Hootsuite founder Ryan Holmes returns as interim CEO

Hootsuite founder Ryan Holmes is back in the CEO chair, replacing outgoing CEO Irina Novoselsky.

Holmes and Novoselsky announced their respective appointment and departure in a pair of LinkedIn posts on Monday morning. A Hootsuite spokesperson told BetaKit in an emailed statement that Novoselsky had stepped down, and that the transition was “made from a position of strength.” The spokesperson added that the company is profitable and growing. Novoselsky wrote in her post that both she and the company’s board “believe this is the right moment for a leadership transition.” 

“Ryan’s return will accelerate our next chapter: guiding continued organizational transformation and driving AI innovation and product-led growth at the intersection of AI and social,” the Hootsuite spokesperson said. 

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be back after founding and leading Hootsuite for over a decade.”

Ryan Holmes
Hootsuite

In his post, Holmes said he is stepping in as CEO in an interim capacity, and complimented Novoselsky’s leadership over the past three years. 

“When I look at what this team has achieved under Irina’s leadership—the enterprise growth, the advancements in data and AI, the category leadership—I see a company with real momentum and a strong foundation to build on,” Holmes said, adding that Hootsuite will be expanding what it can do with data and insights, as well as invest in AI. 

Founded in 2008, Hootsuite offers social media management software that provides customers with content scheduling, content creation, and social media analytics. The company moved into AI-powered social listening and media monitoring with the acquisition of Talkwalker in 2024.

Novoselsky’s leadership has recently come under fire. The Vancouver-based social media management company faced criticism after it was revealed in January that Hootsuite was providing its social media management and monitoring technology to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The contract came to light as criticism for DHS’s violent immigration enforcement tactics reached a fever pitch in response to the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis. BetaKit has reached out to Hootsuite to ask if Novoselsky’s departure is connected to recent criticism over this deal.

RELATED: Hootsuite could receive up to $2.8 million USD for contract with US immigration enforcement

According to The Globe and Mail, Novoselsky told employees in an internal call in January that the deal would stand as long as ICE abided by Hootsuite’s terms of service. She also reportedly called the media coverage of the contract “fake news.”

“We did nothing wrong here,” Ms. Novoselsky told employees, according to The Globe. 

Novoselsky later responded to internal concerns in a letter to employees that said the “loss of life” and fear were “devastating,” but defended the company’s working relationship with ICE. 

This wasn’t the first time Hootsuite has faced criticism for contracts with US immigration agencies. In 2020, an outcry from employees and users against the company’s proposed deal with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which operates under DHS, led then-Hootsuite CEO Tom Keiser to terminate the planned contract.

While based in Canada, Hootsuite has hundreds of employees globally and serves major brands like Adobe and the World Health Organization, according to its website. In October 2025, Hootsuite laid off 20 percent of its global workforce, affecting hundreds of employees. Novoselsky said in a LinkedIn post at the time that the company was evolving with “the changing world of social media.”

With Novoselsky’s departure, Holmes returns to the post he stepped down from in November 2019, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. At the time, Holmes had confirmed to the Financial Post that the year before his departure, the company had explored a possible sale. In 2021, Holmes launched LOI Venture, a $20 million pre-seed fund focused on supporting founders aged 15 to 30 attending Holmes’ League of Innovators program. 

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to be back after founding and leading Hootsuite for over a decade,” Holmes wrote in his LinkedIn post. 

Feature image courtesy Collision via Flickr, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.