Sarah Friar
Born 1972 · Age 53
Irish-American business executive; former CFO of Square/Block (2012–2018), CEO of Nextdoor (2018–2024), and CFO of OpenAI (from June 2024). Board director and nonprofit founder focused on women entrepreneurs.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Sion Mills, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Sarah Jane Friar was born in Sion Mills, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
Attended Strabane Grammar School
Completed secondary schooling at Strabane Grammar School in Northern Ireland (exact years not specified).
Grew up in Sion Mills during The Troubles
Raised in a small Northern Ireland village; childhood experiences of community during The Troubles influenced her later career focus on community.
Matriculated at University of Oxford (MEng, Metallurgy, Economics & Management)
Studied Metallurgy, Economics and Management (MEng) at St Anne's College, University of Oxford; dates not specified on source.
Won scholarship and worked at Arthur Andersen (gap year)
Won a scholarship competition run by Arthur Andersen and worked there for a year, which funded part of her university education.
Interned at Ashanti Goldfields (gold mine in Ghana)
Internship/field assignment at Ashanti Goldfields and worked at a gold mine in Ghana during the 1990s (exact year unspecified).
Joined McKinsey & Company (analyst role)
Began career at McKinsey; worked in London and in South Africa as an analyst/consultant and was assigned to projects in South Africa.
Went to Stanford Graduate School of Business for MBA
Attended Stanford GSB for an MBA; was later named an Arjay Miller Scholar (exact graduation year not specified in source).
Completed MBA at Stanford (Arjay Miller Scholar)
Graduated from Stanford Graduate School of Business and recognized as an Arjay Miller scholar (exact year approximate).
Joined Goldman Sachs (software analyst / equity research leadership)
Took a role at Goldman Sachs as a software analyst and later became managing director in equity research and a business unit leader; spent over a decade at Goldman.
Passed over for Goldman Sachs partner; pivot moment
Was not promoted to partner at Goldman Sachs (partner announcements in 2011 cited in sources), which she later described as freeing her to move into operating roles.
Joined Salesforce as SVP, Finance & Strategy
Moved from Goldman Sachs to Salesforce as Senior Vice President of Finance and Strategy; this was her first major operating role in technology.
Appointed Chief Financial Officer at Square, Inc. (later Block, Inc.)
Joined Square as CFO in 2012; the company had roughly 200 employees when she joined.
Square tenure length noted (over six years by 2018)
Served as Square CFO starting in 2012 and was in role for more than six years, overseeing finance during high-growth and IPO.
Became a prominent Silicon Valley CFO innovator
During Square tenure she became known for finance leadership in scaling a consumer fintech company to IPO.
Co-founded Ladies Who Launch (spun out from Square)
Helped create and later co-founded Ladies Who Launch, a nonprofit to celebrate and empower women entrepreneurs; initial events began while she worked at Square.
Square (Block) IPO
Square went public in 2015; under her CFO leadership the company added about $30 billion in market capitalization.
Named independent board member at Slack
Appointed as Slack's first independent board member (reported March 2017 in some sources; appointment cited in coverage in 2017).
Recognized as a leading woman in fintech / Silicon Valley
Profiled in business press (profiles in 2016–2017) as one of Silicon Valley's top women executives and Jack Dorsey's right-hand at Square.
Public recognition and profiles across major outlets
Profiled in outlets such as BBC, Financial Times and Fortune for career path from Northern Ireland to Silicon Valley leadership.
Named CEO of Nextdoor (company mission alignment)
Appointment as Nextdoor CEO motivated by her interest in community and local social networking; many press profiles highlight the personal fit.
Received Honorary Doctor of Science from Ulster University
Awarded an honorary DSc by Ulster University in recognition of her achievements in tech and entrepreneurship.
Left Square and became CEO of Nextdoor
Stepped down as Square CFO and joined Nextdoor as Chief Executive Officer in 2018 (sources indicate December 2018 transition).
Nextdoor launched 'Kindness Reminder' feature
Introduced an AI-backed 'Kindness Reminder' that prompts users to rephrase potentially reportable or uncivil posts; reported to reduce rewrites/moderation.
Led/expanded Ladies Who Launch programming (growth milestone)
Continued growth of Ladies Who Launch as an independent nonprofit supporting women entrepreneurs after spinning out from Square.
Named in business profiles for contributions to entrepreneurship
Featured widely in press (Financial Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal) for her leadership in fintech and community platforms.
Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Granted an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for services to entrepreneurship and financial services (Queen's Birthday Honours list 2019).
Nextdoor usage surge during COVID-19 pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic Nextdoor saw a large and sustained surge in usage as neighbors connected locally; Friar raised capital to invest in growth.
Appeared on the Masters of Scale podcast (episode on Nextdoor)
Featured on Masters of Scale discussing Nextdoor's community-driven approach to scaling and trust architecture.
Public advocacy for platform kindness and moderation
Publicly advocated for design and moderation approaches (e.g., kindness reminders) that nudge users toward constructive neighborly interaction.
Featured in Entrepreneur interview on leadership lessons
Published leadership lessons and insights in Entrepreneur (Oct 26, 2020) discussing management, hiring and values.
Nextdoor's public-market milestones and investor relations
As CEO she navigated Nextdoor through public-market disclosures and investor relations following the SPAC listing in 2021.
Led Nextdoor public listing via SPAC
Guided Nextdoor through a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transaction taking the company public in 2021; reported SPAC valuation referenced at ~€3.6bn in some press.
Nextdoor reported major growth metrics (hundreds of thousands of neighborhoods)
Public comments and interviews around this period cited hundreds of thousands of neighborhoods on Nextdoor (e.g., ~260k earlier; sources later reference 300k+ neighborhoods globally).
Served on boards and advisory groups (Walmart, ConsenSys, HOPE Global, Stanford Digital Economy Lab)
Sat on the boards of Walmart and ConsenSys and advisory boards such as HOPE Global and Stanford's Digital Economy Lab (dates of individual appointments vary; active during early 2020s).
Hosted / featured on Bessemer 'Wish I Knew' podcast
Featured on Bessemer's 'Wish I Knew' podcast discussing career lessons, Nextdoor growth, and community (podcast date indicated 6.29.23 in source metadata).
Personal: Married with two children; residing in Marin County, CA
Married to David Riley (former hedge fund partner); the couple have a daughter and a son and live in Marin County, California.
Stepped down from Nextdoor (mid-2024)
Effective mid-2024 Sarah Friar stepped down from CEO role at Nextdoor following the February transition announcement.
Increased public attention around OpenAI IPO speculation
Her hiring as OpenAI CFO in June 2024 sparked public and press speculation about an eventual OpenAI IPO and related finance strategy.
Nextdoor announces Sarah Friar will step down as CEO
Nextdoor announced a leadership transition and that Friar would step down as CEO in mid-2024; founder/other leadership to take interim roles during the transition.
Joined OpenAI as Chief Financial Officer (first CFO)
Hired as OpenAI's first Chief Financial Officer (reported June 10, 2024); responsible for finance as OpenAI navigates rapid growth and potential IPO speculation.
Public profile: active board director and speaker on AI and community tech
Continues to serve on corporate boards, advisory boards and as a public speaker on AI policy, community platforms and leadership.
Keynote / Speaker at ASU+GSV Summit
Appeared as a speaker (StageX Keynote) at the ASU+GSV Summit (April 8, 2025) representing OpenAI and speaking on AI and education/innovation.
Received Grace Hopper Award at Dublin Tech Summit Leaders’ Dinner
Honoured with the Grace Hopper Award in May 2025 for leadership and contribution to technology and inclusivity in tech while serving as OpenAI CFO.
Scheduled speaker at ASU+GSV Summit 2026 (listed)
Listed as a speaker for ASU+GSV Summit 2026 (program listings include her as OpenAI CFO in 2026 materials).
Key Achievement Ages
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