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Rachel Romer
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Rachel Romer (born 1988) is the co-founder and former CEO of Guild, a company that assists employers by managing their education assistance benefits.
Key Information
Early life and education
[edit]Rachel Romer is the daughter of former Colorado State Senator and charter school investor Chris Romer, and a granddaughter of former Colorado Governor Roy Romer.[2][3] Governor Romer was instrumental in the formation and growth of Western Governors University. As a child, she sometimes attended and participated in her grandfather's campaign, and in 2011 worked as the finance director for her father's unsuccessful mayoral campaign.[2][3]
She completed an undergraduate degree, and also an MBA and an MA in education at Stanford University.[3][4][5] While at Stanford, she took a break to work for the Obama administration.[6] She also worked with her father on issues related to access to higher education.[6]
Career
[edit]After graduation, Romer worked for American Honors, an organization co-founded by her father that coaches community college students, and EY-Parthenon, as well as the Obama campaign and the Office of Presidential Personnel in the Obama administration.[4][5] She was the chief executive of Student Blueprint,[7] an app she created while at Stanford during her MBA program to help community college students find jobs. Romer sold the app in 2014.[2]
In 2015, at the age of 27, Romer co-founded Guild Education with her former classmate Brittany Stich,[4] after she conducted research for two years with Stich into low graduation rates,[8][2] In 2019, the organization became valued at over $1 billion.[9] In 2020, it was listed as a CNBC Top 50 disruptor.[10]
In March 2020, Romer co-authored an open letter, signed by more than 450 other CEOs and investors, advocating for business leaders to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][12][13] She is a co-founder and strategic advisor for the organization Stop The Spread.[14]
In June 2021 Guild Education was valued at $3.7 billion.[15] Romer's personal wealth was estimated to be $570 million in 2022.[16] In 2023, Forbes estimated her net worth to be $320 million.[17]
After suffering a stroke in 2023, Romer stepped down from her role as CEO of Guild Education, and was succeeded by Bijal Shah.[18]
Recognition
[edit]In 2017, Romer appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, under the category of education.[19] She would later be named the 2020 EY Entrepreneur of the Year for the Mountain Desert region.[20] In 2021, Romer appeared on Forbes' list of self-made women.[21]
Personal life
[edit]In 2014, Rachel Romer married David Carlson.[22] She has 2 daughters.[4] In 2023, she divorced and suffered a stroke,[1] resulting in her being placed under a medically induced coma, from which she awoke in 2024.[18]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Hinchliffe, Emma; Abrahms, Joseph. "The founder of a $4.4 billion unicorn had a stroke at age 34. It altered her life—and reshaped the mission of her startup". fortune.com. Fortune. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Wilson, Alexandra; Adams, Susan (December 31, 2019). "Class Act: This 31-Year-Old's Company Rocketed To A $1 Billion Valuation Helping Workers Get Degrees". Forbes. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c Blumenstyk, Goldie (August 7, 2016). "When Education Innovation Is the Family Business: a Dinner With the Romers". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Chuang, Tamara (December 3, 2018). "Guild Education's twist on college is working for cashiers, sales clerks and others who abandoned the idea of a college degree". Colorado Sun. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ a b "Guild Education". Forbes. 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ a b "Managing Future Growth at an Innovative Workforce Education Startup". hbswk.hbs.edu. Harvard Business School. March 23, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ Washington Post Staff (March 9, 2020). "The Technology 202Network:/". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
The Technology 202 Network is a panel of technology experts from across the government, the private sector and the consumer advocacy community invited by The Washington Post to vote in regular surveys on the most pressing issues in the field.
- ^ McPherson, Doug (October 9, 2020). "Growth at EY winner Guild Education leads to new program, acquisition". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ Umoh, Ruth. "Guild Education Is Latest Female-Led Company To Hit $1 Billion Valuation". Forbes. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ CNBC.com staff (June 16, 2020). "45. Guild Education". www.cnbc.com. CNBC. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ Chenault, Kenneth I.; Romer, Rachel (March 18, 2020). "It's Time for the Business Community to Step Up". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ^ Sapra, Bani (March 16, 2020). "#StoptheSpread: Hundreds of business leaders and investors signed a commitment to help stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic". Business Insider India. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ Konrad, Alex (March 15, 2020). "Steph Curry, 400 CEOs And Investors Sign Open Letter Pledging To Take Bold Action In Combatting Coronavirus Spread". Forbes. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ "Rachel Romer, MBA". Stop The Spread. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ de León, Riley (June 2, 2021). "CNBC DISRUPTOR 50 Guild Education reaches $3.7 billion valuation amid labor shortage". www.cnbc.com. CNBC. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ McGregor, Jena. "Guild Education Reaches $4.4 Billion Valuation As Labor Market Demands Continue—And A Downturn Threat Rises". Forbes. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
- ^ Mille, Richard. "Self-Made Women". Forbes. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
- ^ a b Confino, Paolo (October 15, 2024). "Guild founder Rachel Romer had a stroke at 34. Her nurses inspired her company's next phase". Fortune.
- ^ Howard, Caroline; Conklin, Justin (2017). "Forbes 30 Under 30 Education". Forbes.
- ^ "Meet the 2020 Mountain Desert winners". EY. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ Wilson, Alexandra. "How Rachel Carlson Has Built Guild Education Into A Tool For Employee Retention — And A $500 Million Fortune". Forbes. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "Rachel Romer and David Carlson". The New York Times. July 6, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2023.