The Women’s Equity Lab Appoints Ariel Siller as Managing Director
The Women’s Equity Lab Appoints Ariel Siller as Managing Director
Key leadership hire for WEL to advance equal representation and influence of women in private capital markets
November 2024 — The Womenʼs Equity Lab (WEL) is thrilled to announce Ariel Siller as its new Managing Director. Ariel brings a wealth of experience from her role as CEO of the Canadian Childrenʼs Literacy Foundation (CCLF), where she successfully transformed the organization from a start-up to a national leader in childrenʼs literacy. Ariel is deeply respected for her achievements in scaling CCLF and leading impactful, transformative change. As a Stanford-educated corporate lawyer, Ariel has an extensive background in the start-up ecosystem across Canada and the United States.
With Arielʼs unwavering commitment to gender equity, alongside expertise in leadership, strategic planning, and corporate law, Ariel is well-positioned to lead WEL in advancing its mission to catalyze women-directed capital, support early-stage companies, and inspire the next generation of women investors.
“Arielʼs expertise and track record in scaling national, multi-sectoral organizations, including volunteer-based initiatives, is exactly what WEL needs at this pivotal stage of our national growth,” said Stephanie Andrew, WEL Co-Founder and Managing Partner, WEL Victoria and WEL Vancouver.
WELʼs unique, shared investment approach empowers women to engage in and learn about early-stage investing by pooling minimal risk capital and collaborating on sourcing, evaluating, and making investment decisions. With six WEL Investment Groups across Canada and the United States, WEL is poised for significant growth and increased impact.
“Even with progress in closing the gender pay gap and more women making financial investments, women-directed capital in early-stage investing remains rare,” Ariel noted. “WEL is dedicated to changing this, and Iʼm excited to work with the WEL network to amplify the engagement and impact of women investors.”
In her new role, Ariel will collaborate with WELʼs impressive Managing Partners, the National Board, and key ecosystem partners, including BDC Thrive Lab and Osler LLP, to provide more women-led capital and expertise to the founders of emerging businesses including female entrepreneurs who are chronically underfunded.
About WEL
The Womenʼs Equity Lab (WEL) investing model was created to address the chronic and systemic underrepresentation of women in early-stage investing. By reducing the barriers to entry that have typically kept women out – gender bias, lack of previous investing experience, capital needed to get involved – our Learning On InvestmentTM (LOI) approach is designed to facilitate entry into this investment class. Launched in 2017, WEL now has a growing and powerful community of over 400 women investors and 60+ investments in 45 companies across Canada and in Silicon Valley. Our mission of “more female investor representation now, equal representation someday” continues.
For more information or media inquiries, please contact Stephanie Andrew at stephanie.andrew@womensequitylab.com.
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Media Contact : Stephanie Andrew, stephanie.andrew@womensequitylab.com
Source : https://womensequitylab.com/wel-appoints-ariel-siller-as-managing-director/