The 37-year old is credited with reinventing the online video platform.
By Simran Kaur
37-year-old CEO of Vimeo, Anjali Sud posted a message of thanks on Twitter after the video sharing platform made its market trading debut on Nasdaq. To commemorate the occasion, she shared an image with the caption: “Today Vimeo is a public company…it has been a 16-year labour of love, rooted in our belief in the power of video…we put creators first, and put the power in the hands of millions.” She ended her message thanking everyone who made the day possible.
Founded in 2004 by Zack Klein and Jake Lodwick, Vimeo is an American video hosting and sharing platform that guarantees the delivery of high-quality videos across various devices. In a speech given by Sud during the opening of the markets on Tuesday May 25th, she shared how teams at Vimeo plan on continuing to reach greater achievements until they are able to “bring the power of professional quality video to all.”
As Vimeo became a public company, netizens were quick to share messages congratulating and praising Sud for revamping Vimeo, and aiding with its growth and expansion as the use of social media increases. The fourth quarter of 2020 alone saw a revenue of more than USD 83 million, more than 1.5 million registered customers, and more new customers joining than ever before.
This can be attributed to the fact that streaming platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo have helped many organisations and individuals as they prepared to work from home during the pandemic. Vimeo’s users include organisations as large as Amazon but also smaller organisations such as local schools and institutions in the hospitality industry.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Sud discussed how Vimeo will no longer be recognised as “the cooler cousin of YouTube,” as she hopes to transform the platform into a one-stop service for video creation by suggesting that she and the team “don’t want to be the destination; we want to be the tools.”
After graduating from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.Sc. in Finance and Management in 2005, she pursued an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2011 before working for companies like Amazon, Sagent Advisors, and Time Warner. She then joined the Vimeo team in 2014 as a Head of Global Marketing where she was credited with playing a major role in the growth of the organisation. She was then chosen as the CEO in 2017, after which Sud helped lead the reinvention of Vimeo and its content creation strategies.
Despite stocks seeing a slight dip during their trading debut on the market, it didn’t stop many from sharing their excitement about a woman of Indian background leading an American company to great heights. Aside from being the CEO of Vimeo, Sud has also been recognised as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, was ranked number 14 on Fortune’s 40 under 40 List a few years ago, and was honored with a Muse Award by the New York Women in Film & Television.
