BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gradifi, a leading provider of student loan and college saving employee benefits, today announced that David Chang, an executive leader with extensive experience building growth companies, has been named Chief Executive Officer.
Chang has more than 20 years of experience as a product and marketing executive, technology entrepreneur and as an angel investor in 40 companies. Most recently, he was Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Harvard Business School and Director of the Babson Summer Venture Program.
Prior to those roles, Chang led PayPal’s Boston office, where he helped lead the resurgence of the financial technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem. Earlier in his career, he held hands-on roles at rapidly growing businesses at Goldman Sachs, TripAdvisor, and Verisign.
Chang earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Cornell University. As a leader in the community, he is a frequent speaker and advisor to students and entrepreneurs. Past awards and recognition include Boston Business Journal's Power 50: Most Influential Bostonians and BostInno’s 50 on Fire: Education Category Winner and Investment Winner.
“Gradifi has an outstanding team, strong momentum, and a clear solution that addresses a national priority – reducing the burden of student debt,” Chang said. “I look forward to doing my part to accelerate Gradifi’s growth and to support all those who believe education is the key to economic opportunity.”
Chang joins Gradifi after a series of successful initiatives started by Gradifi Founder and former CEO Tim DeMello. Over the past 12 months, Gradifi launched student loan refinance and college savings solutions to offer employers even more choice and flexibility.
Gradifi Refi gives employees access to leading student loan refinancing lenders with exclusive offers, at no cost to the employer, to reduce monthly payments and get out of debt faster. College SaveUp Plan allows employers to make contributions to an employee’s existing 529 college savings plan. Both solutions complement Gradifi’s SLP Plan® (Student Loan Paydown) and can be bundled or offered on a stand-alone basis through its cloud-based platform. In April, Gradifi partnered with American Student Loan Assistance to help employers provide student loan counseling to their employees. Gradifi now works with more than 500 employers, double the number from a year ago.
“Gradifi has a unique, differentiated employee benefit solution that helps employers attract and retain talent,” Chang said. “Our goal is to make Gradifi the standard and a must-have for all companies to help their employees reduce student debt, save for education, and achieve financial wellbeing.”
About Gradifi
Gradifi is an innovator in employee benefits for U.S. employers. Gradifi’s mission is to help employers build loyalty with their workforce by providing employee benefits that positively impact their employees’ financial well-being. Gradifi offers an all-in-one, cloud-based platform that allow employers to offer employees student loan refinancing opportunities, and employer-sponsored contributions to student loans and 529 college savings plan accounts. A unit of First Republic (NYSE:FRC), Gradifi works with employers of all sizes across the U.S. www.gradifi.com.
