DURHAM – Tatiana Birgisson’s LinkedIn profile shows her as CEO and founder of energy drink startup Mati Energy. It will be updated soon to show the CEO position is no longer applicable.
Mati on Tuesday disclosed that Birgisson – one of the Triangle’s best-known and emerging entrepreneurs- is leaving and that a search has begun for a successor. The company noted that Birgisson is to move “toward pursuing new opportunities outside the company.”
The firm raised $5 million from investors in 2017 and embarked on a national expansion plan. Mati raised more than $8 million from launch.
Birgisson started Mati in her dorm room at Duke University just over six years ago.
In an interview with The Triangle Business Journal, investor and board member Lauren Whitehurst said the move is connected to scaling up the size of the operation.
“There was just an understanding that we really needed to transition to someone who has a lot of experience,” Whitehurst told TBJ’s Lauren K. Ohnesorge . “The company, the business, the product is so good and [Birgisson] did a great job getting us started … Having someone seasoned in the role can get us there faster and with less risk.”
Whitehurst is wife of Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst and operates a consulting firm.
