INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Online education startup Udacity has hired former LendingTree executive Gabriel Dalporto as its new CEO, an appointment that follows
after seven years at LendingTree, where he served in numerous positions, including chief marketing officer and chief financial officer
Dalporto left the executive advisor job in 2018, but remains on the board.Thrun stepped in as executive chairman and took over operations at
Udacity after Vishal Makhijani left the top post in October 2018
The CEO position has remained vacant since Makhijani left
recent interview, describing Dalporto.Dalporto is known for his turnaround skills
Monday is his first day at the startup
students into the Udacity ecosystem
It also has government relationships with Australia, the MENA region and New Zealand.Dalporto is coming into a startup that is leaner and
spent 2019 revamping the company.When Thrun took over as executive chairman and assumed operations and a search for a CEO, he found a
company that had grown too quickly and was burdened by its own bureaucracy
computer vision, was struggling because of runaway costs and other inefficiencies
About 130 people were laid off and other open positions were left vacant
Thrun then cut further in April
About 20% of the staff was laid off and operations were restructured in an effort to bring costs in line with revenue without curbing growth
The company streamlined its marketing efforts and downsized and consolidated office space
As of April, the startup employs 300 full-time equivalent employees and about 60 contractors.Other changes included the launch of a global
technical mentoring program, switching its direct-to-student business from fixed to monthly subscription pricing to incentivize individuals
to move through courses faster
Lalit Singh, who joined Udacity in February as chief operating officer, has been critical to the turnaround, according to Thrun.Its
productivity has also improved
year.Clarification: Thrun was never officially the CEO
