DeliverThat co-founder Aaron Hoffman is returning to the chief executive position at the end-to-end delivery infrastructure platform after stepping away from the role for four years to focus on the company’s tech stack.
In mid-March, Hoffman, who served as DeliverThat’s CEO from 2013 to 2022, returned to the role held by Darien Terrell during the interim period. Terrell moved to the head of partnerships position, focusing on revenue, enterprise relationships and market expansion.
While Hoffman plans to keep tech-focused infrastructure improvements as a top priority, he described the leadership change as the beginning of a new phase for DeliverThat, a company that he launched more than a decade ago with his best friend as college students in Ohio.
“It’s the same mission, but it’s a new chapter,” Hoffman said. “We’re building for the future. We know what the world of agentic commerce and AI in general is going to bring, (and we’re) confident about how much the world is going to change significantly over the next six, 12, 18 months. The companies that are building towards that world now have a significant advantage, which we have been doing for the last two to three years, that we knew this was coming.”
Hoffman described the present as a pivotal and exciting time for DeliverThat, citing the recent launch of the DeliverThat Drive App and upcoming improvements to the platform’s business intelligence insights.
“The business is evolving so much, and, in order to further build on this technical vision, we need someone at the helm that understands that and it is in their DNA,” Hoffman said, adding that Terrell spurred the company to grow 300 to 400 percent, but the leadership change allowed for Deliverthat to best capitalize on both of their skillsets. … “We’re just playing to each other’s strengths now, where I’m going to usher in the next phase of DeliveredThat. We’re going to give these brands full control over their guest experience for delivery.”
Terrell is slated to stay vital to the company’s growth, a sentiment echoed in the March 19 press release announcing the shift: “Two leaders. Two mandates. One mission.”
“We’ve built a platform, a fleet, a team and a track record that’s unmatched in this space,” Terrell said in a press release. “My focus is ensuring every enterprise brand realizes the full value of what we’ve built, and that our partners have the control and capability to make delivery truly profitable. The timing couldn’t be better.”
In the second run as CEO, Hoffman stated a priority on platform, product, operations and long-term strategy to ensure optimal tech infrastructure.
“A big initiative of mine is (that) I’m going to be giving the tools, building the platform and products to give these operators tools, to take control of either their third-party or first-party channel, and control that entire experience from front to end,” Hoffman said. “I’m extremely focused on driving delivery density with our fleet.”
Later this year, Hoffman said, DeliverThat is launching a driver placement product for restaurants seeking to employ drivers, as well as technology to power and integrate with autonomous delivery platforms.
“We’re building the hardware and infrastructure that will actually handle the pickup and handle the drop off,” he said. “It’s a big gap right now in autonomous delivery.”
Aiding in the mission to optimize the platform’s tech infrastructure is Bill Bellissimo, founder of Crunchtime Information Systems, who recently joined the board of directors. Hoffman praised him as helping craft the company’s vision for agentic commerce and positioning DeliverThat for that future.
“Agentic tech commerce is going to completely gut the way these third-party marketplaces operate today,” Hoffman said. … “We’re in the unique spot where we can have this massive fleet of drivers right now, and rather than sitting here serving a third-party marketplace, we can serve the restaurant and their constituents. Everything that we’re going to be doing is going to revolve around that vision. How do we build a better, denser fleet to handle any type of delivery for a restaurant or grocery store?”
