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Levo (formerly Levo League) was a network targeting millennials in the workplace. The company provided young professionals with resources to help them navigate and advance their careers. [1] At one time, Levo claimed over 9 million users. [2]
Launched in 2012, Levo was founded by Caroline Ghosn (daughter of auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn) and Amanda Pouchot, as well as two other women, Kathryn Minshew and Alex Cavoulacos (see Controversy). The founders met at their first corporate jobs working for the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company in New York where they brainstormed their idea. [3]
The founders successfully raised over $8 million in funding, [4] adding $7 million from its round of Angel funding in early 2014. [5] Prominent U.S. investors in Levo include Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, Susan Lyne, Chairman of Gilt Groupe, and Gina Bianchini, CEO of Mightybell. [2]
Levo granted its members digital access to mentors, a community of professionals, job postings, and live chats with business role models. [6] In addition to its online community the group also operated 30 local chapters [7] worldwide to help its users to connect to opportunities offline. [8]
Levo was founded as Pretty Young Professional by four women who worked in the NYC office of McKinsey & Company: Caroline Ghosn, Amanda Pouchot, Alex Cavoulacos, and Kathryn Minshew, with an equity structure that reflected ownership by all (Minshew 7.1%, Pouchot 5.5%, Cavoulacos 4.4%, Ghosn 1.5%). [9] Minshew was the first full-time employee and Editor in Chief, and eventually CEO.
After a dispute between the founders, Ghosn and Pouchot secretly re-launched Pretty Young Professional as Levo League and ousted founders Cavoulacos and Mishew, who went on to found The Daily Muse. [9]
Carlos Ghosn is a businessman and former automotive executive. He was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman of AvtoVAZ, chairman and CEO of Nissan, and chairman of Mitsubishi Motors.
Sheryl Kara Sandberg is an American technology executive, philanthropist, and writer. Sandberg served as chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms, a position from which she stepped down in August 2022. She is also the founder of LeanIn.Org. In 2008, she was made COO at Facebook, becoming the company's second-highest-ranking official. In June 2012, she was elected to Facebook's board of directors, becoming the first woman to serve on its board. As head of the company's advertising business, Sandberg was credited for making the company profitable. Prior to joining Facebook as its COO, Sandberg was vice president of global online sales and operations at Google and was involved in its philanthropic arm Google.org. Before that, Sandberg served as research assistant to Lawrence Summers at the World Bank, and subsequently as his chief of staff when he was Bill Clinton's United States Secretary of the Treasury.
Safra Ada Catz is an Israeli-American billionaire banker and technology executive. She is the CEO of Oracle Corporation. She has been an executive at Oracle since April 1999, and a board member since 2001. In April 2011, she was named co-president and chief financial officer (CFO), reporting to founder Larry Ellison. In September 2014, Oracle announced that Ellison would step down as CEO and that Mark Hurd and Catz had been named as joint CEOs. In September 2019, Catz became the sole CEO after Hurd resigned due to health issues.
Since 2004, Forbes, an American business magazine, has published an annual list of its ranking of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Edited by prominent Forbes journalists, including Moira Forbes, the list is compiled using various criteria such as visibility and economic impact. In 2023, the gauge was "money, media, impact and spheres of influence". The top 10 per year are listed below.
Anna Maria Chávez is an American attorney, inspirational speaker, writer and community leader. Most recently, Chávez served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scouts of the USA (2011–2016) and was the first woman of color to head the organization.
Kathryn Minshew is an American entrepreneur, the CEO and co-founder of The Muse, a career-development platform.
The Muse is a New York City-based online career platform founded in 2011 by Kathryn Minshew, Alexandra Cavoulacos, and Melissa McCreery.
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead is a 2013 book encouraging women to assert themselves at work and at home, co-written by business executive Sheryl Sandberg and media writer Nell Scovell.
Andy Dunn is an American entrepreneur and the co-founder of Bonobos Inc. Dunn served as CEO for eleven years after co-founding the Bonobos brand in 2007. In June 2017, Walmart announced it was purchasing the Bonobos brand for $310 million in cash. Dunn joined Walmart after the purchase to lead the company's collection of direct-to-consumer brands.
Heidi Messer is an American entrepreneur and investor who has founded several global businesses, most notably LinkShare and Collective[i]. Messer served as a board member, President, and Chief Operating Officer of LinkShare, contributing to the sector of online marketing commonly referred to as affiliate marketing.
Lisa Falzone is an American businesswoman who is a co-founder of Revel Systems POS with Chris Ciabarra, an iPad point of sale company that she raised over 100 million dollars. Falzone also co-founded Athena Security, a temperature detection and a walk-through metal detector company that she raised 6 million dollars.
SHE Media is an American digital media company. It operates the website properties BlogHer, SheKnows, STYLECASTER, and HelloFlo. It has been a brand of Penske Media Corporation since 2018.
Caroline Ghosn is an American businesswoman. She is the eldest child of former Nissan and Renault CEO, Carlos Ghosn. In 2011, she founded Levo, a professional network dedicated to helping millennials navigate the workplace, and has been managing its development since then.
BoxGroup is an investment fund company based in New York City. The company was founded in 2007 by David Tisch, grandson of entrepreneurs Laurence A. Tisch, and Adam Rothenberg.
LeanIn.Org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by then present Chief Operating Officer of Meta Platforms Sheryl Sandberg in 2013 dedicated "to offering women the ongoing inspiration and support to help them achieve their goals." The organization desires to support women in three main ways: community, education, and circles, or small, coordinated peer groups that meet to share their experiences and learn together. Launched after the release of Sandberg's bestselling book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, the organization views itself as the next step in an effort to change "the conversation from what we can’t do to what we can do." Since its launch, over 380,000 women and men have joined the Lean In community, creating 34,000 Lean In Circles in over 157 countries to date.
Blavity is an American digital media company and website based in Los Angeles targeting black millennials. Their mission is to "economically and creatively support Black millennials across the African scape, so they can pursue the work they love, and change the world in the process."
Lorraine Hariton is the president and CEO of Catalyst, a New York City–based nonprofit organization committed to the advancement of women in the workplace.
Thomas Bernthal is the founder and former CEO of a strategic consulting agency, Kelton Global, and former NBC News producer.
Minda Harts is an American author, public speaker, and workplace consultant. She is recognized for her work addressing inequity and lack of inclusion in the workplace, particularly focusing on the experiences of women of color. Harts has been described as an "ally" and is known for her career consulting boot camps, which are designed to support women of color in areas such as networking, salary negotiation, and career transitioning. She has also spoken extensively on the impact of the motherhood penalty on women of color.