From Google to Guild Education

By Suzanne Stoller, Guild Education Chief People Officer

After spending 10 remarkable years at Google, I am thrilled to announce my new position at Guild Education as the company’s first ever Chief People Officer. I am forever grateful for my experience at Google, where I had the privilege of growing my career in People Operations. I’m excited to take those skills and experiences to my new role at Guild, a company I admire for the direct impact it is having on America’s workforce.

I was drawn to Guild for the innovative way the Company is setting out to change the dynamics of the U.S. workforce. I care deeply about doing something meaningful with my career in a way that addresses societal issues head on. Preparing America’s workforce for the future of work is one of the most pressing issues of our time. There are 64 million working Americans who haven’t completed college or earned a relevant higher education certificate or credential, and studies show that people with no postsecondary education will account for nearly 80 percent of all displaced workers by 2030. Expanding access to education is vital to supporting those 64 million Americans and ensuring they are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need for jobs of tomorrow. Guild is at the forefront of tackling this issue by partnering with leading Fortune 1000 companies, including Walmart, Disney, Chipotle, and Discover Financial, to offer debt-free education pathways to their frontline workforce.

While Guild partners with these companies to provide debt-free education pathways for their employees, they are offering so much more than that. They are offering a unique benefit that opens up doors of opportunity and allows employees to achieve both personal and professional goals. Put quite simply, Guild is allowing these companies to enhance the overall employee experience for their workforce. And as Guild’s newest leader of HR, I have a unique opportunity to ensure that we are doing the same for our own employees. At Guild, we want to treat our employees with incredible respect and ensure that Guild is a place that is professionally challenging and satiating. We also want this to be a workplace where employees can grow and develop professionally and feel they are valued and taken care of.

I am grateful to be working with Guild Education CEO and Co-Founder Rachel Carlson, the entire senior leadership team, and our Board, who all clearly value the role of a People Leader. The leaders of this company, as well as the leaders at the innovative Fortune 1000 companies with whom Guild partners, recognize how strategic a function HR really is and how central it is to a company’s growth. They understand that people drive a company’s success and that a strong culture is foundational to all hiring, retention, and employee engagement.

I am thrilled about this next chapter, and so excited about the work ahead as we determine how best to grow our employees, processes, and systems as the company as a whole continues to scale to support even more working Americans.

And if you haven’t gathered yet, Guild is growing, which means we are hiring! Check out the job openings that we have across departments here: https://www.guildeducation.com/about-us/careers/.