Udacity has recently appointed former LendingTree executive Gabriel Dalporto as its new chief executive officer. In his role at the company, Gabriel will be responsible for advancing Udacity’s remarkable growth trajectory and furthering its vision of providing new-age learners with cutting-edge skills to advance in their careers.
Prior to joining Udacity, Gabriel has held several leadership positions including chief marketing officer and chief financial officer at LendingTree. Throughout his seven-year tenure at the company, it grew from being a microcap, mortgage-focused marketplace to a multi-billion dollar, fully diversified financial services marketplace. Under his leadership, it also yielded one of the highest stock price appreciation figures for any publicly traded company, recording a solid 6,745% rise. Gabriel is also an active board member of the LendingTree board since 2017.
Speaking on the appointment, Gabriel commented: “To say that I am delighted to be part of the amazing Udacity community would be an understatement. What fills me with utmost satisfaction is the knowledge that I will now be contributing towards enabling countless passionate learners the world over to gain advanced skills and succeed in their careers. The prospect of changing the world for the better, and that too at a meaningful scale, is the one I will attempt to realize with the sincerest dedication.”
Sebastian Thrun, founder, president, and executive chairman, Udacity added: “With his dynamic leadership style and outcome-driven approach, Gabriel is thoroughly suited to lead the company towards achieving the next phase of growth and scale. I am as excited for Udacity’s future as I am confident of Gabriel’s knack for excellence. I wish him continued success.”
Gabriel’s appointment follows close behind a series of milestones crossed by Udacity in the current fiscal year. Earlier this year, the company appointed India-born executive and investor, Lalit Singh as its COO. The company’s enterprise business registered over 150% revenue growth in the first half of 2019 on the back of new Fortune Global 500 enterprise customers and record customer retention rates. On the consumer business front, too, the company has gained significant scale. Since the launch of its subscription model and global technical mentoring program in May 2019, the company has registered more than 60% growth in its revenue generation.