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Ben Wright
Founder and Chairman at Velocity Global
Ben Wright is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Velocity Global, a company that specializes in helping organizations hire and manage employees across borders without the need to establish foreign entities. Established in 2014, Velocity Global has rapidly grown to become a leader in global employment services, operating in 185 countries and serving over 1,000 brands.12
Background and Career
Wright's entrepreneurial journey began after a pivotal moment while he was working as a business development executive at DLA Piper. He recognized a significant market gap when a client expressed the need to hire an employee in Saudi Arabia without wanting to set up a company there. This realization led him to create Velocity Global, aiming to simplify international hiring processes for businesses.2
Before founding Velocity Global, Wright held various roles in business development and consulting, including positions at High Street Partners, Tatum, LLC, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. His extensive experience spans over fifteen years in professional services, focusing on helping companies achieve their organizational goals through strategic initiatives.12
Recent Developments
In April 2023, Wright transitioned from CEO to Executive Chairman, citing family commitments as a primary reason for this change. He appointed Frank Calderoni, an experienced software executive, as the new CEO to lead the company forward.23 Under Wright's leadership, Velocity Global has seen substantial growth, surpassing $200 million in annual recurring revenue as of early 2023.2
Education and Personal Life
Wright holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame (1995-1999) and is fluent in Spanish. He is also an accomplished athlete, having recently completed the 2023 World Marathon Challenge, which involved running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.12
Through his work at Velocity Global, Wright aims to democratize access to employment opportunities globally, focusing on connecting talented individuals with employers who may not traditionally have access to such talent pools.2
Highlights
Nine years ago this month I started Velocity Global because I knew the world needed a better way to employ people globally. In the near decade since then, it’s become about more than just employing people. We've changed lives and families around the world. We’ve provided tens of thousands of people with the ability to provide for their families and find economic opportunity regardless of what star they were born under. I am so incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished and I have never been more excited or optimistic about the future of this company and the impact it will have.
But today marks a new chapter in Velocity Global’s history that I am excited to share with the world. Earlier this morning, I informed our team that I would be transitioning to the role of Executive Chairman, making way for Frank Calderoni to become our new CEO. As I told our team, his experience and passion for corporate character make him the best possible person to lead us into this next chapter. He will undoubtedly accelerate our impact and his leadership will have an invaluable impact on our company’s culture and values. Linked below is an excerpt from the letter I sent our team this morning with more. In the meantime, please join me in welcoming Frank to the Velocity Global family!
Really proud of the work the team has put in to ensure we're building a customer-first tech platform.
This means meeting customers where they are, wherever they are, and integrating with the tools they are already working with to deliver a single view into all their employee data – a single source of truth.
https://lnkd.in/gZnnS-iY
