Kickstarter’s New Chief Financial Officer Is A Black Woman

Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform which brings creative projects to life by directly connecting them with their communities, has hired Sindy Wilson as their new chief financial officer (CFO).

Who is Sindy Wilson?

Wilson has two decades of experience as a finance executive. She previously held leadership roles at Oldcastle Infrastructure, Ernst & Young, Cox Automotive, and, most recently, Lyft as their VP of finance transformation and analytics.

Throughout her two decades in finance, Wilson told Forbes she never once worked for a Black female CFO, and most of the time, it wasn’t even a woman she worked for.

However, she is now named CFO at Kickstarter, where she will oversee and manage the financial aspects of Kickstarter’s business, ensuring the company’s financial health and providing strategic financial guidance to support its overall goals.

She will report to CEO Everette Taylor, who was announced as the new Kickstarter CEO last year. 

The platform was founded in 2009 by Perry Chen and marked a new era for the organization when Taylor was hired.

Taylor brought a passion for philanthropic work and an extensive track record of building successful businesses to the team.

Wilson, also part of the Forbes Finance Council, wrote on her LinkedIn, “I’m looking forward to working alongside Everette Taylor. His transformational leadership and vision for Kickstarter and the crowdfunding industry is inspirational.”

A Powerful Duo

The pair will be one of few Black CEOs and CFOs working together at a high-profile brand, as there are now just nine Black CEOs among 500 large companies, and just one of them has a Black CFO.

At the beginning of this year, AboveBoard also found that only 5.9% of all chief executives in America are Black. However, Black Americans make up 13.6% of the population. 

Wilson told Forbes in an exclusive interview that she was drawn to Kickstarter’s mission of helping fund creators’ projects and working for a Black CEO for the first time.

“It shows it is possible to have a thriving company growing with a diverse leadership team,” she said.

The company said that among Kickstarter’s eight most senior leaders, five are women, and five are people of color.

A step forward

Taylor said in a press release that with her extensive experience in finance transformation, strategic leadership, and analytics, Sindy brings a unique perspective that will be instrumental in their continued growth.

“Her financial savviness and her belief in our mission make her the perfect fit for our team,” he added.

He additionally told Forbes that he picked up on her sense of empathy and high EQ, which are “not always common” traits when talking about the people behind the numbers.