Selina Tobaccowala

American entrepreneur and software product executive
Selina Tobaccowala
Born1977 (age 46–47)[1]
EducationStanford University
Occupation(s)entrepreneur, software product executive
Years active1997 - present
Known forCo-founding Evite

Selina Tobaccowala is an American entrepreneur and software product executive. She is known for co-founding the company Evite.[2][3]

Early life and education

Selina Tobaccowala attended Ramsey High School in New Jersey.[1] When she was 14 years old, Tobaccowala spent 6 days volunteering at the Mother Teresa Asha daan, a shelter for the mentally and physically disabled that is affiliated with the Missionaries of Charity in India.[1] Tobaccowala later attended Stanford University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in computer science.[4]

Career

While in college, Tobaccowala and fellow Stanford student Al Leib founded Evite in 1997.[4] She served as vice president of engineering at Evite until 2001, when Evite was acquired by Ticketmaster.[4][5][6][better source needed] After managing the transition,[4] she became senior vice president of product at Ticketmaster's Europe division.[6][7][better source needed]

Tobaccowala joined SurveyMonkey in 2009 as vice president of product and engineering,[8][better source needed] before becoming president and chief technology officer.[2]

In 2016, Tobaccowala joined with Evite co-founder, Al Lieb, to start Gixo, a fitness app that streams live exercise classes to mobile devices.[9][better source needed] Gixo was acquired in 2019 by Openfit, a subsidiary of the Beachbody Company.[10] Tobaccowala has served as Openfit's chief digital officer.[11]

Tobaccowala serves on the board of Redfin[12] and Vital Voices.[13][better source needed] She previously served on the board of Tugboat Yards and the advisory board of HubSpot.[8][14][better source needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Coutros, Evonne (October 6, 1993). "Trip to India changed her life". The Record.
  2. ^ a b ALBANESE jr, GIOVANNI (April 16, 2008). "'Evite' Founder Selina Tobaccowala Moves on to Running Fitness Startup 'Gixo'". India West News. Archived from the original on 2018-04-09. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  3. ^ "Her Mentor Passed Away. It Inspired Her to Make a Change--and Launch a Startup". Inc.com. August 2018. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  4. ^ a b c d Delevett, Peter (November 8, 2013). "Evite co-founder Al Lieb is back in the startup game as CEO of ClearSlide". The Mercury News. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  5. ^ "Ticketmaster Agrees to Acquire Online-Invitation Service Evite". Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  6. ^ a b "Selina Tobaccowala | Grace Hopper - GHC Schedule". Archived from the original on 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  7. ^ "Successful Entrepreneur and Engineering Leader Selina Tobaccowala of SurveyMonkey | Hackbright Academy". 2013-06-26. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  8. ^ a b "Selina Tobaccowala: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  9. ^ "Selina Tobaccowala: Let fires burn | Masters of Scale podcast". WaitWhat. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
  10. ^ Ellingson, Annlee (November 7, 2019). "Openfit launches 'FaceTime for fitness' with live workout coaching".
  11. ^ Walker, Tom (November 11, 2019). "Beachbody co-founder Jon Congdon launches digital health and fitness platform Openfit".
  12. ^ "Evite co-founder, former Priceline.com CFO named to the board of Redfin". 2014-02-10. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  13. ^ "Vital Voices Board Members".
  14. ^ "Company Spotlight: HubSpot - InHerSight Blog". InHerSight.com. Retrieved 2016-10-04.