Ellie Bertani is President and CEO of GitLab Foundation, a private foundation founded in September 2022 with the mission of improving lifetime earnings and economic mobility of workers worldwide. With a background in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors, she brings a shared value, cross-sectoral approach to driving sustainable impact.

Prior to joining GitLab Foundation, Ellie spent ten years in the private sector, with roles at Wells Fargo and Walmart. Much of her work focused on frontline worker economic stability and mobility, and included work on instant access to earned pay, scheduling predictability, removing hiring barriers, and developing internal learning and career pathing programs. In 2020 Ellie was awarded Walmart’s highest recognition, the Sam Walton Entrepreneurship Award, for the development of LiveBetterU, the largest free educational benefits program in the US, and Walmart’s most successful program in driving outcomes for historically marginalized employees.

Earlier in her career, Ellie spent nearly ten years in the nonprofit and public sector, including positions with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program, the U.S. State Department, Third Sector Capital Partners, and Rotary International. She received her Master of Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and her MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management. She loves comedy, karaoke, and being kept on her toes by her husband and three crazy boys.

Ellie fosters transparency and mentorship by offering team members and external participants firsthand experience in executive decision-making and leadership in a dynamic, remote-first organization through the GitLab Foundation’s President & CEO Shadow Program.