Newark-based tech development organization digitalundivided’s founder, Kathryn Finney, has resigned as CEO, the company announced this week.
The “social startup,” which supports black and Latinx women entrepreneurs through community-building and resources, named board member Lauren Maillian as its interim CEO while it conducts a national search for a permanent replacement.
“The impact of the global pandemic, coupled with our nation’s current racial inequities and disparities, has been acutely felt by black and Latinx women entrepreneurs,” she said in a prepared statement. “We are even more energized in our mission to stand with these innovators and provide the community, support, relevant insights and programming needed to help them navigate this unprecedented time.”
Maillian is founder and CEO of the LMB Group, a brand marketing and advisory agency. She has long been a pioneering entrepreneur, co-founding a winery at age 19 and becoming the first black woman to start an early-stage venture capital fund, Gen Y Capital Partners, among other ventures.
“As a board, we are confident that Lauren is the right leader for digitalundivided’s future,” Alex Miller, a digitalundivided board member and env0’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “We will continue to benefit from her collaborative vision and thoughtful leadership as we initiate a national search for CEO succession.”
