Shah brings decades of experience scaling organizations
DENVER, CO – April 2, 2024 - Guild, the leader in opportunity creation for America’s workforce, today announced that the company’s Board of Directors unanimously appointed Bijal Shah CEO and is adding her to the Board of Directors. Shah has been a trusted leader at Guild over the last six years, playing an instrumental role in driving the company’s growth and market leadership.
Joining Guild in 2018 as the company’s first Chief Product Officer, Bijal led a wide variety of teams, including product, engineering, and analytics. More recently, Shah served as the company’s Chief Experience Officer, responsible for bringing together Guild’s product, service operations, and technology to support Guild members in achieving their education and career goals. As Chief Experience Officer, Shah drove Guild’s scale to deliver a world-class experience for the millions of employees nationwide with access to Guild’s Career Opportunity Platform™.
In August 2023, Shah was appointed Interim CEO when Guild’s Founder and Former CEO, Rachel Romer, suffered a stroke. Romer continues to focus on her recovery and remains an active member of Guild’s Board of Directors. She is expected to take on a role as an Executive Chair after recovery but continues to be on leave at this time.
“Over the past seven months of Bijal's leadership as Interim CEO and throughout her tenure at Guild, we've come to believe not just in her steadfast stewardship of Guild's business today but that she is the right leader to drive the next phase of growth and scale for the organization,” said Ken Chenault, board member, Guild, chairman and managing director, General Catalyst, and former chairman and CEO, American Express. “On behalf of the entire board, we congratulate Bijal on her appointment. We have full confidence in her ability to advance the company’s crucial mission to unlock opportunity for America’s workforce.”
“Throughout my life, I’ve experienced firsthand how access to education and support can impact the trajectory of one’s life, and it is what has motivated me every day at Guild to ensure our members have the chance to achieve greater economic opportunity for themselves and their families,” said Bijal Shah, Guild CEO. “I am extremely grateful to Guild’s executive team for stepping up during this interim period, for rallying behind me, and for ensuring we did not miss a beat. I am honored and excited to step into this role and continue partnering with the incredible team at Guild to scale our impact even further.”
“Bijal’s leadership and commitment to Guild’s mission have been critical to driving impact for the members we serve and our business over the last six years,” said Rachel Romer, Guild’s Founder & Former CEO. “Bijal has been a trusted partner to me during Guild’s most formative years, and I can think of no one more prepared to take over as CEO and shepherd Guild into this next era. My life-altering experiences over the last seven months since my stroke have only reinforced my commitment to my two girls and my family and our work and purpose-driven mission at Guild. I’m thrilled to support Bijal, and I have no doubt that Guild will thrive under her leadership.”
About Bijal Shah
Prior to Guild, Shah held executive and leadership roles at Ibotta and in corporate strategy at Visa. She has been recognized as a Denver Business Journal 40 Under 40 award recipient for her contributions to the technology industry in Denver and the broader community, including her work on the Board of Directors of Girls, Inc. Shah graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Sloan School of Management. She lives in Denver with her husband and children.
About Guild
The Guild Career Opportunity Platform™ enables forward-thinking employers to invest in their employees, unlocking life-changing opportunities for personal and professional growth through education and learning programs, career development, and one-on-one coaching. Guild partners with the nation’s largest employers — including Walmart, Chipotle, Discover, Hilton, Target, The Walt Disney Company, and healthcare systems like Providence Health and UCHealth — to create cultures of opportunity that help them attract and retain top talent, and build the workforce of the future. Guild offers a marketplace of curated education and learning programs designed for the success of working adults. Layered onto that is support, guidance, and resources at every step to help ensure the new skills employees are building translate into career pathways that are in demand at their companies — all without paying for tuition or career services on their own. For more information, visit https://www.guild.com.