Thunderhead Focuses Exclusively on Customer Engagement Market | GBAF

Thunderhead Focuses Exclusively on Customer Engagement Market | GBAF

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Home > Top Stories > THUNDERHEAD SELLS SMART COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION TO ACCEL-KKR

THUNDERHEAD SELLS SMART COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION TO ACCEL-KKR

Published by Gbaf News

Posted on September 16, 2016

4 min read

Last updated: January 22, 2026

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Thunderhead to focus exclusively on the customer engagement market as it announces the sale of Smart Communications to leading technology private equity firm Accel-KKR.

Thunderhead today announced that its Smart Communications division, the leading cloud solution for customer and business communications, has been acquired by leading private equity firm Accel-KKR. This will enable Thunderhead to focus exclusively on its pioneering cloud technology for the rapidly growing customer engagement market, the ONE Engagement Hub.

Since launching in 2004, the British privately-owned software company built its Smart Communications division from an innovative start up to a recognized category leader. Thunderhead’s pioneering cloud solutions paved the way for a new era of customer and business communications. Smart Communications will now operate as an independent entity, led by the existing management team and backed by Accel-KKR.

Thunderhead will continue under the leadership of CEO and founder Glen Manchester, concentrating on its ONE Engagement Hub solution, a transformational new technology for customer engagement.

Launched in 2014, the ONE Engagement Hub is a quick-to-deploy SaaS solution designed to discover customer insight in real-time, across every interaction throughout the entire customer journey. ONE then uses that insight to help brands deliver personalized, relevant, and consistent conversations across every touchpoint, providing a completely seamless experience throughout each unique customer journey.

Glen Manchester, CEO and founder of Thunderhead, commented, “At Thunderhead, innovation has always been our inspiration and I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved. The Smart Communications team – with the backing and investment of Accel-KKR – will continue to take that business from strength to strength.

“Building on this success, we will now focus on our pioneering SaaS solution for customer engagement, the ONE Engagement Hub. As customer engagement becomes increasingly critical for brands, Thunderhead is again leading the way with innovation. Through its advanced listening and learning capabilities, ONE surfaces unique customer insight and journey behavior. It enables enterprises across all industry sectors to optimize marketing and customer retention strategies, and drive conversation-led engagement, building stronger and more valuable relationships with their customers.”

For Thunderhead, EY led the transaction with Slaughter and May advising on legal aspects of the deal.

Thunderhead to focus exclusively on the customer engagement market as it announces the sale of Smart Communications to leading technology private equity firm Accel-KKR.

Thunderhead today announced that its Smart Communications division, the leading cloud solution for customer and business communications, has been acquired by leading private equity firm Accel-KKR. This will enable Thunderhead to focus exclusively on its pioneering cloud technology for the rapidly growing customer engagement market, the ONE Engagement Hub.

Since launching in 2004, the British privately-owned software company built its Smart Communications division from an innovative start up to a recognized category leader. Thunderhead’s pioneering cloud solutions paved the way for a new era of customer and business communications. Smart Communications will now operate as an independent entity, led by the existing management team and backed by Accel-KKR.

Thunderhead will continue under the leadership of CEO and founder Glen Manchester, concentrating on its ONE Engagement Hub solution, a transformational new technology for customer engagement.

Launched in 2014, the ONE Engagement Hub is a quick-to-deploy SaaS solution designed to discover customer insight in real-time, across every interaction throughout the entire customer journey. ONE then uses that insight to help brands deliver personalized, relevant, and consistent conversations across every touchpoint, providing a completely seamless experience throughout each unique customer journey.

Glen Manchester, CEO and founder of Thunderhead, commented, “At Thunderhead, innovation has always been our inspiration and I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved. The Smart Communications team – with the backing and investment of Accel-KKR – will continue to take that business from strength to strength.

“Building on this success, we will now focus on our pioneering SaaS solution for customer engagement, the ONE Engagement Hub. As customer engagement becomes increasingly critical for brands, Thunderhead is again leading the way with innovation. Through its advanced listening and learning capabilities, ONE surfaces unique customer insight and journey behavior. It enables enterprises across all industry sectors to optimize marketing and customer retention strategies, and drive conversation-led engagement, building stronger and more valuable relationships with their customers.”

For Thunderhead, EY led the transaction with Slaughter and May advising on legal aspects of the deal.