Joelle Kaufman

Joelle Kaufman is a Silicon Valley executive, bestselling author, and resilience strategist whose personal and professional journeys are deeply intertwined. As CEO and founder of GTM Flow, Kaufman combines cancer-forged resilience with go-to-market leadership strategies. Her approach has fueled a 25-year career in Silicon Valley, where she built new companies and categories, creating over $4 billion of value. Kaufman was the first chief marketing officer of Bloomreach, Adify, and WorkBoard, and served as a long-term executive leader at Dynamic Signal as chief revenue officer and chief marketing officer. She earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, where she was the first student to graduate with high honors for a Bachelor of Arts in organizational studies.

Kaufman’s life has been shaped by decades of navigating breast cancer, beginning at age 13 when her mother was first diagnosed. These experiences have informed her healthcare decisions, family planning, leadership philosophy, and approach to life. After facing a fourth family diagnosis, Kaufman turned a triple-negative, stage 2A diagnosis into a catalyst for transformation. Drawing from years of experience with cancer and leading successful start-up teams in Silicon Valley, she developed the Curveball Method, a mental approach that contributed to her cancer recovery and personal growth. As someone with a BRCA1 gene mutation, Kaufman’s advocacy for early detection is deeply personal.

Her book, "Crushing the Cancer Curveball," is an international bestseller that offers practical tools, digital resources, and a financial simulator to help patients and caregivers navigate the cancer journey. The book, subtitled "A Playbook for the Newly Diagnosed, Their Family and Friends," has made Kaufman a sought-after podcast guest with numerous appearances. Her expertise spans healthcare and business, earning her positions on the UCSF Patient Experience Council and the advisory board of USC's The Pink Test. Kaufman’s insights have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Fortune Magazine.

Having guided executives through their cancer journeys while maintaining her own executive career, Kaufman understands the unique challenges leaders face when confronting a diagnosis. Trained in transformational coaching and Positive Intelligence coaching, she often collaborates with other coaches to support teams. More than 150,000 professionals apply her leadership strategies to build agile and successful teams. Whether speaking on resilience, go-to-market strategy, or navigating life’s challenges, Kaufman has been interviewed by NBC Bay Area for her perspective on facing breast cancer and other obstacles, establishing her as a voice at the intersection of business leadership and human resilience.