Stacy Brown-Philpot

BrownBrown UniversityBrown University is a private nonprofit research university in Providence, Rhode Island, and a member of the Ivy League. Chartered by Rhode Island's colonial legislature in 1764, it is known for its undergraduate Open Curriculum, which has no common required core. Christina H. Paxson, president since July 2012, announced on August 3, 2026, that the 2026–27 academic year would be her last in office. As of October 1, 2026, the search for Brown's 20th president remained underway.Open the full entry-Philpot grew up in Detroit and initially planned a career in accounting. She gained accounting experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers and worked in mergers and acquisitions and investment banking at Goldman SachsGoldman SachsGoldman Sachs is an American financial services group headquartered in New York whose businesses include investment banking, securities trading, asset management, and wealth management. It traces its origins to the commercial paper business Marcus Goldman founded in 1869; it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1999 under the ticker GS and became a bank holding company in 2008. David Solomon serves as chairman and chief executive officer.Open the full entry, where she became interested in startups. In 2002 she earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.⁠[1][2]

After Stanford, Brown-Philpot joined Google, where she held management roles over about nine years, leading global operations for products including Search, Chrome and Google+, heading online sales and operations for Google India and holding senior finance positions. In 2012 she joined Google Ventures as an entrepreneur-in-residence, advising portfolio companies.⁠[1][2]

On January 14, 2013, TaskRabbit announced that it had hired Brown-Philpot as the first chief operating officer in its history, reporting to founder and CEO Leah Busque. The company said in its press release, “Her considerable international and strategic experience will guide TaskRabbit as we globalize our business in 2013 and beyond.”⁠[2]

On August 13, 2015, a16zAndreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry released the podcast episode “a16z Podcast: Getting That First Board Seat.” Brown-Philpot, then COO of TaskRabbit, had just been announced as a director of HP Inc., the first major board change after Hewlett-Packard split into two companies. Speaking with Matt Levy, who managed the Andreessen Horowitz board and mentor talent network, she explained how board interviews differ from job interviews, shared lessons from landing her first board seat, and discussed why she pursued a public company board and what to weigh when considering board service. The episode was uploaded to the a16z YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel on January 1, 2019.⁠[3][4]

On April 14, 2016, TaskRabbit announced that co-founder Leah Busque was stepping down as CEO to become executive chairman of the board, with COO Brown-Philpot succeeding her as CEO. TaskRabbit had raised $50 million at the time and said its revenue had grown 300% over the previous year.⁠[5]

In 2017 TaskRabbit was acquired by IKEA. Under Brown-Philpot’s leadership TaskRabbit expanded to more than 100 markets worldwide. She stepped down as CEO in 2020.⁠[1]

After leaving TaskRabbit, Brown-Philpot joined SoftBankSoftBank GroupSoftBank Group (SoftBank Group Corp.) is an investment holding company headquartered in Tokyo, founded by Masayoshi Son in 1981. Starting out as a distributor of personal computer software, it moved into the internet, broadband and mobile communications, and has since become an investment group centered on AI-related assets such as Arm, the SoftBank Vision Funds and OpenAI.Open the full entry’s $100 million Opportunity Fund, which invests in entrepreneurs facing barriers to capital. In 2023 she launched the early-stage venture firm Cherryrock Capital, where she is managing partner; it backs emerging technology startups led by Black or Latine founders. She said, “We’re on a mission to change the face of wealth creation and build an enduring institution.”⁠[1][6]

Brown-Philpot serves on the boards of companies including HP Inc., Nordstrom, Noom and StockX, and recently joined the Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityStanford University is a research university in California founded by Leland and Jane Stanford in 1885 and opened in 1891.Open the full entry Board of Trustees; she has also served on the Stanford GSB Alumni Association board and the GSB Dean’s Advisory Council.⁠[1][6]