Rian van der Merwe

Rian van der Merwe has extensive experience in product management and user experience design. Rian is currently the Head of Postmark (GM) at ActiveCampaign, where they lead a team of around 20 people and is responsible for the day-to-day operations and growth of Postmark, a developer-focused email sending platform. Rian also played a key role in the successful integration of Postmark within ActiveCampaign after it was acquired in April 2022.

Prior to joining ActiveCampaign, Rian held various leadership roles at Wildbit, where they were responsible for team development, product vision, execution, growth, and product culture. Rian also played a crucial role in transitioning the Postmark business to a more profitable pricing model. Before Wildbit, Rian worked as the Director of Product Design at Jive Software, where they led product design efforts for several mobile apps.

Rian also has experience in healthcare technology, having served as the Director of Product at HealthSparq, where they led the product and design team and played a role in the release of the first version of Unified Search.

Earlier in their career, Rian worked as the Director of User Experience at Flow Interactive, where they were responsible for user experience design and strategy projects. Rian also served as the Head of Product & User Experience Design at kalahari.com, where they led a team responsible for the end-to-end user experience.

Rian's experience also includes senior roles at Yola.com, where they led product vision, strategy, design, and development efforts, resulting in significant improvements in user conversion rates and revenue. Rian began their career at eBay, where they served as a Senior Manager, leading the Product Health program and driving global product strategy based on user insights.

Before entering the tech industry, Rian worked as a Research Project Manager at Survey.com, where they managed market research projects from start to finish.

Throughout their career, Rian has demonstrated strong leadership skills, a focus on data-driven decision-making, and a passion for creating exceptional product experiences.

Rian van der Merwe's education history begins in 1996 when they enrolled in Stellenbosch University and pursued a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Industrial Engineering. Rian successfully completed their undergraduate studies in 1999. Subsequently, in the year 2000, Rian van der Merwe continued their academic journey at Stellenbosch University and pursued a Master of Science degree in Engineering, specializing in Information Science. Rian completed their studies in this field in 2001. Following their master's degree, Rian van der Merwe furthered their education at Curtin University from 2001 to 2003, where they pursued a Ph.D. degree in Internet Marketing. This marks the completion of their formal education.