Executive Spotlight: Elissa Fink, Former Chief Marketing Officer of Tableau (2027)
Elissa Fink is the former chief marketing officer of Tableau Software, the data visualization company. She held that role from 2007 to 2018, according to her University of Washington Foster School of Business faculty profile, and later served on technology company boards and advised growing companies.
Today the Foster page lists her as an Affiliate Instructor of Marketing and International Business, with board roles at WTIA, Operation Fistula, the UW Center for Sales & Marketing Strategy and the USC Corporate Advisory Board.
This page uses public professional information only.
Current role and company
Fink no longer holds an operating executive job at Tableau. Her faculty profile at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business lists her as an Affiliate Instructor of Marketing and International Business, and names her current advisory roles as Qumulo, Outreach.io and Amperity. The page does not carry a date in its text, so treat the list as the latest available rather than guaranteed current.
- UW Foster School of BusinessAffiliate Instructor of Marketing and International Business.
- Board roles (Foster profile)WTIA, Operation Fistula, UW Center for Sales & Marketing Strategy, USC Corporate Advisory Board.
- Advisory roles (Foster profile)Qumulo, Outreach.io and Amperity.
- Forbes Communication CouncilListed as a member on the Foster profile.
Career path
- Claritas, 1990 to 2000. Executive vice president of marketing and product management, among other positions.
- TopTier Software, 2000 to 2001. Senior director of marketing.
- Tele Atlas, 2001 to 2004. Vice president of marketing and product management.
- IXI Corporation, 2004 to 2007. Chief marketing officer and executive vice president. A 2020 announcement describes IXI as a financial services technology company later acquired by Equifax.
- Tableau Software, 2007 to 2018. Chief marketing officer for eleven years.
- Education. A BA from Santa Clara University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
What she is known for
- Scaling Tableau's marketing. A September 2020 announcement says she joined in the early startup days and led marketing through Tableau's New York Stock Exchange listing and its shift to the cloud, as the company grew from under $5 million to over $1 billion in revenue. Salesforce acquired Tableau in 2019.
- Industry recognition. Her Foster profile lists CMO of the Year in 2015 and PR Executive of the Year in 2014.
- Board service. In September 2020 Qumulo, a Seattle file data company, named her to its board after a $125 million Series E round. In November 2020 Talend, a Nasdaq-listed data integration company, named her to its board, filling the seat left by its former chief executive. That article also says she sat on the Qumulo and Pantheon boards.
- Teaching. The Qumulo announcement already described her as an adjunct professor at Foster; she is now listed as an Affiliate Instructor.
Leadership style and philosophy
We did not fetch an interview or talk in which she describes her own leadership philosophy, so this page does not characterize it. Her stated focus, per her Foster profile, is business-to-business marketing.
Key numbers (Tableau, as reported in 2020 announcements)
These figures come from the 2020 Qumulo and Talend board announcements and describe Tableau during her tenure. They are not current figures.
- Tenure as Tableau CMOEleven years, 2007 to 2018.
- Tableau revenue growth during her tenureFrom under $5 million to over $1 billion, per the announcements.
- Tableau acquisitionAcquired by Salesforce in 2019.
- Qumulo funding at her appointment (September 2020)$125 million Series E at a $1.2 billion valuation, led by BlackRock.
What to watch next
Worth tracking: updates to her advisory and board list, since the company-specific board seats were announced in 2020 and may have changed.
Questions people ask
Who is Elissa Fink?
She is the former chief marketing officer of Tableau Software, a role she held from 2007 to 2018, and is now an Affiliate Instructor at the UW Foster School of Business.
Is Elissa Fink still Tableau's CMO?
No. Her Foster profile dates her time as Tableau CMO to 2007 through 2018.
What boards does Elissa Fink serve on?
Her Foster profile lists WTIA, Operation Fistula, the UW Center for Sales & Marketing Strategy and the USC Corporate Advisory Board. Qumulo and Talend announced her as a director in 2020.
Which companies does she advise?
The Foster profile lists Qumulo, Outreach.io and Amperity as current advisory roles.
What awards has she won?
The Foster profile lists CMO of the Year in 2015 and PR Executive of the Year in 2014.
Sources
- UW Foster School of Business: Elissa Fink faculty profile · Current title, boards, advisory roles, career dates, awards
- HPCwire / Business Wire: Qumulo appoints Elissa Fink to its Board of Directors (September 9, 2020) · Qumulo board seat, Tableau tenure and growth
- SalesTechStar: Elissa Fink, Ryan Kearny join Talend board (November 18, 2020) · Talend board seat, IXI background
Facts were read from the linked pages on October 31, 2026. Some pages were read through a fetch tool that returns summaries, so confirm details on the original page. The hero photo is from the UW Foster School of Business faculty directory, centered on a card. Board seats beyond the Foster profile date from 2020. This page covers public professional information only.
Top photo: University of Washington Foster School of Business (faculty directory)