KKR Partners with Girls Who Code and Helps Launch Summer Immersion Programs alongside Portfolio Companies First Data and GoDaddy
Programs focus on providing technology skills for the next generation
of female leaders
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–KKR,
a leading global investment firm, today announced a partnership with
Girls Who Code, the leading national nonprofit working to close the
gender gap in technology. KKR will provide a significant financial
commitment in addition to leveraging the firm’s global resources and
network to further grow the organization. Additionally, KKR portfolio
companies First
Data (NYSE:FDC) and GoDaddy
announced they will each sponsor a Summer
Immersion Program this coming summer, providing 40 girls with seven
weeks of free, immersive instruction in web development and design,
robotics, and mobile development.
“Similar to the financial sector, the field of technology is often
lacking the kind of diverse workforces that lead to the highest
performing teams, the highest performing cultures and the best business
outcomes,” said Ted
Oberwager, a member of KKR’s Private Equity and TMT Growth Equity
teams. “As the tech industry expands and companies increasingly need to
integrate technology in order to succeed, this imbalance will not only
impact Silicon Valley, but every industry. We are honored to partner
with Girls Who Code, alongside our portfolio companies First Data and
GoDaddy, on the excellent work they’re doing to address this issue, and
we hope this is just the start at KKR and beyond.”
The partnership with Girls Who Code is the latest initiative born out of
the firm’s continued focus on Inclusion and Diversity, which began with
KKR’s Inclusion
and Diversity Council (IDC) founded in 2014 to help realize a goal
of creating a more diverse workplace. As part of today’s announcement
and through the month of May, KKR will match 2:1 any additional
donations to Girls Who Code by eligible KKR employees through the firm’s
Matching Gifts Program. Funds raised will be used to help scale a number
of programs at the organization including student stipends, curriculum
development, measurement and evaluation, software, and more. Over time,
KKR anticipates deeper integration between Girls Who Code, KKR itself,
and KKR’s 100+ private equity and growth equity portfolio companies,
which touch all segments of the economy.
Reshma Saujani, Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, said: “We need women
in technical roles at all companies, and the commitment from KKR,
GoDaddy and First Data will help provide the necessary training and
experience to empower more girls to pursue majors and eventually careers
in computer science.”
Auguste Goldman, Chief People Officer of GoDaddy, said: “At GoDaddy,
we’re committed to making a positive impact on the future of women in
tech so the Girls Who Code mission to inspire, educate and prepare the
next generation of female leaders resonates with our employees. We’re
proud to support the organization and look forward to providing an
inspiring space for the Summer Immersion Program participants to learn
and have fun.”
“Working with a terrific organization like Girls Who Code allows us to
prepare the next generation of technology leaders,” said Guy Chiarello,
President, First Data. “First Data is committed to fostering a diverse
and inclusive work environment, and we are always mining for the best
and brightest technology talent. We look forward to watching the
progress these girls make during the summer program and perhaps one day
welcoming them back as full-time First Data employees.”
First Data’s Summer Immersion Program will take place in Atlanta,
Georgia while GoDaddy’s will take place in Sunnyvale, California. Each
program provides training for 20 rising high-school junior and senior
girls, and is designed to provide even those with minimal familiarity
with computer sciences the foundation they need to pursue more technical
fields in college and beyond. 93 percent of past Summer Immersion
Program participants said that because of the program, they now want to
major in, or are interested in computer science.
About Girls Who Code
Girls Who Code is a national non-profit organization working to close
the gender gap in technology. Through its Summer Immersion Program and
Girls Who Code Clubs, the organization is leading the movement to
inspire, educate, and equip young women with the computing skills to
pursue 21st century opportunities. To learn more, please visit https://girlswhocode.com.
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages investments across
multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure,
real estate, credit and hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive
investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment
approach, employing world‐class people, and driving growth and value
creation at the asset level. KKR invests its own capital alongside its
partners’ capital and brings opportunities to others through its capital
markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the
activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR
& Co. L.P. (NYSE:KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and
on Twitter @KKR_Co.
About GoDaddy
GoDaddy powers the world’s largest cloud platform dedicated to small,
independent ventures. With more than 16 million customers worldwide and
more than 70 million domain names under management, GoDaddy is the place
people come to name their idea, build a professional website, attract
customers and manage their work. Our mission is to give our customers
the tools, insights and the people to transform their ideas and personal
initiative into success. To learn more, please visit www.GoDaddy.com.
About First Data
First Data (NYSE: FDC) is a global leader in commerce-enabling
technology and solutions, serving approximately six million business
locations and 4,000 financial institutions in more than 100 countries
around the world. The company’s 24,000 owner-associates are dedicated to
helping companies, from start-ups to the world’s largest corporations,
conduct commerce every day by securing and processing more than 2,800
transactions per second and $2.2 trillion per year. To learn more,
please visit https://www.firstdata.com.
Contacts
Media:
KKR
Kristi Huller or Cara Kleiman, 212-750-8300
media@kkr.com
or
Girls
Who Code
Christina Honeysett, 914-424-3356
christina@girlswhocode.com
or
First
Data
Liidia Liuksila, 212-515-0174
Liidia.Liuksila@FirstData.com
or
GoDaddy
Kesley
Pfeffer, 602-817-7766
kpfeffer@godaddy.com
