EvolveWell appoints Desiree Perez as CEO

EvolveWell named Desiree Perez chief executive officer on Oct. 27, promoting the former president who helped shape the frontline workforce intelligence platform from its earliest aviation roots. The move signals a push to scale AI tools that help frontline managers spot attrition risk, compliance issues and other workforce gaps in real time.

Why it matters: - EvolveWell is positioning leadership around the lived experience of frontline workers, especially in commercial aviation. - The platform aims to give frontline teams the kind of operational intelligence and coaching that has traditionally been reserved for executives. - The company is targeting a broad workforce problem, saying its platform is built for 2.7 billion frontline workers.

What happened: - EvolveWell named Desiree Perez chief executive officer on Oct. 27, 2026. - Perez had served as president of EvolveWell since May 2026. - The company is based in Los Angeles. - EvolveWell said the appointment reflects the leadership Perez has already been providing.

The details: - Perez started her career in aviation at age 20 at a major German airport. - By age 22, Perez was managing a team of 80 people without formal leadership training. - Perez built expertise in change management and organizational psychology after those early roles. - Perez earned a master's degree in leadership and strategy and an MBA. - Perez became an ICF Professional Certified Coach at the PCC level. - Perez completed the Chief AI Officer program at the University of Miami. - EvolveWell uses AI to surface real-time signals across five areas of frontline workforce health: attrition risk, knowledge gaps, compliance exposure, wellbeing and management effectiveness. - The platform turns those signals into guidance that frontline managers can act on. - EvolveWell's first version was built for commercial aviation. - EvolveWell says the platform is designed to help frontline workers, not just executives, with organizational intelligence and coaching. - The company included a LinkedIn page in its announcement: More information

Between the lines: - Perez's appointment ties the CEO role to the exact operational problems she says she lived on the airport ramp. - The leadership change suggests EvolveWell wants to lean on domain expertise and credibility as it builds in a market shaped by frontline labor shortages, turnover and compliance pressure. - Peter Kennedy, co-founder and chairman, said Perez has been shaping the company from the inside rather than joining from outside the mission.

What's next: - EvolveWell will likely use Perez's background in aviation, coaching and AI to deepen adoption in frontline industries. - The company's commercial aviation deployment remains the starting point for broader growth. - EvolveWell is expected to continue centering AI-driven workforce signals as the product develops.

The bottom line: - EvolveWell is putting a builder with frontline aviation experience in the CEO seat to align the company's leadership with the workforce problems it is trying to solve.