Nathan Harkenrider joined Vareto as VP Engineering in the fall of 2021, shortly after the company raised their series A and the engineering team was just 10 people. Since then, he has doubled the R&D organization and evolved it into a world-class team with an emphasis on a supportive, high-performing culture. He has also built out a solid leadership bench, expanded Vareto’s presence in Latin America, and significantly grown Vareto’s product.
Prior to Vareto, Nathan brings over 20 years of technology experience across a wide range of companies. Most recently, he was VP Engineering at Smartsheet, which he helped scale from a 70-person startup to a 2,000+ person public company. Notably, he led the Core Platform Engineering organization, a team of over 100 engineers tackling some of the most complex enterprise enablement and spreadsheet architecture challenges. He has since brought all of that expertise to Vareto and laid down a solid, secure, and scalable product foundation.
Kat Orekhova, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are excited to recognize Nathan’s many achievements and have him formally join the company’s management team. His proven ability to lead global engineering teams and drive customer-focused product innovation make him the perfect leader for Vareto as we scale the team and drive sustained growth.”
Naomi Pilosof Ionita, Partner at Menlo Ventures and Board Director at Vareto, said, “Nathan is a natural leader and has the perfect combination of scaling early and growth stage engineering organizations. We are thrilled to be partnered with him on this journey.”
Mr. Harkenrider said, "I am excited and honored to take on this expanded role. It’s been a privilege to work with such a strong team and build a product that finance teams are truly excited about. I am looking forward to launching several new product lines this year and driving increasingly more value for our customers.”
Comments from the Vareto team
“Nathan’s technical skills, market knowledge, and leadership capabilities are unparalleled. I’m truly grateful to work together.”
– Lalit Singh, Co-Founder and President
“Nathan brings expertise and genuine empathy to every conversation. He seamlessly bridges the gap between Engineering, Product and the rest of the business to ensure we’re building the right solutions for our customers.”
– Olivia MacDougal, Product Management
“Nathan is an incredibly versatile leader. He can set high level product and business strategy, and then an hour later get hands-on with engineers to coach and unblock technical challenges.”
– Eric Li, Head of Design
“Nathan is an exceptional leader that deeply cares about each of his team members. He’s also the perfect partner for Product Management thanks to his customer focus.“
– Chris Barrows, Head of Product
“When deciding whether to join Vareto, I learned that Nathan was coming aboard, and that sealed the deal. Nathan is a thoughtful, empathetic, and kind leader who creates a team environment that engineers thrive in."
– Sasha Martin, Head of People
“When you work with Nathan, you know that the work you do matters. He gets your input, he asks your advice, and he cares about the solutions you present.“
– Rick Wimer, Engineering
“I can’t imagine a better engineering leader for Vareto - Nathan is a technical genius who is also incredibly thoughtful about people and organizations. He leads by example and has built a high-functioning, inclusive culture here.”
– Yuka Moribe, Engineering
“Nathan has been a great mentor. He takes time out of his day to share wisdom and has helped guide my growth, both in my role at Vareto and as a person.”
– Ian Straussman, Chief of Staff
“Nathan has cultivated an incredible Engineering culture here at Vareto. He’s ensured that everyone in the company values quality and performance, and takes an ownership mindset.”
– Slaven Slugic, Engineering
“I’m consistently inspired by Nathan’s leadership and technical proficiency. Vareto couldn’t ask for a better CTO.“
– Vahe Hovhannisyan, Engineering
Want to work with Nathan?
Vareto is growing quickly and hiring across all functions. See open roles.
