Today, Nextdoor announced the return of Sarah Leary, co-founder of Nextdoor, as Head of Marketing, Community, and Global Business Operations.
Sarah has spent three decades as an entrepreneur and leader, creating innovative products and businesses. With community and connection at the heart of her work, Sarah Leary co-founded Nextdoor and played a pivotal role in its creation and growth. Sarah has held numerous senior leadership positions at an accomplished mix of technology organizations, notably eBay, Microsoft, and Epinions. Sarah has also served as an advisor, investor, and board member for consumer startups, including Spindrift Beverage Co, Inc., Connectly, Alto, Contra, Purple Dot, and more.
Additionally, Sarah’s fervent dedication to empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders led to her appointment as a University Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard’s Arthur Rock Center. Here, she provides mentorship and guidance to innovators across the university, inspiring them to reach their full potential.
As a leader, Sarah operates at the intersection of an entrepreneurial mindset and a steadfast commitment to champion local community. Her drive to create a solution that provides an outlet for all to connect with their local community paved the way for creating Nextdoor. Sarah’s industry experience within a diverse mix of consumer-facing initiatives, combined with her customer-centric expertise and proven track record, will help catalyze Nextdoor’s growth in this next phase.
“The ability to create space to build and foster strong communities and connections will always be the most rewarding part of my work,” said Sarah Leary, Head of Marketing, Community, and Global Business Operations at Nextdoor. “It’s incredible to return to the Nextdoor team to fulfill this crucial need at a transformational time for Nextdoor and the world. After nearly 14 years, Nextdoor has cemented itself as the essential neighborhood network, reaching one in three US households and 11 countries. I look forward to rejoining the team.“
Sarah’s return, which coincides with the return of fellow co-founder Nirav Tolia, marks a significant milestone for Nextdoor. In addition, Nextdoor continues revitalizing its Board of Directors to include veteran technology executives, including Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo!; Elisa Steele, a Board Member at Amplitude (AMPL), Bumble (BMBL), JFrog (FROG), Procore (PCOR), and people.ai; Niraj Shah, CEO, Co-Chairman, and Co-Founder of Wayfair; and Robert Hohman, Co-Founder and Chairman of Glassdoor.