Bryan Leach
{{Short description|American entrepreneur and lawyer}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bryan Leach
| image =
| caption = Bryan Leach in 2024
| birth_place = Nairobi, Kenya
| education = Harvard University (BA)
Magdalen College, Oxford (MPhil)
Yale University (JD)
| occupation = Entrepreneur and lawyer
| known_for = Founder and CEO of Ibotta
}}
Bryan Leach is an American entrepreneur and former lawyer. He is the founder and CEO of Ibotta.
Early life and education
Leach was born in Nairobi, Kenya.{{Cite web |last=Chowdhry |first=Amit |title=How Ibotta Is Helping Every Day Consumers Save Time And Money |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2018/01/29/how-ibotta-is-helping-every-day-consumers-save-time-and-money/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Forbes |language=en}} The family migrated to the U.S. and after his father graduated from Harvard Business School, they moved to Atlanta, Georgia.{{Cite web |title=Thought Leader: Bryan Leach gave up a lot to launch Ibotta |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2016/09/16/thought-leader-bryan-leach-gave-up-a-lot-to-launch.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20161210013727/http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2016/09/16/thought-leader-bryan-leach-gave-up-a-lot-to-launch.html |archive-date=10 Dec 2016 |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=The Business Journals}} Leach went on to attend Harvard University, Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar, and Yale Law School.{{Cite web |date= 28 May 2017|title=The story behind Denver's most popular mobile app and why it needed to change |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2017/05/28/ibotta-relaunch-popular-mobile-app-denver/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=The Denver Post |language=en-US}}
Career
= Legal work =
In 2006, after graduating from Yale Law School, Leach spent a year serving as a law clerk for Justice David Souter at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Leach was a partner at the Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott law firm.{{Cite web |title=Ex-Colorado solicitor general, Bartlit Beck alums launch new law firm |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/ex-colorado-solicitor-general-bartlit-beck-alums-launch-new-law-firm-2023-09-05/ |work=Reuters}} While at Bartlit Beck, Leach conceived the idea for Ibotta when he was on a flight and saw someone using a phone to take photos of business cards and receipts in order to submit expenses.{{Cite web |date=2019-05-31 |title=Why Bryan Leach Left His Law Firm To Help Others Save Money |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-bryan-leach-left-law-180606431.html |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Yahoo Finance |language=en-US}}
= Ibotta =
{{Main article|Ibotta}}
Leach founded Ibotta in 2011, and has since served as its chief executive officer.{{Cite web |last=Wiggers |first=Kyle |date=2019-08-06 |title=Cashback and rebate startup Ibotta secures funding at a $1 billion valuation |url=https://venturebeat.com/business/cashback-and-rebate-startup-ibotta-secures-funding-at-a-1-billion-valuation/ |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}} Ibotta is a technology company that provides cash back rewards to consumers on qualifying purchases through its network of publisher partners and along with its direct-to-consumer properties.{{Cite web |title=What You Need To Know About Walmart-Backed Ibotta's IPO Plan |url=https://www.investopedia.com/walmart-backed-ibotta-plans-ipo-8628185 |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Investopedia |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Patricia |date=2016-03-31 |title=The Cities on the Sunny Side of the American Economy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/01/business/economy/cities-where-us-economy-is-thriving.html |access-date=2024-05-09 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |date=2024-03-26 |title=Denver-based Ibotta files to go public in $100 million stock offering |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2024/03/26/denver-ibotta-ipo-consumer-retail-stock-offering/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=The Denver Post |language=en-US}}
Under Leach's leadership, Ibotta reached a $1 billion valuation in 2019 after its Series D funding.{{Cite news |last=Chernova |first=Yuliya |title=Denver Startup Ibotta Reaches $1 Billion Valuation |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/denver-startup-ibotta-reaches-1-billion-valuation-11565045659 |access-date=2024-05-09 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}} Ibotta became a publicly traded company in April 2024 with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange,{{Cite web |title=Walmart-Backed Ibotta Rises 17% After $577 Million IPO |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-18/walmart-backed-ibotta-shares-surge-34-after-577-million-ipo?leadSource=uverify%20wall&embedded-checkout=true |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=www.bloomberg.com}} becoming the largest tech IPO in Colorado history.{{cite news |last1=Szkutak |first1=Rebecca |title=Ibotta’s CEO explains why startups shouldn’t try to time the IPO market |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/22/ibottas-ceo-explains-why-startups-shouldnt-try-to-time-the-ipo-market/ |access-date=28 February 2025 |work=Tech Crunch |date=22 September 2024}} The company partners with retailers such as Walmart, Dollar General and Coca-Cola.{{Cite news |title=Investors Rush to Buy Ibotta Stock in its IPO |url=https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-earnings-04-18-2024/card/investors-rush-to-buy-ibotta-stock-in-its-ipo-OBcymX5RFjROeoQ8eaud |access-date=2024-05-09 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}}
In June 2015, Leach received the Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Mountain-Desert region from Ernst & Young.{{Cite web |title=Ibotta, Inc's Founder & CEO, Bryan Leach is an EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 |url=https://www.delimarketnews.com/ibotta-incs-founder-ceo-bryan-leach-ey-entrepreneur-year-2015/deli-staff/fri-07172015-1124/1884 |website=delimarketnews.com}} In June 2018, Leach was recognized as a Top 10 CEO in the US for small and medium-sized businesses by Glassdoor.com.{{Cite web |last=Skilling |first=Chaney |date=2018-06-21 |title=Glassdoor puts Ibotta chief on list of 2018 Top CEOs |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2018/06/20/glassdoor-ibotta-chief-top-ceo/ |access-date=2024-02-01 |website=The Denver Post |language=en-US}}
= Community involvement =
Leach served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Colorado Academy and KIPP Colorado.{{Cite web |title=Board of Trustees |url=https://www.coloradoacademy.org/about/leadership/board-of-trustees |access-date=2024-02-04 |publisher=Colorado Academy}}{{Cite web |author=Special to The Denver Post |date=2008-11-24 |title=People on the move |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2008/11/24/people-on-the-move-585/ |access-date=2024-02-04 |website=The Denver Post |language=en-US}}
In 2019, Leach and his wife made a gift to the Colorado Academy for a new Center for Performing Arts.{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Allen |date=2020-03-20 |title=10 Things You Didn't Know About Ibotta CEO Bryan Leach |url=https://moneyinc.com/ibotta-ceo-bryan-leach/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Money Inc |language=en-US}} The Leach Center for Performing Arts replaced the former Froelicher Theatre, which was constructed in 1976.{{Cite web |last=Communications |date=2019-02-12 |title=$3 million gift sets stage for new Center for the Performing Arts |url=https://news.coloradoacademy.org/3-million-gift-colorado-academys-leach-center-for-the-performing-arts/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=Colorado Academy News |language=en-US}} This new theatre opened in August 2021 and was the fourth and final building of the See it Through capital campaign. Leach's gift also helped create a speech and debate program at Colorado Academy.