Upstart Holdings has announced that Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Paul Gu will become Chief Executive Officer, effective May 1, 2026. Co-Founder Dave Girouard will transition to Executive Chairman of the Board and serve as a special advisor to the CEO and leadership team.
Girouard said, “Paul and I have been building Upstart side by side for almost 14 years and I expect we’ll continue to do so for another 14,” describing the move as a generational transition designed to support long-term founder leadership. Gu, who co-founded the company in 2012 alongside Girouard and Anna Counselman, currently oversees product, engineering, machine learning, and general management of its auto and home lending businesses. He has served on the board since 2015.
Gu said, “Credit is one of the cornerstone industries of civilization. Changing it is hard, but can be unimaginably impactful.” The company also announced additional executive changes. Sanjay Datta has been appointed President and Chief Capital Officer after previously serving as CFO and guiding the firm through its December 2020 IPO. Andrea Blankmeyer will join as CFO in March from Cityblock Health, and Grant Schneider returns as CTO.