Torch Promotes Heather Conklin to CEO

Co-Founder Cameron Yarbrough to Step into Role of Executive Chair of Company's Board

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Torch, a leadership coaching platform that offers high-quality coaching solutions tailored to business needs and goals, today announced that Heather Conklin, the company's COO, has been promoted to CEO. Cameron Yarbrough, the company's co-founder who brought Conklin on board two years ago as part of Torch's succession plan, will now serve as executive chair of the company's board.

"Since Torch's inception, I've viewed my role as a founder-coach: supporting the professional growth of those around me, coaching them to develop and grow, and preparing them for the next step. I was hopeful that Heather could be our next CEO when I hired her," said Yarbrough. "Heather brings a formidable combination of experience in product, coaching and leadership development. I am proud to see her elevate into this new role. With Heather at the helm, I have great confidence that Torch has a very bright future.

Conklin, who has more than 15 years of experience and has served as Torch's COO since 2022, is passionate about great leadership and how coaching can change leaders and organizations. At Torch, she has led Product and Technology, Customer Success, and Coach Strategy and Operations, in addition to overall company strategy and operations. Under her leadership, Torch has leaned into its mission-driven culture, made significant changes to the product and coaching experience, and created operational efficiency to scale the organization.  

Before joining Torch, Conklin spent nine years at Salesforce, serving as senior vice president and general manager of the Trailhead business. There she focused on skilling and enablement and helped develop and grow the Salesforce ecosystem. She also created and led Salesforce's Associate Product Manager program in partnership with Bret Taylor to build new product management talent into great future leaders.

"Today's leaders can't move fast enough to address their constantly changing business environments. They're being asked to do more with less while driving significant transformation. And learning and development teams are struggling to properly equip them through traditional methods. Leaders need personalized support navigating these realities in the context of their individual circumstances, and coaching is uniquely suited to do that," said Conklin. "It's an exciting time to be in coaching. The market has dramatically shifted, and Torch is bringing high-quality coaching together with rich data insights to help organizations drive meaningful change."

About Torch

Torch believes in the power of people. The company's leadership coaching platform combines a community of expert coaches, scalable technology and rich data insights to help leading brands create stronger leaders and managers who develop their teams and drive business performance. To learn more about Torch, please visit www.torch.io.

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SOURCE Torch