What a few months! Vittana has been racing forward (10,000 students!), but there’s something even more special—
A new CEO! After reviewing hundreds of candidates, doing dozens of interviews, and spending many hours together, I’m excited to announce today that Robin Wolaner is taking the helm of Vittana.
Why Robin? Well, let me tell you. We set out to look for a unicorn and we found her.
Robin is a veteran executive, bringing both her incredible non-profit heart and proven business brain. She’s the founder of Parenting Magazine, former CEO of Sunset Publishing and executive VP of CNET. Most recently, she’s been a business author, startup advisor and board director.
But, she’s been itching to get back in the fight. Not just any fight — a real fight, a fight that matters. In Vittana, Robin found a non-profit that thinks different — a business-minded non-profit, one that understands scale and sustainability, one that measures impact like shareholders measure profit.
And in Robin, Vittana found that unicorn: a veteran executive who embodies hard-headed idealism, one who’s willing to sacrifice to make a difference, and one who’s built from startup to sustainability. (Not just once, but many times!)
And in each other, Robin and I found an exciting partnership. One of our donors put it recently: “You guys are like yin and yang… I just don’t know which is which!” She challenges me to think process and deadlines, I challenge her to imagine even bigger. We’re excited to work together and help Vittana reach the stage it deserves.
Finally, I want to recognize the extraordinary work done by my colleague and friend, Rebecca Lovell. Rebecca stepped in to run Vittana while I was occupied with the search for a permanent CEO; it’s a thankless task, being interim anything, so I want to make sure to thank her from the bottom of my heart.
Please join me in thanking Rebecca and welcoming Robin to the Vittana family. The global team, whole board and I are very excited to have Robin on board. I hope the whole Vittana family will show her the same enthusiasm and support it has shown me.
Here’s to creating something big, meaningful and lasting — something bigger than any of us, something that’ll outlive all of us. Onward and upward!