Titans of Tech Join Vendasta to Build an AI Workforce for Main Street

SASKATOON, SK – November 26, 2025 – In a move that signals a powerful vote of confidence in the future of small business technology, Canadian tech firm Vendasta has appointed two of Silicon Valley’s most influential leaders to its Board of Directors. Eric Johnson, CEO of SurveyMonkey, and Brent Remai, Chief Marketing Officer of Cloudflare, now bring their considerable expertise to a company on a mission to redefine work itself for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs). While board appointments are common, this one feels different. It’s less about corporate governance and more about a strategic alignment of visionaries who see a fundamental shift on the horizon: the rise of the ‘AI Employee.’

For millions of small business owners, the daily grind involves wearing multiple hats—salesperson, marketer, receptionist, and customer service agent. Vendasta’s ambitious goal is to replace those hats with a dedicated, autonomous digital workforce. The addition of Johnson and Remai is a clear indicator that this isn't a distant dream, but an imminent reality. Their decision to join validates Vendasta’s strategy and provides the firepower needed to transform how Main Street competes in an increasingly digital world.

A Heavyweight Endorsement

The caliber of the new board members cannot be overstated. Eric Johnson brings a deep well of product and operational expertise, having scaled digital platforms to massive audiences. Before taking the helm at SurveyMonkey, he managed a portfolio of digital properties at CBS Interactive that reached over 250 million monthly users. His focus has always been on building platforms that serve millions, making his endorsement of Vendasta’s practical approach particularly resonant. “Vendasta is building something rare: AI that does real work for real businesses,” Johnson stated, highlighting the tangible, results-oriented nature of the company’s vision.

Brent Remai offers a complementary skill set in world-class go-to-market strategy and category creation. His impressive resume includes executive roles at Amazon, McAfee, and HPE, and as CMO at Cloudflare, he has been at the forefront of marketing one of the world’s most critical internet infrastructure companies. Recognized by The Wall Street Journal as a top marketing executive, Remai has a proven track record of taking innovative technologies and building them into market-defining categories. His excitement is palpable. “Vendasta is at the forefront of how work will get done,” Remai said. “Vendasta’s platform delivering AI Employees is a major step forward for SMBs.” For Remai, who has Saskatchewan roots, the opportunity to guide a homegrown company in this evolution is especially meaningful.

Bringing on leaders of this stature is a strategic masterstroke. As Vendasta Board Chair Paul Hollands noted, their combined expertise arrives at “exactly the right moment” to accelerate the company’s mission. It’s a clear signal to the market that Vendasta’s ‘AI Employee’ concept is not just another feature in a crowded SaaS landscape, but a foundational new category of service for the SMB economy.

Beyond the Buzzword: The Rise of the 'AI Employee'

So, what exactly is an ‘AI Employee’? Vendasta’s innovation moves beyond the now-common AI-powered tools and chatbots. It offers a suite of pre-configured, autonomous digital workers designed to handle specific business functions from end to end. These are not tools that assist a human; they are designed to be the worker, operating 24/7 within the business’s ecosystem.

Consider these roles:

• The AI Receptionist: This digital employee manages all inbound communications—phone, text, web chat, and social media messages. It can answer common questions, schedule appointments, and qualify leads, ensuring that a potential customer never encounters a missed call or an unread message, regardless of the time of day.
• The AI Sales Assistant: Integrated directly with the company’s CRM, this assistant transcribes sales calls, summarizes key action items, nurtures leads with follow-up communications, and provides sales teams with actionable insights to help them close deals faster.
• The AI Content Creator: For the business owner who has no time for marketing, this employee drafts, schedules, and posts relevant content to blogs and social media platforms, maintaining a consistent and engaging online presence to attract new customers.
• The AI Reputation Specialist: In an era where online reviews can make or break a business, this specialist monitors review sites, drafts thoughtful responses to customer feedback, and proactively requests new reviews to build a positive online reputation.

By integrating these AI workers into a single, unified platform, Vendasta aims to replace the fragmented, often-confusing collection of software that many SMBs struggle to manage. The goal is to create a seamless system where marketing, sales, and operations are not just supported by AI, but driven by it.

Leveling the Playing Field for Main Street

The true impact of this innovation lies in its potential to democratize technology for the backbone of the economy. Small businesses have long been at a disadvantage, lacking the capital, time, and specialized expertise to leverage the sophisticated technology stacks used by their larger competitors. While enterprise-level corporations have entire departments dedicated to data science and automation, the local bakery or plumbing service is often left behind.

Vendasta’s AI workforce directly addresses this disparity. It provides SMBs with the benefits of a dedicated, skilled team without the prohibitive cost and complexity of hiring one or licensing dozens of disparate software tools. This is service innovation in its purest form: providing a scalable solution that fosters resilience and enables growth for those who need it most. The market appears ready, with recent surveys showing that over 90% of SMBs plan to incorporate AI into their operations, driven by the promise of enhanced efficiency and better customer experiences.

A Calculated Push on a Solid Foundation

Vendasta’s bold vision is not a hopeful shot in the dark; it is a calculated next step for a company with a deep foundation and significant momentum. With over $144 million in total funding, including a landmark $98.8 million Series D round in 2021, the company has the financial resources to execute its ambitious roadmap.

Furthermore, Vendasta has already built a powerful distribution engine. Its platform is used by a global network of over 60,000 channel partners—agencies, media companies, and service providers—who in turn serve more than 5.5 million SMBs. This unique model allows Vendasta to achieve scale rapidly. The company has also been a strategic acquirer, bringing companies like CalendarHero (scheduling) and Yesware (sales outreach) into its ecosystem to bolster its platform capabilities.

The appointment of Eric Johnson and Brent Remai is the capstone on this strategy. With proven technology, a robust go-to-market channel, and now unparalleled leadership in product scaling and category creation, Vendasta is poised to challenge the status quo. This isn't just about adding features; it's about fundamentally changing the operational model for small businesses, giving them the power to not only compete but thrive in an AI-driven future.