Kajal Vekaria

Kajal Vekaria is Associate Director, Chief of Staff to the Head of Factory at Sidewalk Labs, where she is responsible for overseeing and scaling business operations. Kajal comes to Sidewalk from Airbnb, where she led operations for ‘Powered by Airbnb Labs’, a new initiative focused on design innovations in multifamily and mixed-use developments. She also managed design and construction for Airbnb’s real estate portfolio in Europe and North America.

Previously, Kajal led business development for a startup funded by Google Ventures and worked in Gensler’s Global Studio, advising leadership on global operations and expansion. She is passionate about developing processes and operational tools to scale, solving problems through design thinking, and leading multidisciplinary teams to bring ideas from incubation to maturation.

Kajal received her BA in International Studies from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and studied Art History at the University of Oxford. In her early career, she managed projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) across Asia. She is a native Chicagoan, where she first cultivated a deep appreciation for architecture. When she’s not trying to creatively problem-solve the future of real estate, you can find her channeling her inner yogi, exploring new cities, listening to podcasts, and being active in social causes.