Ceresa, a next-generation leadership acceleration platform that is fostering a new era of diverse leaders, announced it has closed an early seed round over $1 million led by LiveOak Venture Partners and Next Coast Venture Partners. Ceresa’s mission is to democratize access to truly transformative leadership development, making it available for all. The funds will primarily be used to expand product development of the data-driven, personalized platform, further deepening value to its user base of aspiring leaders and forward-thinking employers.
HR Technology News: TecHRseries Interview with Deborah Kearney, Global Senior Director of Human Resources at Cygilant
Ceresa snags #funding for its next-gen leadership and mentoring platform to foster diverse leadership @liveoakvp @nextcoastVP
Ceresa, based in Austin, Texas, was founded in 2018 by former McKinsey partner Anna Robinson and tech executive Nicole Tanzillo. Ceresa is radically rethinking leadership development and mentoring to help all stakeholders address a massive leadership access gap. The gap is prevalent across companies of all sizes and is profoundly illustrated by the persistent lack of leadership diversity across global organizations. In Fortune 500 companies, there are 33 female CEOs (~7%) and only 3 Black CEOs (less than 1%) – barely changing in a generation.
To address this gap, the 9-month, tech-enabled Ceresa Leadership Accelerator provides aspiring leaders with 100% virtual coaching, mentoring, and support, both at home and at work. The platform is grounded in a fresh approach to intentional career management, enabling future leaders to achieve their biggest leadership aspirations… and thrive while doing so. Since its recent full launch, Ceresa has attracted hundreds of users from top-tier corporations and is receiving industry-leading engagement rates (90%+) and excellent satisfaction ratings. The whole-person approach is particularly impactful in today’s climate. One participant, a Senior Program Manager at a global tech enterprise company said,
HR Technology News: TecHRseries Interview with Iain Moffat, Chief Global Officer at People First
“I am literally the poster child for Ceresa. I would buy the t-shirt if you sold them. I can’t believe the match to my mentor and how transformative it has been during a really tough time.”
Ceresa offers employers a turnkey solution for affordable leadership development. This helps ensure their talent investments foster true diversity in leadership, bringing out the best in all talent and having a real and lasting impact. Trading off affordability and impact is no longer necessary. Ceresa was designed to serve the talent development needs of all companies, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. In all cases, Ceresa is committed to providing employers with an accountable and transparent platform that delivers measurable impact across multiple KPIs.
HR Technology News: Online School Made Simple: K12 Inc. Introduces New Tech Tools for Thousands of Students