Upwork in New York Times
Hayden Brown grew up with parents who were out to change the world. Her mother worked on women’s empowerment issues, and her father helped develop a national park in the Himalayas. For a time, the family lived in Nepal.
“It really instilled in me the value of spending one’s life doing work that has a real impact on others,” she said. “To this day, that is my parents’ ethos.”
Ms. Brown wanted to make a difference, too, but resolved to do it in the private sector rather than in the nonprofit world. That led her to the consultant McKinsey & Company, and ultimately to Upwork, a site that matches freelancers with employers. Ms. Brown joined the company 10 years ago, and became chief executive in January 2020, just as the pandemic hit. …
