Sarah Friar | |
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![]() Friar in 2018 | |
Born | Sarah Jane Friar 24 December 1972 |
Nationality | American, British, Irish |
Alma mater | |
Occupation | Business executive |
Known for | CEO of Nextdoor |
Sarah Jane Friar (born 24 December 1972[1]) is a business executive from Northern Ireland. She was the chief executive officer of American technology company Nextdoor from 2018 through 2024,[2] and was chief financial officer of Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) between 2012 and 2018.[3][4][5]
Born in 1972, Friar grew up in the town of Sion Mills in Northern Ireland.[6][1] She attended Strabane Grammar School.[7] She graduated from the University of Oxford and Stanford Graduate School of Business.[8] She was an analyst for McKinsey,[9] a managing director in equity research at Goldman Sachs, and a senior vice president of finance and strategy at Salesforce[10] before becoming Chief Financial Officer at Square in 2012,[11][12][13] and then joining Nextdoor, a hyperlocal social networking service for neighborhoods, as the CEO in 2018. She led the company public through a special-purpose acquisition company in 2021.[14] Nextdoor announced Friar would step down as CEO in mid-2024.[15]
She is on the board of Walmart and ConsenSys,[16][17] and previously on Slack Technologies and New Relic's boards.[18]
She received a honorary Doctor of Science degree from Ulster University in 2018.[19] In 2019, she was granted an Order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth II for her commitment to entrepreneurship and financial services.[20][21]
Friar is married to David Riley, a former hedge fund partner.[10] The couple has a daughter and son.[22] She lives in Marin County, California.[1]