Joe Rohrlich

Chief Executive Officer Recurly

Last Reviewed: September 29, 2026

Executive Summary

Joe Rohrlich is chief executive officer of Recurly, the subscription billing and management platform used by companies such as Sling, Twitch, Paramount and Sprout Social to run recurring revenue. He took the role in January 2024, having spent the preceding years as CEO of Top Hat, the higher-education engagement platform, and more than a decade before that at Bazaarvoice, where he moved from building a new customer practice to running the company’s European business and then its revenue organization. He is a go-to-market executive by background, and at Recurly he has reunited with his former Top Hat chief revenue officer.

Career Highlights

• Chief Executive Officer of Recurly since January 2024; the company is backed by private equity firm Accel-KKR.
• Chief Executive Officer of Top Hat, scaling it to serve more than 750 universities and completing multiple acquisitions.
• Roughly 11 years at Bazaarvoice from 2010, a period in which the company grew revenue tenfold.
• At Bazaarvoice, built its first CPG brands offering, led global account management as SVP Client Success from 2015, became Executive Vice President and General Manager, EMEA in January 2017, and later served as Chief Revenue Officer.
• Earlier led account management at a Procter & Gamble-owned marketing consultancy, advising brands from Pampers to Sprint to Newell Rubbermaid on digital marketing.
• B.A., University of Michigan.

Professional Journey

Rohrlich graduated from the University of Michigan and began his career in digital marketing consulting, leading account management at a marketing consultancy owned by Procter & Gamble, where he advised brands including Pampers, Sprint and Newell Rubbermaid.

He joined Bazaarvoice in 2010 to grow its first offering and practice for consumer packaged goods brands. From April 2015 he ran the global account management function as SVP Client Success, focused on long-term client value and retention, and in January 2017 he became Executive Vice President and General Manager, EMEA, responsible for strategy, revenue growth and operations across Europe; SEC filings from 2017 and 2018 list him as one of the company’s executive officers in that role. He later served as Bazaarvoice’s Chief Revenue Officer. Recurly describes his roughly 11 years there as a period of tenfold revenue growth.

He then became chief executive of Top Hat, a platform that gives university instructors tools and content to engage students. By August 2021 he was leading the company as CEO, when he hired Matt Schurk as chief revenue officer, saying Top Hat had “enjoyed tremendous growth over the past few years.” Under his leadership Top Hat grew to serve more than 750 universities and made multiple acquisitions.

Recurly named him CEO in January 2024. Founded in 2009, Recurly sells an integrated platform for subscription billing, payments, subscriber lifecycle management and revenue recognition to thousands of companies across streaming, media, publishing, SaaS and consumer goods. Since his arrival the company has rebuilt its senior team, appointing Eric Steele as chief financial officer in July 2025 and, in October 2025, bringing back Schurk, his former Top Hat colleague, as chief revenue officer. Rohrlich has described the aim as accelerating Recurly’s next phase of growth across the subscription economy.

According to his Recurly biography, he is based in Austin, Texas, and outside work enjoys world travel, rec league tennis and following the Michigan Wolverines.

Education

University of Michigan

B.A.