Ravila Gupta, an attorney and president of Umicore USA, is the new president and chief executive officer of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development.
Ms. Gupta succeeds Joan Siefert Rose, who stepped down from CED last year. She assumes the CED position on April 17.
“I am honored and humbled by the Board’s trust in me to lead CED,” said Gupta in the announcement. “This is an organization revered in the community, with a long history of propelling our entrepreneurial ecosystem forward, and I intend to build on that success. Though CED has accomplished great things over the past 32 years, we will push to do more, looking for new partnerships and for new ways to strengthen our support of growing entrepreneurial companies.”
Gupta has served as Umicore USA president since 2011. She started at the firm in 2008.
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Umicore is a global materials technology and recycling group. The firm has more than 10,000 employees worldwide with revenues topping $10 billion. Umicore USA is based in Raleigh.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ravila as the new leader of CED,” said CED Chair Rich West in a statement. “She brings a wealth of corporate leadership experience to the role and is well-connected throughout the Triangle, which will help her build on CED’s solid foundation of partnerships in the entrepreneurial community.”
Gupta earned her law degree from North Carolina Central University. She has lived in North Carolina for 26 years.
Gupta also earned a Masters in engineering at McGill University in 1987 having earlier earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering at the same school in 1985.
