Executive Spotlight: Henry Ward, Co-Founder and CEO of Carta (2027)
Henry Ward is the co-founder and chief executive of Carta, a company that helps startups, investors and funds manage cap tables, valuations and equity compensation. He co-founded it in 2012, and it did business as eShares before being renamed Carta in 2017.
Before Carta he founded Secondsight, a portfolio optimization platform for retail investors. In 2025 and 2026 sources he is still described as Carta's CEO.
This page uses public professional information only.
Current role and company
Carta's own leadership pages blocked our fetch tool, so we confirmed the role from other pages. The Milken Institute's 2025 Global Conference speaker page calls Ward the CEO and co-founder of Carta, an a16z podcast posted March 7, 2025 describes him as Carta's cofounder and CEO, and an NYSE TV segment from HumanX 2026 titles him CEO of Carta.
- TitleCo-Founder and CEO, Carta (per Milken Institute and a16z pages).
- Founded2012, per a Rosenblatt Securities biography.
- EducationUniversity of Michigan (BGS, Mathematics and Computer Science); EDHEC Business School (MSc, Market Finance), per the Milken bio.
Career path
- Early software roles. The Milken bio says he held leadership positions at software companies including Reddwerks Inc. and BetweenMarkets. It gives no dates.
- Secondsight. He was founder and CEO of Secondsight, a portfolio optimization platform for retail investors.
- Carta, 2012 to now. Co-founded the company that began as eShares and has served as its CEO. Wikipedia, used here only as a pointer, dates the Carta name to a November 2017 announcement.
What he is known for
- Building Carta's equity platform. The Milken bio says the company manages cap tables, compensation, valuations and liquidity, and the Rosenblatt bio adds fund administration, valuations and scenario modeling. It names Intercom, Samsara and Flexport among its clients.
- Scaling a company. The a16z page says he has spent more than a decade scaling Carta from an early-stage startup to an industry leader of about 2,000 people.
- Speaking on AI in venture. At HumanX 2026 he joined NYSE Floor Talk to discuss AI adoption in VC firms. The page has no transcript, so we do not summarize his views.
Leadership style and philosophy
We found no readable transcript of his own words. The a16z speedrun conversation, according to its page, covers recruiting mission-driven hires versus purely mercenary ones, how the CEO role shifts from building the product to building the organization, tracking inputs versus outputs, and when to share information with a team. The page lists topics only, so we do not attribute specific advice to him.
Key numbers
These figures are company-described in Ward's Milken Institute 2025 conference bio, which gives no as-of date, and in the a16z page posted March 7, 2025.
- Companies servedMore than 50,000 (company-described, Milken bio).
- Funds and SPVsOver 8,500 investment funds and SPVs (company-described).
- Equity holdersOver 2.5 million (company-described).
- Company sizeAbout 2,000 people (a16z page, March 2025).
What to watch next
Worth tracking: Carta's own announcements and Ward's talks on how AI changes venture and private-company workflows.
Questions people ask
Who is Henry Ward?
He is the co-founder and CEO of Carta, an equity management company, and previously founded Secondsight.
What is Henry Ward's current role?
Co-Founder and CEO of Carta, per a 2025 Milken Institute speaker page, a March 2025 a16z podcast page and a 2026 NYSE TV segment.
When was Carta founded?
2012, according to a Rosenblatt Securities biography. It began as eShares.
What did he do before Carta?
He founded and ran Secondsight and held leadership roles at Reddwerks Inc. and BetweenMarkets.
Where did he study?
The University of Michigan (Mathematics and Computer Science) and EDHEC Business School (Market Finance).
Sources
- Milken Institute: Henry Ward (Global Conference 2025) · Title, bio, education, company-described numbers, hero photo
- Rosenblatt Securities Fintech Summit: Henry Ward · Founding year, clients, services
- a16z: What Founders Get Wrong About Scaling (March 7, 2025) · Title, company size, interview topics
- NYSE TV: HumanX 2026, Carta CEO Henry Ward on AI Adoption in VC Firms · 2026 title and appearance
- Wikipedia: Carta (software company) · Pointer for the eShares name and 2017 rename
Facts were read from the linked pages on October 31, 2026. Carta's own site blocked our fetch tool, and some pages were read through a fetch tool that returns summaries, so confirm details on the original pages. The hero photo is the Milken Institute speaker headshot, centered on a card. This page covers public professional information only.
Top photo: Milken Institute (Global Conference 2025 speaker page)