Harper

Harper announced a leadership change on October 26, 2026. Harper appointed former Akamai executive Lelah Manz as CEO, succeeding co-founder Stephen Goldberg.

What changed

Lelah Manz was named Chief Executive Officer. Manz succeeded co-founder Stephen Goldberg, who will continue to serve on Harper’s Board of Directors.

• Leader: Lelah Manz
• Role: Chief Executive Officer
• Effective: Effective immediately
• Announcement date: October 26, 2026

Leadership background

Manz joined Harper after nearly two decades at Akamai Technologies, most recently as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Data and Shared Services, where she led a global team delivering data, AI, and shared platform capabilities. Akamai grew from a $250 million content delivery provider into a $4 billion global platform during her tenure, according to the announcement. She also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors at APIContext.

The mandate

Harper’s announcement quoted Jay Hirsh, Managing Partner of Break Trail Ventures, saying Manz stood out as the leader to take Harper from category pioneer to category leader. Goldberg said the next stage requires someone who has scaled a platform business to billions in revenue.

Why this matters for GTM teams

Executive appointments can precede changes in strategy, operating cadence, hiring, partnerships, and technology priorities. The useful signal is not the title alone: teams should watch the new leader’s stated mandate, prior playbook, organizational scope, and the initiatives announced during the first two quarters.

Source and methodology

This leadership profile is based on the company’s announcement. Roles, transition timing, and biographical details are presented as announced; SalesTools Research does not infer undisclosed succession plans.

Primary source: Harper leadership announcement.