Nominee Name/Nominee Company NameOutstanding Tech CEO Award: Marc Shiffman, SMS Assist
Finalist for the:Outstanding Tech CEO
About the Nominee:Marc Shiffman serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer at SMS Assist, in addition to serving on the board of directors. With over a decade of experience leading SMS Assist, most recently as president and chief financial officer, Marc has been a driving force behind the company’s rapid revenue and profitability growth, and he has overseen the development of technologically driven, market-leading solutions in the facilities management industry.
SMS Assist is redefining the way service providers and property owners work together by delivering unprecedented transparency and control within the facilities maintenance industry. Retail stores, banks, restaurants, rental homes, and more make up the 200,000+ properties that rely every day on SMS Assist’s technology platform, in-house subject matter experts, and 24/7 support. SMS Assist leverages its network of 20,000 skilled providers across more than 55 trades to deliver an exceptional maintenance experience to the communities where we live and work.
During Marc's tenure, SMS Assist has grown to more than 1000 employees. In June 2016, SMS Assist raised $150 million at a $1 billion valuation from Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, the same team that invested in Uber, Facebook, Pinterest, and Spotify.
Before joining SMS Assist, Marc provided strategic, financial, and operating support to entrepreneurs leading early-stage startups as they transitioned to hypergrowth mode. Prior to that, Marc worked as a senior executive in corporate finance and general management at MacAndrews & Forbes-owned-and-operated companies including Revlon, The Coleman Company, and Sunbeam Household Products.
Marc earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Marc currently serves on the Chicago Innovation Board of Advisors, and in July 2019, Marc was named to the Crain's Chicago Business Tech 50 list.
Why they should win:Marc Shiffman has made an outsized impact from his earliest days as SMS Assist’s 25th employee to becoming CEO in April 2019, bolstering the company with level-headed leadership and bold vision during periods of rapid growth, steady progress, and unexpected change. A hard-charging, consensus-building, forward-thinking executive unrelentingly committed to his team, Shiffman exemplifies the best of Chicago’s technology community.