. 'Chris has been an amazing partner, and I'm thankful to him and the Board for the trust and confidence they have placed in me. I'm energized and honored to lead the company forward, staying grounded in our mission and focused on delighting our members with products that deliver real peace of mind.' Hulls said he'll be there if Antonoff needs her. 'If she ever needs a pit-fighter, I'll be here to tussle—whether that's taking on patent trolls, bottom-feeding class action lawyers, causing trouble on TikTok, or injecting a little crazy in a way only a founder can,' wrote Hulls. This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
Wall Street Journal
12-08-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Life360's New CEO Unfazed by Founder in the Boardroom
SYDNEY—Many chief executives have found it tough to have their predecessor watching from the boardroom. Life360's LIF -0.15%decrease; red down pointing triangle new chief executive is confident she will manage. Life360 on Tuesday appointed Lauren Antonoff as CEO. Co-founder Chris Hulls, who had the idea for the tracking app after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of the U.S. in 2005, handed over day-to-day operations to become executive chair.
The Australian
12-08-2025
- Business
- The Australian
Life360 names Lauren Antonoff CEO amid strong growth, profit upgrade
New Life360 chief executive Lauren Antonoff says the family tracking app business and its fast growth have all the hallmarks of companies that went on to rule Silicon Valley. She described the service as 'medicine for the soul' in an age of heightened anxiety. Ms Antonoff was promoted from chief operating officer to founder Chris Hulls's successor on Tuesday. Mr Hulls will become Life360's executive chairman, having led the company for almost two decades. 'I really feel like we're just getting started,' Ms Antonoff told The Australian from San Francisco. 'We're still building that base of users. 'Life360 is an incredibly important mission. As a mum, I know how important that peace of mind is, and so to lead a company with a compelling mission and a great business is the opportunity of a lifetime.' 'I like to tell my friends that I didn't come to a smaller company. I came to a big company that's just earlier in its journey.' Life360 logged 88 million monthly active users, a 25 per cent rise year on year, reporting its second-quarter results on Tuesday. The company added 136,000 new paying customers, to 2.5 million. Quarterly revenue jumped 36 per cent year on year to $US115.4m ($176.9m) as annualised revenue rose 36 per cent, to $US416.1m. The $6.5bn company also lifted full-year guidance, forecasting revenue of between $US462m and $US482m (up from between $US450m and $US480m) and adjusted EBITDA of between $US72m and $US82m (up from between $US65m and $US75m). Local shares of the Nasdaq- and ASX-listed company were up 8.9 per cent to $41.20. Citi analysts, led by Siraj Ahmed, were positive on the result, affirming a 'buy' rating and a $90 target price. User growth and a 35 per cent rise in annual revenue per paying customer were reasons for optimism, the broker said. Citi expects another profit beat, given it tends to do better in the second half, making its guidance appear conservative. Founded by Mr Hulls as a service that could help families locate each other in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Ms Antonoff said Life360's continued success in the 'anxiety economy' and at a time of budgetary constraint showed how important the service was to its customers. 'There are things that people give up first and that people give up last, and we are proving to be in the latter category,' she said. 'We are not a luxury, we are medicine for the soul.' Ms Antonoff, 55, has an 18-year-old son who has just qualified for his driver's licence and a 26-year-old daughter living interstate. Ms Antonoff, who has worked at Microsoft and GoDaddy, said she was introduced to tracking devices after the family dog ran away (it was found two days later). 'I started to research trackers, and actually said to my husband … made an offhand comment about how I should go work on something like that. About a month later, Life360 called.' The new pet-specific tracking products and advertising business – where Life360 struck a deal with Uber to ping Life360 customers with Uber ads when at the airport, for example – will hopefully one day become key pillars of the company, she said. 'Brands are interested and hungry for the (ad) product. It's building from the ground up,' she said. 'I'm excited about the trajectory that we're on and the things that we're doing, whether it be ads on the revenue side or pets on the member side. There's no end in sight to the value that we can create for members and shareholders.' Life360 has taken 'remote work to the next level', according to Ms Antonoff, at a time of intense discussion over proposed work from home laws being introduced in Victoria. 'After the pandemic, I got to experience how it really could be productive, and I liked it for myself,' Ms Antonoff said. 'I think that the key that a lot of people don't understand is that the thing that makes remote work work so well for us is that we believe in in-person, face-to-face time. 'It's not all about being on Zoom, which is important. But we also invested a lot of expense we used to use on physical real estate to make sure teams can get together and build relationships.' Joseph Carbone Digital Producer - Business Joseph Carbone is a producer for The Australian Business Network after serving as Acting Digital Editor for The Weekly Times, Australia's foremost rural news source. Technology The taxpayer-funded telco has cut its losses after receiving $1.19bn from the Albanese government, as its CEO hails network upgrades success despite industry criticism. Technology National Renewable Network's CEO claims household solar ownership has driven up power bills, as his company secures $67.2m to expand its 'Netflix-style' energy model.
AU Financial Review
11-08-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Life360 CEO Chris Hulls moves to executive chairman seat
Chris Hulls, the co-founder of Life360, will step down as chief executive of the $8.8 billion family tracking app after nearly two decades, to move into the position of executive chairman. The ASX-listed company, which is based in Silicon Valley, said on Tuesday morning that chief operating officer Lauren Antonoff has been promoted to the chief executive role as part of a succession plan the company said was put into motion nearly two years ago.
