Handshake is the number one site for college students to find a job. Today, the Handshake community includes 18 million students and young alumni from 1,400 educational institutions including four-year colleges, community colleges, boot camps, and 290+ minority-serving institutions. They connect up-and-coming talent across all 50 states with nearly 600,000+ employers recruiting on Handshake — from every Fortune 500 company to thousands of small businesses, nonprofits, startups, and more. Handshake is democratizing opportunity and ensuring college students have the support they need to find a great job and kick-off a meaningful career.

Human Resources

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Handshake

Chris Rynders is the VP of Strategic Sales at Handshake. Prior to joining Handshake, Chris served as the VP of Sales at [Ascendify](/org/ascendify) from July 2016 to May 2018. Chris has also worked at [Salesforce](/org/salesforce) as a Senior Account Executive from December 2013 to May 2016 and at [Granicus](/org/granicus) as the VP of Revenue from March 2005 to December 2013. Chris started their career as a Manager, Commercial Systems at Carrier Corporation from January 2001 to December 2005.

Chris Rynders has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the [Georgia Institute of Technology](/org/georgia-institute-of-technology). Chris graduated with honors from Georgia Tech.

Chris Rynders reports to Brett Skale, Chief Revenue Officer. They are on a team with and Jessica Peluso - VP, Enterprise Sales.

Chris Rynders

Rachel Markov is the current VP of Customer Success at Handshake. Rachel has extensive experience in the field, having previously served as the Global Head of Customer Success for Elevate at [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin). Rachel has been with [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin) since June 2015, and has been instrumental in growing the business from $0 to $45M ARR in just 4 years.

Rachel's team at Elevate delivered high-value programs and communicated business ROI to drive program growth and expansion. They also consulted on change management and content marketing, helping the company achieve 120%-160% NRR. The team served all customer segments, from large enterprise organizations with custom programs deployed to thousands of employees, to small businesses with just 100 employees.

Rachel implemented team growth targets and a customer health assessment framework to create transparency and accountability. Rachel also scaled the team's impact 10-fold by creating leverage and efficiency through specialization, segmentation, and scalable programs that automate reporting and drive product adoption. In addition, Rachel partnered with the Product team to co-develop a roadmap and establish product-market fit based on Voice of Customer feedback, and worked closely with the Sales team to refine the ideal customer profile.

Finally, Rachel developed all team career profiles and hiring processes, ensuring that all line managers practiced rigorous coaching and performance management. Thanks to their efforts, [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin)'s customer success team became a well-oiled machine that helped the company achieve massive growth.

Rachel Markov has an MBA from [Harvard Business School](/org/harvard-business-school) and a BS in Business Administration and Economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Some of their coworkers include Chris Rynders - VP, Strategic Sales, Christine Nicolas - VP, Revenue Operations, and Jessica Peluso - VP, Enterprise Sales. Rachel Markov reports to Brett Skale, Chief Revenue Officer.

Rachel Markov

Rich Simon

Mallory Wheaton is the VP of Account Management and Customer Success at Handshake. Mallory has over five years of experience in customer success and consulting. 

Mallory started their career as a Business Development Intern at SolFocus. Mallory then worked as a Consulting Analyst at Huron Consulting Group for two years before moving to [Zenefits](/org/zenefits), where they were a Customer Success Lead for 17 months. In their current role at Handshake, Mallory is responsible for managing customer accounts and ensuring customer success.

Mallory Wheaton has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Spanish from the University of Michigan. Mallory also studied at Universidad de Sevilla.

Mallory Wheaton reports to Garrett Lord, Co-Founder & CEO. They are on a team with Jonathan Stull - COO, Paloma Thombley - VP, People, and Malthe Sigurdsson - Chief Design Officer.

Mallory Wheaton

Jordan Pedraza is the VP of Global Support at Handshake. Previously, they were the Head of Community at [Remind](/org/remind) and a Senior Program Manager at Google for Education. Jordan has also worked as a Research Assistant Programmer at Mathematica Policy Research.

Jordan has extensive experience in community growth, program strategy, and operations. At [Remind](/org/remind), they led national community growth, developed programs like the Teacher, Student, and Parent [Remind](/org/remind) Advisory Boards and the [Remind](/org/remind) Connected Educators/Administrators (RCEs) program, and oversaw operations for the community. The programs they developed and optimized have supported over 55,000 members to date.

Under Jordan's leadership, the [Remind](/org/remind) Advisory Board program saw an increase in meeting attendance by 20%, participation rate by 60%, and satisfaction ratings on meetings by 90%. Members of the Advisory Board have acquired over 25,000 new users in the past year. Meanwhile, the RCE program grew to over 50,000 members in one year across 6 countries and 45 states. The RCE program has driven 13% more signups and 7% more adoption compared to control schools.

At Google, Jordan collaborated with product, design, research, and support leads to capture and synthesize product and brand feedback. Jordan sourced and arranged over 100 usability sessions and managed 3 beta-testing programs with ~400 community members.

Jordan Pedraza has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from [Pomona College](/org/pomona-college). Jordan then went on to study Sociology at University of California, Berkeley. After that, they studied Sociology and Public Policy at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Finally, they got a certification from lynda.com in Foundations of UX: Content Strategy.

They work with Jonathan Stull - COO, Luke Baxter - Chief Product Officer, and Katherine Kelly - VP, Education Marketing. Jordan Pedraza reports to Garrett Lord, Co-Founder & CEO.

Jordan Pedraza

Malthe Sigurdsson, widely considered as one of the world's leading design innovators, is the former Head of Design at [Stripe](/org/stripe), where he spent 6 years growing the design team from 5 to over 70 as the company increased its valuation by approximately 7 times. Prior to [Stripe](/org/stripe), he was SVP Product and Design at Rdio and Head of Design at Skype.

Malthe Sigurdsson

Katherine Kelly is the current Vice President of Education Marketing at Handshake. Prior to their current position, Katherine held the role of Vice President Product Marketing at Interfolio from June 2014 to January 2020. Katherine has also worked as an Associate Producer at ESPN's Longhorn Network and as an adviser for MFA Thesis students at the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to their work in marketing and academia, Katherine has also worked as a writer and host for the web series "Just the Tips" and as a fashion correspondent for Paperweight: A Newspaper of Visual and Material Culture.

Katherine Kelly received their Ph.D. in American Studies from [The University of Texas at Austin](/org/the-university-of-texas-at-austin), their M.A. in Design Katherine'story from the [Royal College of Art](/org/royal-college-of-art), and their B.A. in Art Practice and Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley.

Some of their coworkers include Valerie Capers Workman - Chief Legal Officer, Mallory Wheaton - VP, Account Management & Customer Success, and Jordan Pedraza - VP, Global Support. Katherine Kelly reports to Garrett Lord, Co-Founder & CEO.

Katherine Kelly

Paloma Thombley is the VP of People at Handshake. Paloma has over 10 years of experience in human resources and has held positions at [Qualcomm](/org/qualcomm), Nuna Inc., and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 

Thombley began their career as a Marine Crew Coordinator at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In this role, they were responsible for coordinating the activities of marine crews and ensuring that they adhered to safety regulations. 

Paloma then transitioned to [Qualcomm](/org/qualcomm), where they served as the International Benefits Manager. In this role, they were responsible for managing benefits in over 40 international locations. Paloma also partnered on various special projects relating to HRIS, leaves, global policies and procedures, and M&A. 

Most recently, Thombley was the Director of People Operations at Nuna Inc. In this role, they were responsible for building and evolving core HR and cultural processes to allow for internal development, engagement, and retention of employees. Paloma also managed the Recruiting team during a period of high company growth. 

Thombley holds a bachelor's degree in human resources from [California State University, San Marcos](/org/california-state-university-san-marcos).

Paloma Thombley has a degree in history from [UC San Diego](/org/uc-san-diego), and they are certified in global benefits management from the HR Certification Institute and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Paloma currently works as a benefits manager for a large company.

They work with Luke Baxter - Chief Product Officer, Valerie Capers Workman - Chief Legal Officer, and Jordan Pedraza - VP, Global Support. Paloma Thombley reports to Garrett Lord, Co-Founder & CEO.

Paloma Thombley

Bhupesh Bansal is currently the VP of Engineering at Handshake. Prior to this, they were a co-founder at IntroLogic, where they worked from February 2015 to February 2019. Before IntroLogic, Bhupesh worked at [Groupon](/org/groupon) as the Director of Engineering for Dynamic Pricing. Bhupesh was with [Groupon](/org/groupon) from June 2011 to January 2015. Prior to [Groupon](/org/groupon), Bhupesh was a founding engineer at TellApart from February 2010 to March 2011, and a Senior Software Developer at [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin) from August 2007 to January 2010. Before [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin), they were a Sr. Software Developer at Yahoo Inc. from May 2006 to July 2007.

Bhupesh Bansal has a specialization in Leadership & Management from Harvard Business School Online. Bhupesh also has an MS in Computer science from the [University of Southern California](/org/university-of-southern-california). Additionally, they have a B.Tech in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Bhupesh also has a certification from Harvard Business School Online in Organizational Leadership, as well as a certification in Leadership Principles from Harvard Business School Online. Bhupesh also has a certification from [Coursera](/org/coursera) in Applications of Everyday Leadership, and a certification from [Coursera](/org/coursera) in Foundations of Everyday Leadership. Finally, they have a Certificate of Specialization in Leadership and Management from Harvard Business School Online, as well as a certification in Strategy Execution from Harvard Business School Online.

Bhupesh Bansal reports to Asif Makhani, CTO. Bhupesh Bansal works with Deepak Kumar - VP, Data, Ester Gubbrud - Chief of Staff, CTO.

Bhupesh Bansal

Megan Quinn is a Director at Handshake. Megan was previously a Co-Founder at [All Raise](/org/allraise-org), and prior to that, they were an Investment Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Megan has also served as Head of Product at Square and as Product Management & Strategic Partnership Development at Google.

Megan Quinn attended [Stanford University](/org/stanford) for their undergraduate and graduate studies.

Megan Quinn

Brett Skale is the current Chief Revenue Officer at Handshake. Prior to joining Handshake, Brett served as the Enterprise Sales Director at BrowserStack from December 2016 to October 2017. Brett also served as the Director of Enterprise Sales and Interim VP of Sales at [PagerDuty](/org/pagerduty) from October 2013 to July 2016, helping lead the transition from SMB/MM to Enterprise. Brett achieved > 90% growth year over year and was awarded President's Club FY 2015. Prior to [PagerDuty](/org/pagerduty), Brett served as Regional Manager, Corporate Sales at Good Technology from August 2010 to September 2013. Brett began their career at ServiceSource as an Inside Sales Manager from June 2005 to July 2010, where they were responsible for > 50M in annual service revenue.

Brett Skale completed their Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at [UC Santa Barbara](/org/uc-santa-barbara).

Brett Skale reports to Garrett Lord, Co-Founder & CEO. Christine Nicolas - VP, Revenue Operations, Chris Rynders - VP, Strategic Sales, and Jessica Peluso - VP, Enterprise Sales report to Brett Skale. They work with Sara Rowghani - Chief Marketing Officer, Ben Christensen - Co-Founder, and Jonathan Stull - COO.

Brett Skale

Jonathan Stull is the current COO at Handshake. Prior to their current position, they were the Head of Business and Corporate Development at [Flipboard](/org/flipboard) Inc. from June 2014 to October 2015. In this role, they led the Business Development team which focused on partnerships to help scale [Flipboard](/org/flipboard)'s user acquisition, rich media content and revenue. Some of the successful long-term partnerships Jonathan oversaw during their time at [Flipboard](/org/flipboard) include those with Samsung, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Microsoft.

Jonathan has also held the role of Senior Director, Product Management at [Lookout](/org/lookout) from June 2011 to May 2014. In this role, they managed a team of product managers responsible for all of [Lookout](/org/lookout)'s consumer products across Android, iOS and web, as well as [Lookout](/org/lookout)'s product partnerships with [AT&T](/org/att), [T-Mobile](/org/t-mobile), Sprint, [KDDI](/org/kddi-corp), [Deutsche Telekom](/org/deutsche-telekom) and Orange. Under Jonathan's direction, [Lookout](/org/lookout) grew from 10 million users to more than 50 million and built a strong business based on both Freemium subscription services and channel-supported retail through carriers and OEMs.

Jonathan's career started at [Lookout](/org/lookout) as an intern, and they eventually worked their way up to Product Manager and Director before leaving for [Flipboard](/org/flipboard). Jonathan has a wealth of experience in successfully developing and scaling products and partnerships in the tech industry.

Jonathan Stull has a B.A. from [Stanford University](/org/stanford) in International Relations and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. Jonathan also has an IB Diploma from J.E.B. Stuart High School.

Jonathan Stull reports to Garrett Lord, Co-Founder & CEO. They are on a team with Kamal Thakarsey - VP, Marketing, Malthe Sigurdsson - Chief Design Officer, and Luke Baxter - Chief Product Officer.

Jonathan Stull

Deepak Kumar is currently the VP of Data at Handshake. Prior to this, they were with LinkedIn for over 9 years, where they most recently served as the Senior Director of Engineering - Artificial Intelligence. In this role, they led Artificial Intelligence initiatives for multiple marketplaces, including ads, jobs, and learning. Deepak was also instrumental in powering the launch of new LinkedIn products, such as LinkedIn Learning and P4P jobs.

Deepak has also been involved in several open-source projects, most notably DuaLip and Lambda Learner. Deepak has also authored or co-authored a number of research papers on topics such as LAWN, marketplace design, and incremental learning.

Deepak Kumar earned their PhD in Statistical Models for Automotive Demand and Product Development from [Northwestern University](/org/northwestern-university).

Some of their coworkers include and Ester Gubbrud - Chief of Staff, CTO. Their manager is Asif Makhani, CTO.

Deepak Kumar

Kamal Thakarsey is currently the VP of Marketing at Handshake. Prior to this, they served as a marketing consultant and held positions as the Vice President of Demand Generation at [Uptake](/org/uptake) and the Vice President of Growth & Demand Generation at [Algolia](/org/algolia).

At [Algolia](/org/algolia), Thakarsey was responsible for the Marketing GTM and Brand strategy that helped [PagerDuty](/org/pagerduty) grow revenues by multiplex. They managed a 15+ person marketing team responsible for demand generation, online marketing, field/event marketing, creative & web strategy, and marketing operations. They also oversaw a seven-figure annual marketing budget and gained c-level approval for budget and resources plans.

During their time at [Algolia](/org/algolia), Thakarsey helped improve output and efficiency of MQLs by implementing improved lead handling, lead scoring, and creating a self-service segment and workflow. They also worked with the VP of Sales and Finance department to create an annual operating revenue plan for the entire business.

Before their time at [Algolia](/org/algolia), Thakarsey served as the Vice President of Demand Generation at [Uptake](/org/uptake). In this role, they were responsible for driving 5x increase in MQLs over a 20 month period by creating a marketing GTM plan across online, field, events, and programs.

Kamal Thakarsey has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the [University of Southern California](/org/university-of-southern-california).

Kamal Thakarsey reports to Garrett Lord, Co-Founder & CEO. Some of their coworkers include Ben Christensen - Co-Founder, Anand Paka - VP of Product, Student, and Sara Rowghani - Chief Marketing Officer.

Kamal Thakarsey

Luke Baxter is currently the Chief Product Officer at Handshake. Prior to this, they were the Director of Product Management at [Medallia](/org/medallia) from March 2015 to May 2017. There, they developed data-driven SaaS products to drive winning customer experiences for great companies around the world. The company had a strong business trajectory (50%+ growth rate in $X00Ms) culminating in a successful MDLA IPO July 2019. Baxter managed multiple product teams responsible for end user applications and insights across web, mobile and text analytics - products used by millions of people in frontline teams, insights teams, and senior management to improve customer experience. 

Before [Medallia](/org/medallia), Baxter was the Director of Insights, Talent Solutions at [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin) from February 2011 to March 2015. There, they managed a global team of 30 managers, analysts and PMs, creating real business value from [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin)'s unmatched professional network data. Luke was responsible for data visualization, proving ROI, and automated data-driven insights. Baxter's team shaped the direction & success of talent strategies for the world's leading employers. 

Baxter's previous positions include Senior Strategy Manager at Skype from June 2010 to January 2011 and Corporate Strategy Intern at [eBay](/org/ebay) from June 2007 to September 2007.

Luke Baxter has an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, a Bachelor of Engineering from The University of Auckland, and a certification from the 280 Group in Agile Excellence for Product Managers and Product Owners.

They are on a team with Paloma Thombley - VP, People, Jonathan Lu - VP & GM, Europe, and Mallory Wheaton - VP, Account Management & Customer Success. Some direct reports include Ashish Desai - VP, Consumer Product, Ankit Garg - VP, Employer Product. Luke Baxter reports to Garrett Lord, Co-Founder & CEO.

Luke Baxter

Christine Cruzvergara is the Chief Education Strategy Officer at Handshake. Prior to joining Handshake, they served as the Associate Provost & Executive Director of Career Education at [Wellesley College](/org/wellesley-college), Assistant Dean & Executive Director of University Career Services at [George Mason University](/org/george-mason-university), and Chair of the Commission for Career Development at ACPA. Christine has also been a Directorate Board Member at ACPA Commission for Career Development.

Christine Cruzvergara has dedicated their career to helping others reach their full potential. Through their various leadership roles, they have helped hundreds of students transition into successful careers. Christine is a strong advocate for career education and has been recognized nationally for their work in this area.

Christine Cruzvergara is a highly respected leader in the career development field. Christine is passionate about helping others achieve their career goals and is committed to making sure all students have access to quality career education resources.

Christine Cruzvergara's educational career includes a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Family Studies from [James Madison University](/org/james-madison-university) and a Master of Arts in College Student Personnel from the [University of Maryland](/org/university-of-maryland). Christine has also attended the NACE Management Leadership Institute.

They are on a team with Sara Rowghani - Chief Marketing Officer, Malthe Sigurdsson - Chief Design Officer, and Kamal Thakarsey - VP, Marketing. Christine Cruzvergara reports to Garrett Lord, Co-Founder & CEO.

Christine Cruzvergara

Anand Paka is the current Vice President of Product at Student at Handshake. Prior to this, they were the Senior Director of Product at Reddit, Inc. from October 2019 to January 2022. In this role, they were responsible for growing Direct To Consumer revenue for Reddit and expanding the company's paid offerings. Anand also oversaw the team's strategy to innovate with new engagement products in order to scale monetization.

Paka has a long history of success in product management. Prior to Reddit, they worked at Spatial as the company's Director of Product. In this role, they led a team of product managers and engineers in developing a new platform that allowed users to create and share 3D content. The platform was a success, and Paka was able to grow the team and establish new processes to scale their collaboration.

Paka is a skilled leader with a proven track record of success in product management. Anand is passionate about developing new products and features that create value for users and communities.

Anand Paka has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, an MS in Computer Science from the [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute](/org/rensselaer-polytechnic-institute), and a BE in Computer Technology from the University of Mumbai - VJTI (Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute).

They work with Luke Baxter - Chief Product Officer, Jonathan Lu - VP & GM, Europe, and Sara Rowghani - Chief Marketing Officer. Their manager is Garrett Lord, Co-Founder & CEO.

Anand Paka

Christine Nicolas is the VP of Revenue Operations at Handshake. Christine has over thirteen years of experience in strategy and analytics, having worked at [Accenture](/org/accenture), [Mixpanel](/org/mixpanel), and [Gainsight](/org/gainsight). 

At [Accenture](/org/accenture), Christine was a part of the [Global Strategy Group](/org/global-strategy-group), where they worked on strategic planning for new businesses, go-to-market teams, and new product introductions. Christine also gained experience in mobile application development and enterprise transformation strategy. In their last role at [Accenture](/org/accenture), Christine was responsible for market assessment, roadmap development, and financial analysis.

Christine then moved to [Mixpanel](/org/mixpanel), where they became the Business Operations, Analytics and Strategy Manager. In this role, they focused on growth projects, product launches, and marketing and sales operations.

Most recently, Christine was the Director of Strategy & Analytics at [Gainsight](/org/gainsight). In this role, they oversaw all aspects of strategy and analytics for the company.

Christine has a wealth of experience in strategy and analytics, which they use to help Handshake grow and scale.

Christine Nicolas has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The Wharton School, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from the University of California, Berkeley.

Christine Nicolas works with Chris Rynders - VP, Strategic Sales, Jessica Peluso - VP, Enterprise Sales. Their manager is Brett Skale, Chief Revenue Officer.

Christine Nicolas

Jonathan Lu

Mamoon Hamid is the current director at Handshake. Mamoon has held various other positions at companies such as [Imprint](/org/imprint), Coda, Rippling, [Alif Semiconductor](/org/alif-semiconductor), Glean, [Modern Health](/org/modern-health), Figma, and [Kleiner Perkins](/org/kleiner-perkins).

Mamoon Hamid received their MBA from [Harvard Business School](/org/harvard-business-school), their MS in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University, and their BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from [Purdue University](/org/purdue-university). Mamoon also attended Frankfurt American High School.

Mamoon Hamid

Alistair Mitchell is a director at Handshake. Alistair was previously at [Unmind](/org/unmind), [Let's Do This](/org/lets-do-this), [Standard Cognition](/org/standard-cognition), and [Beamery](/org/beamery). Alistair also founded [Tinyclues](/org/tinyclues) and Token Inc.

Alistair Mitchell has a MEng in Ship Science (Naval Architecture) from the [University of Southampton](/org/university-of-southampton) and attended high school at St. Albans School.

Alistair Mitchell

Margo Georgiadis is the current Director at Handshake. Prior to their current position, Georgiadis held various other positions including Endurance Partner In Residence at [General Catalyst](/org/general-catalyst), President and CEO at [Ancestry](/org/ancestry), and Board Member at McDonald's Corporation.

Georgiadis has always been driven by their passion for technologies that have the potential to make a positive impact on people's lives. After completing their undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, Georgiadis worked in various roles in the tech industry including stints at Synetro Group and [Neeva](/org/neeva). In 2018, they became President and CEO of [Ancestry](/org/ancestry), where they oversaw the company's growth to over 3.6M subscribers and $1B in subscription revenue. In 2020, they sold the company to Blackstone for $5B.

Georgiadis is currently focusing their efforts on Handshake, a platform that connects students with job opportunities. Her work at Handshake is inspired by their own experiences as a first-generation college student who had difficulty finding a job after graduation. Georgiadis is committed to making Handshake the go-to platform for all students seeking employment, regardless of their background or location.

Margo Georgiadis earned their MBA from [Harvard Business School](/org/harvard-business-school) and their AB in Economics from [Harvard University](/org/harvard).

Margo Georgiadis

Ankit Garg is the current VP of Employer Product at Handshake. Prior to this, they served as the Senior Director of Product Management at Postmates Inc. from June 2019 to February 2021. In this role, they were responsible for leading the Selection team and helping consumers and merchants discover, engage, and transact with one another on Postmates. Postmates was acquired by [Uber](/org/uber) in December 2020.

Before their time at Postmates, Garg served as the Head of Product & Growth at HomeShare from June 2018 to June 2019. In this role, they led a scrappy team of engineers, a designer, an analyst and interns in optimizing the funnel including listings, signup/login, lead management, scheduling, sales calls and payment.

Garg is also a co-founder and former CEO of Stayfari. Ankit served as the VP of Chegg Study at Chegg Inc. from September 2009 to September 2014.



They are on a team with and Ashish Desai - VP, Consumer Product. Ankit Garg reports to Luke Baxter, Chief Product Officer.

Ankit Garg

Garrett Lord is the Co-Founder and CEO at Handshake. Garrett has a background in computer science and experience working in high performance computing. Prior to Handshake, Garrett was an intern at Palantir Technologies where they worked on forward deployed engineering projects. Garrett also interned at [Los Alamos National Laboratory](/org/los-alamos-national-laboratory) as a High Performance Computing Fellow.

Garrett Lord graduated from [Michigan Technological University](/org/mtu) with a degree in computer science.

Kamal Thakarsey - VP, Marketing, Malthe Sigurdsson - Chief Design Officer, and Valerie Capers Workman - Chief Legal Officer report to Garrett Lord.

Garrett Lord

Ester Gubbrud is the current Chief of Staff and CTO at Handshake. Ester has previously worked as a Technical Program Manager at X, the moonshot factory, [The Climate Corporation](/org/the-climate-corporation), A9.com, [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin), and [Yahoo!](/org/yahoo). Ester has a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from [UC Berkeley](/org/uc-berkeley).

Ester Gubbrud has a BA in Math, Computer Science, & Gender Studies from [Carleton College](/org/carleton-college) and MS degrees in both Operations Research and Computer Science from the University of Michigan.

They are on a team with and Deepak Kumar - VP, Data. Ester Gubbrud reports to Asif Makhani, CTO.

Ester Gubbrud

colby glieden

Priti Khare

Christian Rhodes

Kyle Hudson

is the President and CEO of [UNCF](/org/united-negro-college-fund-inc).

Michael L. Lomax

Valerie Capers Workman is the Chief Legal Officer at Handshake. Valerie has previously served as the VP of People at [Tesla](/org/tesla) from February 2018 to January 2022. In this role, they were responsible for HR, Recruiting, Employee Relations, HR Compliance, DEI, Talent Development, Learning, Community Relations, Employee Experience, Internal Content & Social Media, Immigration & Mobility, Compensation & Benefits and Workplace. Valerie was a strategic business partner to Operations teams and a Management Committee Member.

Under Valerie's leadership, the worldwide workforce at [Tesla](/org/tesla) more than doubled. Valerie designed and implemented innovative programs to attract an exceptionally talented team of salaried and hourly employees. Valerie also redefine the DEI team to establish an infrastructure that supports inclusivity and celebrates the Whole Self. Valerie placed the Learning and Development teams under DEI to help ensure equal access to career growth and opportunity. Valerie oversaw the development of several ground-breaking programs for Employee Resource Groups: Black at [Tesla](/org/tesla), LGBTQ+, Latinos at [Tesla](/org/tesla), Veterans at [Tesla](/org/tesla), Women In [Tesla](/org/tesla) and API at [Tesla](/org/tesla) including [Tesla](/org/tesla)'s groundbreaking "Listen to Understand" live events series.

Valerie has also published the company's first ever Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report. Valerie replaced the "Anti-Handbook, Handbook" with a comprehensive on-line "Employee Guidebook" including updated HR policies, benefits and programs. In addition, Valerie created the Employee Experience and Content teams to establish an in-house agency that produces internal and social media content including live events and video programming designed to enhance employee engagement and recruiting. Finally, they created the

Valerie Capers Workman has a Juris Doctor from St. John's University School of Law, a Bachelor of Science in Communications (Television, Radio, Film) from Syracuse University, and is certified by the State Bar of Texas, the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, and the New York State Bar Association.

Some of their coworkers include Katherine Kelly - VP, Education Marketing, Malthe Sigurdsson - Chief Design Officer, and Brett Skale - Chief Revenue Officer. Valerie Capers Workman reports to Garrett Lord, Co-Founder & CEO.

Valerie Capers Workman

Ashish Desai is the current VP of Consumer Product at Handshake. Ashish has previously worked as the Chief Product Officer at [99designs](/org/99designs), Director and General Manager of Treat.com, and Senior Business Manager of Greeting Cards at Tiny Prints. Ashish has also held the positions of Director of Product Management at StrongMail Systems and Product Manager at PopularMedia, Inc.

Ashish Desai has an MBA from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management, an MSEE from [Stanford University](/org/stanford), and a BSE from [Duke University](/org/duke-university).

They are on a team with and Ankit Garg - VP, Employer Product. Ashish Desai reports to Luke Baxter, Chief Product Officer.

Ashish Desai

Ben Christensen

With around 20 years of experience leading technology and product teams at Google, [LinkedIn](/org/linkedin) and Amazon, Asif will oversee the development and execution of Handshake's product and technology roadmap. He will support the company's broader platform and data strategy, drive rapid innovation to support the needs of job seeking students, employers and higher education partners, and contribute to cementing the company's leadership in the early talent recruiting and job search market.

Asif Makhani

Eric Feng is the Director at Handshake. Eric was previously the Head of Commerce Incubations at Facebook, and before that, they were the co-founder and CEO of Packagd. Prior to that, they were the CTO at Flipboard Inc. and also the co-founder and CEO of [Erly](/org/erly). Additionally, they were a General Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers from 2015 to 2019, and a Partner at the same company from 2010 to 2011.

Eric Feng has a degree in electrical engineering from [The University of Texas at Austin](/org/the-university-of-texas-at-austin). Eric is currently working as a computer engineer.

Handshake

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Teams

Leadership Team

CEO and Executive Team

Board of Directors

Founding Team

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