Chris Underhill

Chris Underhill is a former SaaS founder-CEO who has spent fifteen years investing in, advising and chairing growth-stage data intelligence companies, with six technology realizations. He founded and led smartFOCUS, a UK SaaS martech company, raised venture capital and took the business to an AIM listing, completing three acquisitions across the UK, Europe and the United States. The business sold to Francisco Partners-backed Emailvision at a 61% premium.

Chris was chairman of Adthena, an Updata portfolio company, also serving a period as interim COO to establish its US operation in Austin. He chaired Audiense through to its 2025 sale to PSG-backed BuxtonCo, and Comufy through to its acquisition by King.com. He is currently chairman of LandTech, Genflow, Distil.ai, RevLifter and Bidnamic.

Chris is passionate about supporting teams on strategy, operating rhythm and the execution discipline that turns a plan into an outcome, built on deep data assets and intelligence needed for AI success. He has a particular focus on helping UK software companies build in the United States.

When not working, you can find Chris with his family, playing soccer (football) or enjoying time in the Spanish sunshine.