Chief’s The New Era of Leadership Awards Honor Zum CEO Ritu Narayan for Modernizing Student Transportation
Annual awards recognize executive women shaping the future of business
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 12, 2025 – Today modern student transportation company Zūm announced that Founder and CEO Ritu Narayan has been recognized by Chief, the most powerful network of senior executive women, in its The New Era of Leadership Awards.
Narayan is named as one of 100 exceptional executive women who are redefining what it means to lead.
“I started Zum with the mission to make student transportation safe, reliable and equitable for every child, family, driver and school,” said Narayan. “I am honored to be recognized by Chief’s The New Era of Leadership Awards alongside so many inspiring women leaders, and I am proud of how Zum is leading a national movement for increased safety, efficiency and transparency in student transportation.”
Narayan was selected by an esteemed panel of judges, including executives from Morgan Stanley, Squarespace, The Walt Disney Company, National Geographic, Axios, Tripadvisor, Etsy and more. The judges evaluated each nomination based on innovation, empathy, creativity, purpose and resilience.
“The New Era of Leadership honors the trailblazing women who are redefining what it means to lead — driving transformation, breaking barriers, and shaping the future of business,” said Alison Moore, CEO of Chief. “We are thrilled to recognize another 100 exceptional executives and 25 standout honorees in the second year of these awards — a reflection of the powerful impact women are making across industries every day.”
Zum unifies parents, students, school administrators and drivers on a single personalized end-to-end technology platform, enabling never-before achieved levels of visibility and data-backed accountability. Through the Zum app, parents can view a profile of their child’s bus driver, along with real-time tracking and notifications about their school bus location and their child’s pickup or dropoff status. Zum also allows administrators to optimize routes and provides staff with real-time data and performance reports.
Zum currently serves thousands of schools across 14 states, including districts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland; Boston; Seattle; Spokane; Nashville; Omaha; Kansas City, Mo.; Howard County, Md.; and more.
To see the full list of The New Era of Leadership honorees, visit https://thenewera.chief.com.
To learn more about how Zum is working with thousands of schools across the nation to modernize student transportation, please visit Zum’s website.
About Zūm
Zum is a modern transportation solution transforming school transportation, the largest mass transit system in the U.S. Today, the company provides turnkey modern transportation solutions to school districts in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Utah, and Virginia, and is expanding rapidly nationwide. Recognized globally for its innovative transportation and energy as a service platform, Zum has been featured among Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas, CNBC Disruptor 50, CNBC Changemakers, World Economic Forum and Financial Times’ Fastest Growing Companies. Learn more about Zum at www.ridezum.com.
About Ritu Narayan
Ritu Narayan is the founder and CEO of Zum, a modern transportation solution transforming school transportation, the largest mass transit system in the U.S.. An accomplished entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience as a tech industry leader, Narayan has been named a CNBC Changemaker, one of Inc.’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs, and one of Entrepreneur’s 100 Women of Influence, among other accolades. Prior to Zum, Narayan led teams at eBay, Oracle, Yahoo, and IBM. She lives in San Carlos, California, with her husband and two children.
About Chief
Chief is the most powerful network of senior executive women. Our members represent senior leaders from more than 10,000 organizations across every sector. In our vibrant community, they find the connection, insights, and support they need to maximize their impact. Learn more at chief.com.
CONTACT:
Jenny Mayfield, Vice President of Communications – [email protected]