Chief (chief.com), the private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there, today announced the close of a $100 million Series B investment. The round is led by CapitalG, the independent growth fund of Google parent company Alphabet. Previous investors General Catalyst, GGV Capital, Inspired Capital, Primary Venture Partners, Flybridge Capital Partners, and BoxGroup also participated in the round. Laela Sturdy, General Partner at CapitalG, will join Chief’s Board of Directors.
Launched in 2019, Chief provides women leaders with a vetted community of peers, trusted support system, and business critical insights to strengthen their leadership and magnify their influence. The latest funding comes on the heels of significant growth at Chief. In January 2022, the company expanded nationally after successfully scaling through the pandemic. Over the last year, its membership of Vice President and C-Suite executives has more than doubled — reaching more than 12,000 business leaders — while increasing member seniority.
Chief will use this new funding to invest in its community platform that powers the member experience. Building on its existing technology, the company will create more personalization to drive more impactful connections between peers and serve up relevant business insights, as well as develop new, next generation products that help members harness the power of its network. As it enters this next phase of growth, the company will also build on its relationships with businesses, educating them on the value of Chief membership to encourage sponsorship so that the world’s leading women executives can benefit from its services.
Chief will also continue its focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in executive leadership by doubling its grant program to support underrepresented executives, and committing $1 million annually to nonprofits that are aligned with its mission to change the face of leadership.
“Women have always been powerful, and our goal is to magnify and cross-pollinate that influence so women executives have a global network to support them,” said Carolyn Childers, Co-Founder and CEO of Chief. “We’re proud to partner with CapitalG and welcome Laela to Chief’s board. Laela exemplifies the power of women as change makers for great businesses and is a champion of the transformative impact women can effect when they are at the helm.”
“It’s our goal at CapitalG to seek out truly generation-defining leaders capable of redefining a sector–leaders precisely like Carolyn and Lindsay,” said CapitalG general partner and Chief board member Laela Sturdy who has also invested in technology leaders like Stripe, UiPath, Webflow and Duolingo. “Under their leadership, Chief has developed a world-class technology platform to nurture the vital in-person and virtual connections and personal and career development that help executives thrive. I’m thrilled to join Carolyn, Lindsay and the entire Chief team on their journey to elevate more women to the upper echelons of business success– and help keep them there.”
Chief’s 12,000+ senior executive members represent more than 8,500 companies including HBO, American Express, Nike, Google, Goldman Sachs, NASA, Chobani, Pfizer, Harvard University, Apple, The New York Times, Delta Air Lines, U.S. Department of Justice, Spotify, NRG, Accenture, Yum! Brands, Chanel, Allstate, CBRE, Ford Motor Company, Netflix, Doctors Without Borders, IBM, Fidelity, Walmart, Novo, Marriott, Aspen Institute, Johnson & Johnson, and Lockheed Martin. Chief also has a growing waitlist of 60,000 women from across the world.
Membership includes access to the Chief network, where members cross-pollinate ideas and connect with peers across the country, and Core, Chief’s hyper-curated peer groups facilitated by an experienced executive coach. Chief members are also invited to exclusive conversations with industry icons including Indra Nooyi, Ursula Burns, Sara Blakely, and Stacey Abrams, as well as workshops with renowned academics on topics driving today’s boardroom.
by Chief, Press Release
Source: finance.yahoo.com
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