anon-user down-chevron-sm facebook-mdi instagram-mdi twitter-mdi

Announcing Vishal Ghotge as Kiva’s new CEO: A message from the Board of Directors


It is our distinct honor to announce with excitement the appointment of Kiva’s new CEO, Vishal Ghotge. Vishal assumed the role of CEO and board director on January 9, 2023. 

In Vishal, we have found a leader who is the walking embodiment of Kiva’s culture, values and mission, both personally and professionally. He possesses a rare mix of skills, experience and qualities particularly suited to Kiva’s needs at this time. Most notably, reaching underserved immigrant populations with financial technology solutions at Remitly, the leader in cross border remittances to 170+ countries. Vishal led the North America division, which accounted for the majority of Remitly’s impact and revenue. More broadly, he brings a consistent track record of success leading multi-disciplinary organizations at PayScale and Groupon. Those who work with Vishal consistently describe his signature leadership style as inspiring, visionary and mission-focused; characterizing him as a unifying leader who is authentic, trusted, empathetic and collaborative. Other hallmarks are his talents as a skillful operating manager and a gifted product and engineering leader who has led and scaled organizations through periods of meaningful change, innovation and rapid growth.  

Vishal grew up in Mumbai and his personal journey echoes Kiva’s own work. What he witnessed, overcame and accomplished over the course of his life and career are metaphors for the dreams fueling Kiva’s entrepreneurs and the challenges they seek to surpass. Vishal’s passion and articulation of Kiva’s mission and potential are infectious and inspiring, which is why we believe he will be a compelling role model and spokesperson to all stakeholders - staff, lenders, borrowers, volunteers, partners, funders and our global Kiva community at large.

In his own words -

“I have long admired Kiva as an organization and the incredible impact it has had on millions of people around the globe. To be entrusted with the responsibility of leading this organization is nothing short of an honor for me. I have personally seen the struggles of entrepreneurs in developing nations and the tremendous difference organizations like Kiva have made in their lives. I believe growing our reach and deepening our impact are not just an opportunity, but rather a moral obligation for us. I look forward to working alongside Kiva’s global community to build the future of Kiva and help the organization serve millions more.”

- Vishal Ghotge

We invite you to follow Vishal on LinkedIn where he will share updates and news. 

The promise of this new era stewarded by Vishal has reinvigorated our collective sense of possibility for broadening and deepening the ways Kiva lifts up the lives of those we humbly serve. Here’s to continuing this noble work of co-creating a more just, free and abundant world for all. 

In service and with gratitude, 
Andre Haddad, Chair, CEO Search Committee
Silvija Martincevic, Member, CEO Search Committee
Julie Hanna, Executive Board Chair, on behalf of Kiva’s Board of Directors


About the author

Julie Hanna

Since 2009, Julie Hanna has served as Executive Chair of the Board at Kiva. She is an entrepreneur, investor and advisor working with purpose-driven technology companies to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. In 2015, President Obama appointed her Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship to help develop the next generation of entrepreneurs in the U.S. and abroad. Julie serves as special advisor to X (formerly Google X), Alphabet’s moonshot factory where breakthrough technologies are developed to solve problems impacting a billion people or more. She is a venture partner at Obvious Ventures, a venture firm that invests in technology companies addressing systemic problems in a profitable and scalable way and has been an early investor in numerous high growth technology companies including Lyft and Lending Club. Hanna has been founder, CEO or founding executive of five Silicon Valley, venture-backed companies. Among them, Healtheon (now WebMD), onebox.com, Portola and open source innovator, Scalix. She has pioneered numerous groundbreaking technologies and products that are internet mainstays today, enabling tens of millions of people to connect, communicate and collaborate on a global scale. Hanna is an internationally acclaimed speaker and writer on purpose-driven profit and the democratizing potential of technology to create a more just, free and abundant world. In recognition of her vision and global impact on economic and social progress, she was named the United States Woman Icon of APEC and is a recipient of the 2016 Global Empowerment Award.