People & Culture
At Chptr, we are grateful to work alongside people who bring not only decades of experience, but a real sense of vision and curiosity to the work they do. Jeff Tennery has spent more than 30 years building and leading across mobile, digital media, and emerging technology, helping companies grow during some of the most transformative moments in the industry.
As the founder of Moonlighting, one of the fastest growing freelance marketplaces in the world, Jeff has built his career around recognizing gaps, understanding changing behavior, and creating platforms that help people connect in more meaningful ways. That perspective, paired with his experience scaling both startups and major organizations, continues to shape how Chptr thinks about storytelling, distribution, and the future of serving families and communities.
“What excites me most is that this starts with obituaries, but it is really about storytelling across all of life’s moments and memories that matter.”
- Jeff Tennery, Chief Commercial Officer
What drew you to Chptr and the opportunity to build in a space like this at this stage in your career?
What pulled me in was the combination of real unmet need and a simple, scalable solution. Families have not meaningfully benefited from innovation in this space, while media and distribution have completely evolved. Chptr sits right in the middle of that gap, bringing modern storytelling, distribution, and monetization to an industry that has been underserved. At this stage in my career, I am focused on building things that matter, and this has both purpose and real business scale.
Having spent years at the forefront of mobile and digital innovation, what parallels do you see between those early shifts and what is happening now in this industry?
It feels very similar to early mobile and digital, where behavior was changing faster than the platforms supporting it. Back then, distribution unlocked everything. Now we are seeing the same dynamic, content creation is easy, but meaningful distribution and monetization are fragmented. Chptr is effectively building a new distribution layer across TV, digital, and audio for a category that has not had one. That is where the real value gets created.
Across your career, what have been the most consistent drivers of meaningful, sustainable growth?
Three things consistently drive growth, clear unit economics, knowing exactly what it costs to acquire and deliver value, distribution advantage, owning or partnering into channels that others cannot easily replicate, and simplicity for the customer, if it is easy to understand and easy to buy, it scales. When those three align, growth becomes predictable and durable.
You have worked across large enterprises and early-stage companies. How has that shaped the way you approach building and scaling teams today?
Starting at companies like Verizon and AT&T gave me a deep appreciation for how large organizations operate, process, scale, accountability, and how to manage complex teams. When I shifted into startups and PE backed environments, I was prepared because I had seen the full spectrum. I understood what great looks like at scale and how to build toward it early. Companies like Millennial Media were a great example, going from a raw startup to a major company. Chptr has that same feel. Today I build teams that are lean and fast moving, but with the discipline and structure to scale into something much bigger.
What excites you most about where Chptr is headed over the next few years?
What excites me most is that this starts with obituaries, but it is really about storytelling across all of life’s moments, births, anniversaries, milestones, and memories that matter. That same storytelling extends into other parts of our lives, helping families, but also helping small businesses that are part of the fabric of communities. Realtors telling the story of a home, long standing restaurants and local businesses sharing their legacy in a more meaningful way. Chptr has the opportunity to become the platform that powers storytelling across these moments, combining video, audio, and distribution into something scalable, emotional, and highly valuable.
Final Thoughts
Throughout his career, Jeff has consistently focused on how technology can make connection more accessible, more human, and more impactful. Whether building in mobile, digital media, or on-demand platforms, his approach has always balanced innovation with practicality, finding ways to create systems that scale while still serving real human needs.
At Chptr, that perspective is helping shape a much larger vision for the future of storytelling and memorialization. From supporting funeral professionals to creating new ways for people and businesses to share meaningful moments, Jeff’s leadership continues to bring both momentum and long term thinking to where the company is headed next.
