Brougher will serve as an independent board member and lead the company’s compensation efforts.

Brougher spent eight years running business and operations strategy, as well as SMB global sales and operations, at Google. After her time at Google, she was the global business lead at Square, supporting the company’s IPO. Brougher then joined Pinterest as chief operating officer. She serves on the board of Sodexo, which employs over 400,000 people and works with more than 100m customers per day.

Two years ago, Brougher received what was considered a record $20m (£15m) to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit. She had alleged she was fired by the virtual scrapbook company Pinterest after “speaking out about the rampant discrimination, hostile work environment, and misogyny” at the San Francisco firm.

In her role as COO at Pinterest, she had accused it of marginalising and silencing women and excluding them from decision-making.

She said at the time that she agreed to the settlement only on the condition that it was made public, to help other women in the male-dominated tech industry. “My goal was about accountability and driving change,” she said.

Brougher joins Robert Schlossman as an independent board member along with investor board members Cas Schneller, Kunal Aurora and Parker Barrile.

Velocity Global helps employers compliantly hire talent in more than 185 countries. Its Global Work Platform combines cloud-based HR technology and unmatched human support to simplify onboarding, pay, benefits and workforce management across borders. The company was founded in 2014 and employs hundreds across six continents. 

“Françoise is exactly the type of board member we need to lead Velocity Global through the next phase of our growth. She led companies that we all admire through keen insights and operational leadership,” says Ben Wright, CEO and board chair at Velocity Global, in a company statement. “Furthermore, I personally deeply admire her courage through a tough journey at Pinterest. Her experience, strength, and hope should encourage every one of us to stand up for what’s right as we move through our careers.”

“I am excited to join Ben and the team at Velocity Global to empower companies to employ talent anywhere. In a world that is becoming more competitive, the ability to hire anywhere is a great differentiator. The Velocity Global platform does just that so companies can focus on their core strategy,” said Brougher.

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