Executives/Substack CEO
Chris Best, CEO of Substack

Who is the CEO of Substack in 2026?

Chris Best is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Substack. Chris has held the CEO seat since 2017, and was previously Software Development Intern at Airline Intelligence Systems.

Updated September 24, 2026
Time in seat
9 years
CEO since 2017
Roles at company
2 roles
At Substack since May 2017
Career span
20 years
First recorded role January 2006
Summary
  • Chris Best founded Substack in May 2017 and has led it as CEO ever since.
  • Chris Best was Co-Founder and CTO at Kik Interactive, Inc. from January 2009 to January 2017.
  • Chris Best holds a bachelor of Applied Science, Systems Design Engineering from University of Waterloo, and studied at Y Combinator.

Current company

Substack

Substack is an American online newsletter platform.

Online Audio and Video MediaHeadquartered in San FranciscoFounded 2017Private company

Source: Wikipedia

Career and education

Chris Best has been CEO of Substack since 2017. Before Substack, Chris was Software Development Intern at Airline Intelligence Systems from September 2008 until December 2008.

Career

  1. Substack2017 to present
    • Founder at SubstackMay 2017 to present
    • Founder and CEOMay 2017 to present
  2. Kik Interactive, Inc.2009 to 2017
    • Co-Founder and CTO
  3. Airline Intelligence Systems2008
    • Software Development Intern
  4. iAnywhere2008
    • Application Developer (co-op)
  5. Sandvine (Now AppLogic Networks)2006
    • Software Engineering - QA (co-op)
  6. Schaeffler2006
    • Programmer Analyst (co-op)

Sources: LinkedIn profile

Education

University of Waterloo, Bachelor of Applied Science, Systems Design EngineeringY Combinator, W18Source

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Top decision makers at Substack

Vice president level and above, most senior first
Helen TobinHead of Brand & Communications · USA@substack.com
Lauren SchutteHead of Partnerships · USA@substack.com
Oki ItoHead of Partnerships, Japan · JPN@substack.com
Cameron SmithHead of Sports Partnerships · USA@substack.com
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Frequently asked questions

Who is the CEO of Substack?

Chris Best is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Substack. Chris has held the CEO seat since 2017, and was previously Software Development Intern at Airline Intelligence Systems.

When did Chris Best become CEO of Substack?

Chris Best has been CEO of Substack since 2017, according to LinkedIn profile.

What did Chris Best do before Substack?

Chris Best was Software Development Intern at Airline Intelligence Systems from September 2008 until December 2008, according to LinkedIn profile.

How long has Chris Best been CEO of Substack?

Chris Best has been CEO of Substack for 9 years, since 2017.

Reach Substack's decision makers

20+ leaders at vice president level and above, with verified work emails and phone numbers in Unify.

Methodology

The seat holder is identified in Unify's professional profile dataset, then confirmed against the company's published leadership page, its SEC filings, and Wikipedia before publication. Career and education rows carry the public document they were taken from. Leadership team membership follows the company's own leadership page; in-seat dates come from filings where available and otherwise from the profile record. Company figures are read from the Unify headcount page for the same company and are profile coverage measures, never company-reported workforce totals. The employee preview lists vice president and senior vice president level profiles by department. No personal contact details are published.

Identity confirmed against Wikipedia, Substack. Last verified: September 24, 2026.