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Bryan Leach
Founder and CEO at Ibotta, Inc.
Bryan Leach is a prominent figure known for his role as the founder and leader of a successful tech company that revolutionized advertising and performance marketing, with a track record of over $2 billion paid to consumers.
Under his leadership, Ibotta went public on the NYSE, marking one of Colorado's largest tech IPOs in history.
Acknowledged as one of the top 10 CEOs in the US by Glassdoor.com in the small and medium-sized businesses category, Bryan's journey includes notable roles such as a partner at a premier trial law firm, a Supreme Court law clerk, and an alumnus of prestigious institutions like Harvard, Oxford, and Yale Law School.
Highlights
Not long ago, I attended my grandfather's funeral in Arlington National Cemetery. A graduate of VMI, he served his entire career in the Army, from the Korean conflict until he retired decades later as a Colonel. The experience of attending this funeral left an unforgettable impression on my family and me. Arlington National Cemetery is the site of full military honors funerals for families that have been waiting close to two years to recognize their loved ones in this way. There is a casket team, a firing party, a bugler, someone who folds and presents the US flag, a marching element, a military band, and someone who escorts you to and from the ultimate burial site. You only have a short time before you have to leave because they do several funerals each day, and the waiting list is very long. When you check in, no one asks you how you voted in the last election. We are all Americans there.
The Army and Department of Defense both have rules in place to prevent politicians from taking photographs inside of ANC for use in electioneering and political campaigns. There are many reasons why this is a good idea. The hallowed ground of our veterans burial place should remain an apolitical space. The families of those interred there have not given consent for their loved ones' final resting place to be videotaped and photographed. And most importantly, it's disruptive to the families that are there in remembrance on their long-awaited day. No matter whether you've been invited by someone to attend a funeral service or not, you cannot film the grounds without permission. Creating a scene at ANC is like showing up to an indoor funeral with a camera crew. If you are there to pay respects, pay your respects. Don't preen for the camera or live-stream it on social media. All of this is why the Army took the highly unusual step of issuing a formal statement:
“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside... ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve,” the statement said.
I guess we have to say some obvious things out loud, and one of them is: cemeteries are off limits for political purposes. I don't care what your politics are, who you are, or why you think the rules shouldn't apply to you. Leave Arlington National Cemetery alone so we can keep it a place of national pride, and a place for mourning our loved ones.
I was pleased to reconnect this morning with CNBC's Carl Quintanilla and Sara Eisen to talk about our Q2 financial performance, which included beating our guidance on both revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, as well as our announcement that Instacart is joining the Ibotta Performance Network (IPN). With this news, our 2,400 CPG brand partners will be able to reach millions of additional consumers with targeted promotions on Instacart’s app and website, all through our Partner Portal. This represents a significant inflection point for Ibotta, as it opens up a whole new vertical for our business and adds to the unprecedented reach of our digital promotions network. I'm excited to see it launch soon!
