CED Announces Leadership Transition

Nation’s oldest and largest entrepreneurial support organizations makes changes to position the organization for the next decade.

March 27^th 2020, RTP, NC – Today, the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) announced Ravila Gupta, President and CEO of the CED will continue to play a critical leadership role with CED and has been nominated to be the next Chair of the Board of Directors, a role that she expects to assume July 1 (pending Board approval).  

Current CED Board Chair, Brad Schomber says “It’s been a privilege working with Ravila as Board Chair and am very pleased she will succeed me and continue to bring her vision and guidance to the CED organization.”

As a part of this transition, Ms. Gupta will resign as President and CEO effective April 1, 2020.  Kelly Rowell, VP of Customer Experience will assume the role of Interim President and CEO.  Ms. Gupta will continue as an advisor to CED during this period.  Ms. Rowell joined CED in 2017 and prior to that served a number of roles at non-profits and healthcare delivery systems. 

“I am honored to have served as President and CEO for the last three years and am excited to provide leadership to the organization from a Board capacity.  I am confident in Kelly’s ability to lead the organization and execute on the strategy that has been put in place” says Gupta. 

 “I am humbled to assume this role at CED and value the tremendous impact it has on our community. Over the past two years, I have had the extraordinary opportunity to connect with the entrepreneurs we serve, as well as the strategic and community partners that stand behind our work. I look forward to building on those relationships and continuing to add value to the ecosystem along the way.”, says Ms Rowell.

Ms. Gupta will remain engaged in the CED network, but in a new capacity, as CEO of Bagchi Group, a recently formed expansion organization of Bagchi Law, a CED Strategic Partner.

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) is a nonprofit 501(c)3 resource for entrepreneurial companies located in North Carolina. Its mission is to connect entrepreneurial companies with high-value resources to accelerate business growth.