Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has reportedly raised $30 million in funding for his artificial intelligence startup. Agrawal was the first Indian-origin CEO of Twitter – now X but was ousted from his position following Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover in 2022. Who is Parag Agrawal? Born in Rajasthan, India, Agrawal immigrated to the US to complete his PhD in computer science at Stanford University. After joining Twitter as a software engineer in 2011, Agrawal worked his way up to the position of Chief Technology Officer for just under a
Online dating and networking app Bumble has announced it is replacing founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd with Slack’s CEO, Lidiane Jones. Bumble was designed for women to make the first move, aiming to shift old-fashioned power dynamics and encourage equality in dating. Over the years, the company has also taken a more feminist and safety-oriented stance than its counterparts by enacting policies that crack down on ghosting and the sharing of unwanted sexual photos. Meet Lidiane Jones São Paulo-born Jones grew up in a small neighborhood in Brazil. According to
Black Girls Code (BGC) has announced international storyteller Cristina Jones as their new CEO. Black Girls Code BGC is a nonprofit organization that focuses on engaging African American girls and other youth of color with computer programming education to nurture their careers in tech. The organization offers computer programming, coding, website, robot, and mobile application building, intending to place one million girls in tech by 2040. Founded in 2011, the organization ignites interest, activates potential, and nurtures careers in tech for girls and women of color ages 7 to 25.
Toni Townes-Whitley officially became CEO of Science Applications International Corp (SAIC) yesterday, making her one of two Black women currently running a Fortune 500 company. SAIC provides engineering, digital, artificial intelligence and mission solutions across the defence, space, civilian and intelligence markets. In May, the company announced Townes-Whitley would take over from Nazzic Keene, who decided to retire Townes-Whitley joined SAIC on June 12 to ensure a seamless transition as CEO-elect. Keene has become Special Executive Advisor to Townes-Whitley and the company until February 2024. Toni Townes-Whitley – The CEO
BLCK VC, a nonprofit for Black investors, has appointed two-time founder and investor Robert Gordon IV as its CEO. BLCK VC BLCK VC is a nonprofit organization that equips Black investors with the access, education, and community they need to accelerate their venture capital (VC) careers. Typically, Black entrepreneurs receive less than 2% of overall dollars each year in VC funding. Additionally, by the end of 2022, adverse market conditions led to a 36% drop in overall VC dollars, but Black entrepreneurs saw a 45% decrease in the financing. BLCK
Rajiv Ayyangar, the co-founder and CEO of Tandem, has been announced as the new CEO of Product Hunt. Product Hunt is an online community platform founded by Ryan Hoover in 2023 for makers to launch their products and consumers to find the latest and greatest in tech. The platform attracts product-loving enthusiasts who come together to share the latest apps, websites, hardware projects, and tech creations. “Product Hunt changed my life,” Ayyangar announced on Twitter. “Now I’m stepping in as CEO.” Launching on Product Hunt Founders use Product Hunt to
OnlyFans CEO Amrapali “Ami” Gan took to Twitter to announce she is leaving OnlyFans and launching a new venture. Who is Ami Gan? Mumbai-born marketing expert Ami Gan spent 18 months as the CEO of OnlyFans, an online adult platform where people can pay for content (photos, videos, live streams) through a monthly subscription. During her time there, the platform reached the landmark milestone of paying $10 billion in creator earnings. During Gan’s tenure as CEO, from December 2021 to June 2023, the company saw its global user base increase