EquityZen Announces Key Executive Promotions: Brian Griffith to Chief Business Officer and Sudesh Kulkarni to Chief Product Officer

EquityZen is excited to announce the promotions of Brian Griffith to Chief Business Officer and Sudesh Kulkarni to Chief Product Officer. These appointments come as EquityZen continues to expand its platform and reach in the private market. 

In his new Chief Business Officer role, Griffith will focus on driving growth, operational efficiency, and data-driven decision making. He will spearhead efforts across go-to-market, technology, and operations to expand EquityZen’s marketplace and provide more investors access to pre-IPO investments and more shareholders access to company-approved liquidity.

Griffith joined EquityZen in 2019 as Chief of Staff and during his tenure has overseen the finance, sales, and marketing functions. He spent four years as EquityZen’s Head of Business Operations before being promoted to Chief Business Officer. Notably, he has contributed to EquityZen closing over 45,000 private market transactions in more than 450 companies since 2013 and enabling crucial scale across the organization. Prior to EquityZen, Griffith spent 10 years at KPMG, where he helped build and scale KPMG’s Private Enterprise practice. Griffith holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois.

"I am excited to take on this new role at EquityZen," said Griffith. "I believe that EquityZen has a unique opportunity to democratize access to the private markets, and I am committed to helping the company achieve its full potential."

Sudesh Kulkarni has been promoted to Chief Product Officer and will continue to oversee the firm’s product and technology functions. Kulkarni joined EquityZen in August 2022 as Vice President of Product. 

Prior to joining EquityZen, Kulkarni held leadership positions in product and technology at Capitolis, Intercontinental Exchange and Wells Fargo. Sudesh holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from the University of Pune, India, and a Master's degree in Finance from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago. He has earned Fintech and Product certifications from UC Berkeley Haas, Project Management Institute, and Product School. 

Since joining EquityZen, Kulkarni has led the transformation of the product organization with his steadfast leadership and deep expertise in financial technology. He has brought strategic direction and has improved platform functionality and customer experience, while simultaneously enhancing operational productivity.

"As private markets continue their unprecedented growth trajectory, I am energized to build upon the strong foundation we've established at EquityZen," said Kulkarni. "Customer-centricity remains the cornerstone of our product and technology strategy as we look to thoughtfully and responsibly integrate emerging technologies, particularly AI, to deliver meaningful improvements to the digital experiences our customers rely upon."

"Brian and Sudesh are both proven leaders with cross-functional experience and deep expertise in their respective fields. They have brought perspective and leadership to our company as we continue to build a more accessible, efficient, and transparent platform," said Atish Davda, CEO of EquityZen. "Their contributions have been invaluable to EquityZen's success and are especially important as private market investments continue to grow in significance in the average investors’ portfolio.”