SAN MATEO, Calif., Oct. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Backblaze, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLZE), today announced that Robert Fitt has joined the company as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

Fitt will lead the company’s strategic advancement for all human resource (HR) functions, including talent management, culture, compensation and benefits, organizational design, health and wellness, and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Backblaze is recognized for talent retention and company culture, as evidenced by numerous awards for culture, diversity, and leadership from Comparably, Inc., Great Place to Work, and others. The addition of a seasoned CHRO will play a pivotal role in continuing this excellence, as well as enabling the company’s next phase of growth initiatives following its recent IPO in November 2021.

“Culture is critical in times of rapid growth and scaling. As the leading independent storage cloud, we continue to scale our teams in support of a world-class organization,” said Gleb Budman, Backblaze CEO and Chairperson of the Board. “Robert is an experienced leader with the skills to help us do that. We are excited to welcome him to Backblaze.”

Backblaze provides developers, businesses, and consumers with cloud services to store, use, and protect their data in an easy and affordable manner, serving as a foundation for customers to back up & archive data, host content, manage media, build their applications, and more. Backblaze’s mission is to make storing and using data astonishingly easy.

“I’m proud to be joining a company that is committed to developing talent at all levels of the organization,” said Fitt. “I’m looking forward to working with a team recognized for providing an excellent place to work as we continue to focus on people and culture as a strategic priority.”

Fitt’s career in human resources spans more than 20 years. Previously, he led HR functions in organizations ranging from early stage startups to companies of more than 4,000 employees. Fitt has held HR leadership roles at Turntide Technologies, 360 Behavioral Health, Mobilite, Broadcom Corporation, and others. Additionally, Fitt was the founder of Green Talent Co, an independent talent and HR advisory firm.

Fitt earned his bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management from Staffordshire University and his master’s degree in Employment Law from the University of East Anglia.

An active member of his community, Fitt volunteers as a pro bono HR consultant for Catchafire, a social good platform that matches professionals with nonprofits to volunteer their services.

About Backblaze

Backblaze makes it astonishingly easy to store, use, and protect data. The Backblaze Storage Cloud provides a foundation for businesses, developers, IT professionals, and individuals to build applications, host content, manage media, back up and archive data, and more. With over two billion gigabytes of data storage under management, the company currently works with more than 500,000 customers in over 175 countries. Founded in 2007, the company is based in San Mateo, CA. For more information, please go to www.backblaze.com.

Press Contact:
Jeanette Foster
Communications Manager, Backblaze
jfoster@backblaze.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/46b34645-5361-4238-82b6-e21b743b6dd7