Olly Downs ⎯ Chief Technology & AI Officer, Curinos

Worked with Olly at Zulily

Kiran is a passionate, extremely analytical and data-oriented leader. When we worked together Kiran asked the difficult and provocative questions when it was need to challenge those around him to continue to make our business better. Kiran identified that the business’s paid and owned marketing channels, while sophisticated, had optimized for a declining audience and developed a refocusing of acquisition and engagement marketing to focus on our next generation of customer personas, without alienating our current customer base - not an easy feat in managing change! Kiran is as comfortable in entrepreneurial settings as he is as a public company executive, and I have appreciated the innovation connections he has introduced me to. Looking forward to staying in touch as our careers progress!

Berea Schaffer -- VP of Connected Experiences, Workday

Worked with Berea at Expedia

Kiran is a customer-focused thought leader, who’s not afraid to challenge the status quo and make big changes in order to achieve the greatest results. I had the pleasure of working with Kiran for the past couple of years, focusing on how to transform Expedia Group into a more customer-centric business. He brought a lot of thoughtfulness to the conversation, and his ideas were always grounded in simplicity and strongly biased toward quick learning. He quickly became a go-to leader on the topic of customer-centricity. In that same time, Kiran introduced new ways of working with the analytics teams he led – resulting in greater partnerships and more forward thinking from our analyst community. I learned a lot from Kiran and look forward to a chance to work with him again. I highly recommend him.

Anne Eisenberg -- VP of Ecommerce, JCPenney

Worked with Anne at Darby Smart

One of the things I admire most is that Kiran is not afraid to speak his mind or stand up for his pov. What you see is what you get...he is direct, to the point and incredibly driven. I really enjoyed working with Kiran and would welcome the opportunity to work together again.

Craig Cincotta -- GM, Microsoft

Worked with Craig at Porch Group

When I think about my career there are certain people who jump off the page as those who “get it”. Kiran is one of those people. He has the unique combination of a super-power (analytics), experience, and the ability to think clearly in the most hectic of times. During my time working with Kiran at Porch I was consistently reminded of how well the values of a company can compliment an organization when you hire individuals who are manifestation of those values. Kiran, in particular, was the embodiment of many values that serve as the glue for great teams and companies. He is a world-class problem solver, someone who truly understands the impact of data and analytics when it comes to clear decision making, and a person who is a testament for the impact collaboration can have when it comes to creating a great leadership team. Kiran is a straight shooter who tears down walls and prevents silo’d thinking from creeping into an organization. If I were to start a business tomorrow and I needed to draft a set of players to create a “Dream Team”, Kiran would be on of the first people I would pick.

Matthew Neagle -- Chief Operating Officer, Porch Group

Worked with Matthew at Porch Group

Kiran has that special superpower of bringing both data and sanity to decision making. One of the sharpest minds I have worked with, he is usually the first to cut through the noise to what matters and has the gravitas to push it forward. But, if you want to really see him shine, give him a mic and ask him to talk about culture. He cares as much about the people and the how as the metrics and the what.

Joanna Lord -- Chief Marketing Officer, Spring Health

Worked with Joanna at Porch Group

Working with Kiran has been a career highlight for me. His passion is evident in everything he does and it pushes the organization around him to be better every day. His analytics methodology is one of the most evolved I've come across and I personally learned so much from working beside him. Whether he is building products, leading teams, or creating a data foundation for the company - Kiran's dedication to doing things excellently is inspiring. I will miss working with him and only hope I get the chance to do it again someday.

Melissa Baird -- Chief Operating Officer, Hims & Hers Health

Worked with Melissa at zulily

Kiran has that perfect balance of intelligence and curiosity that makes him a great analyst that can drive a business forward. He is always happy to help think through a problem and discuss conclusions and potential ramifications. With his gift for taking a complicated analysis and explaining it in an elegant, clear, straight-forward manner, the business is able to make confident directional decisions. I thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with him and would jump at the chance to work with him again in the future.

Matt Francis -- CTO, AG1

Worked with Matt at zulily

I had the pleasure of working with Kiran for over almost 3 years at zulily. Kiran was always a great partner and collaborator with anything we worked on together. He has an excellent fundamental understanding of e-commerce and business in general and was always quick to ramp up on anything new. He is one of the rare individuals that I have run across in my career who "just gets it". I would gladly jump at the change to work with him again.

Justin Hayashi -- CEO, New Engen

Worked with Justin at zulily

Kiran is a one-of-a-kind mind with a unique ability to blend the analytical with the creative to drive forward game-changing business strategies. He served as a mentor to many employees (myself included) and has an amazing ability to teach, explain, and instill. Kiran had an incredible impact on zulily's trajectory, but perhaps even more impressive is that he was able to influence everyone around him to strive to do the same.