J Allard Joins GoFundMe as Chief Product and Technology Officer

The 30-year technology veteran and entrepreneur is joining the company to lead product, design and engineering

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GoFundMe, the trusted leader in online fundraising, announced today that J Allard is joining the company as Chief Product and Technology Officer. Allard will be responsible for scaling GoFundMe’s technology infrastructure and overseeing the product, design and engineering teams. He will join the company’s executive team, reporting to and partnering closely with CEO Tim Cadogan. Allard will focus on developing the future of online fundraising and advancing the vision of GoFundMe to become the most helpful place on earth.

Allard brings more than three decades of technology, engineering and entrepreneurial expertise as he has built some of the world’s most well-known consumer products and software solutions. Throughout his nearly 20-year career at Microsoft, Allard spearheaded the company's foray onto the internet and into the video game industry as a founder of Xbox. During his tenure as Microsoft’s Chief Experience and Technology Officer of Consumer Product, Allard shipped over 30 products, helping launch several new businesses including Xbox, Windows NT and Internet Information Server.

In 2013, Allard co-founded Project 529, a purpose-driven company that builds software to reduce bike theft, promotes cycling, and makes cities and campuses more bike-friendly. Under his leadership as CEO, 529 Garage has become the largest bike registration network with nearly 2.5 million registered bikes and has recovered more than $100 million in support from public, private and non-profit sectors.

“J’s ingenuity and ability to lead organizations creating products that are used and beloved by people around the world make him the perfect fit to help scale GoFundMe to help more people,” said GoFundMe CEO, Tim Cadogan. “His keen eye for building tools that connect people, and his ability to deliver thoughtful customer experiences, will come to life in how he will help us improve our core product, launch new products, serve new communities and expand to new markets.”

“I’m inspired by GoFundMe’s role in culture as a force multiplier of human collaboration and caring,” said J Allard. “GoFundMe perfectly merges people’s collective power to help with a tech platform that can maximize each person’s impact – creating an experience that has the potential to deliver help to people worldwide. In this role, I will combine my obsession for progression, commitment to innovation and long-term impact to bring GoFundMe’s mission to life in new and unexpected ways.”

Allard has issued more than 50 patents throughout his career. He serves as a fellow with New Zealand’s Edmund Hillary Fellowship, an entrepreneurial program focused on global social impact, and sits on the board of Kry10. He has received an honorary Doctor of Letters from his alma mater, Boston University, where he studied ​​computer science. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking and snowboarding and is a certified instructor in both sports.

Allard joins the recently expanded GoFundMe leadership team, as the company has welcomed Margaret Richardson, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Greg Mrva, Chief Financial Officer and Mai Leduc, Head of Payments.

About GoFundMe:

Since 2010, GoFundMe has become a trusted global leader in online fundraising, helping to raise and deliver more than $17 billion from over 200 million donations. Our vision is to become the most helpful place in the world. In 2022, GoFundMe acquired Classy, which has helped nonprofits mobilize and empower the world for good by helping them raise $4 billion on its platform since 2011. To learn more, visit us at GoFundMe.com and Classy.org.