CaringBridge Hires Mike Thyken as Chief Technology Officer

Eagan, Minn. (March 1, 2018) – CaringBridge, the Minnesota-based nonprofit social network dedicated to helping people stay connected with their loved ones during a health journey, hires Mike Thyken as Chief Technology Officer. Thyken will oversee all technological aspects of CaringBridge to work towards the fulfillment of the organization’s mission to amplify the love, hope and compassion in the world, making each health journey easier.

Thyken has more than 25 years of information and technology experience. Prior to his position with CaringBridge, Thyken acted as Chief Information Officer for SunOpta Incorporated and Select Comfort where he led and implemented scalable and flexible systems to support rapid growth and expansion. He also held the position of Vice President, Information Technology at Merrill Corporation, providing the world’s leading legal, financial and corporate professionals with a suite of advanced services as well as secure web-based tools to gather, organize and manage the confidential and time-sensitive information related to their matters or transactions.

“I am excited to join CaringBridge and be able to help in providing a service that I truly believe leads to better health outcomes” said Thyken. “The foundation of CaringBridge is technology and I am honored by the significance and responsibility of this role and its ability to help in allowing patients, caregivers and their loved ones to find support and healing.”

Thyken also shares his expertise while on the Board of Directors of Braun Intertec, a leading engineering firm, and Summit Brewing Company, the largest craft brewer in Minnesota. He also chairs the Board of Directors for STARBASE MN, a STEM oriented education nonprofit, and is deeply involved with his undergraduate alma-mater, chairing the Strategic Advisory Board for the University of St. Thomas’ Graduate Programs in Software and sitting as a member of the Board of Governors for the school’s College of Engineering.

“Mike has considerable experience and proven ability to grow technological capabilities while prioritizing privacy and safety of information,” said Liwanag Ojala, CEO of CaringBridge. “His expertise and commitment to the CaringBridge mission will help us expand our capacity and allow more people to feel the healing power of connection.”

 About CaringBridge
CaringBridge is a global nonprofit social network dedicated to helping family and friends communicate with and support loved ones during a health journey through the use of free personal websites. Their mission is to amplify the love, hope and compassion in the world, making each health journey easier. Nearly 90 percent of all funding comes from individual donors. Since its founding in 1997 by Sona Mehring, more than 740,000 CaringBridge websites have been created. Combined, they have received 2.1 billion visits. Today, CaringBridge CEO Liwanag Ojala leads a team of 42 professionals with expertise in philanthropy, consumer-centric product design and development. For more information, visit www.caringbridge.org.