Women-Led Startup Chief Raises $100 Million Series B, Becomes Unicorn

Boston – April 4, 2022 – Cooley advised Chief, the private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there, on its $100 million Series B funding round. Reaching a valuation of $1.1 billion, Chief joins the ranks of women-led unicorn startups. Lawyers Giselle Rivers, Sarah O’Gorman, Melanie Spector and McKenzi Baker led the Cooley team advising Chief.

The round was led by CapitalG, the independent growth fund of Google parent company Alphabet, with participation from previous investors. Chief will use this new funding to invest in its community platform that powers the member experience.

“Women have always been powerful, and our goal is to magnify and cross-pollinate that influence so women executives have a global network to support them,” Carolyn Childers, co-founder and CEO of Chief, said in a press release.

“This fundraise is one milestone in a journey that will change the face of leadership forever,” Lindsay Kaplan, co-founder of Chief, said in a LinkedIn post. She added that Chief is “the fastest women-founded startup to go from launch to unicorn.”

Launched in 2019, Chief provides women leaders with a vetted community of peers, a trusted support system, and business-critical insights to strengthen their leadership and magnify their influence. Chief’s diverse membership includes 12,000 of the most senior executives in the US.

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