TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot to step down at end of August – CNET [CNET]

TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot is stepping down as head of the platform that connects handymen, movers and other gig workers with people who have a task they’d rather pay someone else to do. Brown-Philpot announced the move in an interview with The New York Times published on Tuesday.

Brown-Philpot, one of the few Black women in an executive role in the tech industry, told the Times that she’d been planning for her departure “for months” but hasn’t yet decided on her next role. 

“We’ve been planning this for months, and even right now, we’re dealing with a recession, a pandemic and a social justice movement all at the same time,” she told the Times.

Brown-Philpot was named CEO of TaskRabbit in 2016 and led the company when it was acquired by Ikea. She also serves on the Board of Directors for HP, Nordstrom and Black Girls Code.

“Under her leadership, TaskRabbit has become a successful global business that is strongly positioned for continued year-over-year growth,” said a TaskRabbit spokesperson on Tuesday, adding that Brown-Philpot will depart the company on Aug. 31. “During her tenure, TaskRabbit expanded to thousands of cities across the United States, Canada and Europe.”

Brown-Philpot also talked with the Times about recent protests over racial inequality and acknowledged that Silicon Valley needs to do more to foster diversity. 

“There’s been so much momentum in terms of creating gender equity in tech,” she said. “We have a long way to go with minorities. We have a long way to go with making sure we have more black people represented in tech.”

More to come.