Diligent, the global leader in modern governance providing SaaS solutions across governance, risk, compliance and ESG, announced the launch of its new hub in Baltimore, along with a new free training program to upskill and recruit under-represented job seekers. The training program is launched in partnership with SV Academy, the largest learning community of diverse sales professionals. Up to 100 Baltimore-area residents will be accepted into the program, which provides career-ready technical and professional skills, and roughly 30 graduates from the first cohort in 2022 will be matched with entry-level jobs in tech sales and customer success at Diligent. Read more here…
Rahim Fazal, Co-Founder & CEO, SV Academy
Rahim Fazal is a Canadian-born technology entrepreneur. He is notable for co-founding Involver, Inc., a provider of social media management software. Involver was co-founded by Fazal and Noah Horton in San Francisco in 2007 and was acquired by Oracle on July 10, 2012.
Involver was the technology platform that powered the first sponsorship of a Facebook Page. Facebook partnered with Involver to build applications for large events like Election Day, the FIFA World Cup, and the Super Bowl.
Fazal and co-founder Horton were named to Inc. Magazine’s Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30 list in 2008. He received an Empact Award from Startup America and the Kauffman Foundation at the White House in 2011. He was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 by the San Francisco Business Times in 2013 and one of the Top 25 Digital Thought Leaders by iMedia.
Fazal is the holder of an MBA from the Ivey Business School. He was the youngest person to be accepted to the program without a pre-requisite undergraduate degree.
MarKeith Allen, SVP & GM of Mission-Driven Organizations at Diligent
MarKeith Allen is the senior vice president (SVP) and managing director of Mission Driven Organizations at Diligent Corporation, the leader in modern governance providing SaaS solutions across governance, risk, compliance and ESG with more than approximately $600 million in revenue.
In his role, Markeith is responsible for growing the BoardEffect, BoardDocs, iCompass and Community brands at Diligent.
He previously served as vice president of sales at ECi Software Solutions and has held executive leadership positions at Quest Software and Dell Technologies.
Interview questions:
Q1. Introduction to SV Academy | Rahim | Can you provide an introduction to SV Academy? Locations, students, impact…
Q2. Introduction to Diligent | MarKeith | Please provide a snapshot of Diligent?
Q3. Baltimore Hub | MarKeith | Why did Diligent decide to establish a new hub in Baltimore?
Q4. Free Training Program | MarKeith | Why did Diligent decide to collaborate with SV Academy on a free training program to create a pipeline of skilled talent?
Q5. Partnership benefits| Rahim | How do partnerships with leading software companies like Diligent benefit SV Academy students?
Q6. The Program | Rahim | Can you describe the curriculum choices? Is it focused more on sales and business development than coding?
Q7. SV Academy | Rahim | Your personal story is connected to this program; you do not have an undergraduate degree. Can you share your personal journey and the founding of SV Academy?
Q8. Baltimore Hub | MarKeith | What do you see as the main growth drivers for Diligent’s new Baltimore hub? What does success look like?
Q9. Enrollment | Rahim | How is enrollment for the training program going so far? How many applicants have you already accepted?
Q10. Diligent Value | MarKeith | How does Diligent’s support for the Baltimore hub represent the company’s values?
Connect with Rahim and MarKeith on LinkedIn
Diligent is the global leader in modern governance, providing SaaS solutions across governance, risk, compliance and ESG. Serving more than 1 million users from over 25,000 customers around the world, we empower transformational leaders with technology, insights and confidence to drive greater impact and lead with purpose. Learn more at diligent.com.
SV Academy is on a mission to create $100B of wealth expansion for under-represented jobseekers. Founded in 2017, SV Academy supports over 400 SaaS employers with a highly connected community of rigorously trained, high performing sales and customer success talent. The company’s platform offers skills building, mentoring, job placement assistance and post-hiring support such as networking events and coaching, with 60% of its graduates being promoted in the first year. SV Academy was named #2 Most Innovative Education Program by Fast Company and is supported by OWL Ventures, Uprising, Bloomberg Beta, Kapor Capital, ReThink Education, as well as Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary’s Sound Ventures. To learn more, visit sv.academy.
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