Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top Chicago based CEO’ operating in the Software space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Anthony Tassone
CEO and Founder of Green Key Technologies
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About Green Key Technologies: GreenKey is the voice-driven collaboration platform for financial markets: enhancing compliance and enabling sophisticated data analytics.
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Nader Shwayhat
CEO of Green Key Technologies
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About Green Key Technologies: GreenKey is the voice-driven collaboration platform for financial markets: enhancing compliance and enabling sophisticated data analytics.
Aaron Frazin
Founder and CEO of Detective
Aaron Frazin is the Founder and CEO of Detective.io.
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About Detective: Detective is a digital adoption platform that automates the sales research process.
Jett McCandless
Co-Founder and CEO of project44
Jett McCandless is Founder and CEO of project44.
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About project44: Project44 is a logistics technology company that provides a visibility solution to span the entire shipment workflow.
Dan Pinto
Co-Founder and CEO of FingerprintJS
Dan Pinto is the Co-Founder and CEO of FingerprintJS. He also was also the Co-Founder and CTO of Machinio.
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About FingerprintJS: FingerprintJS provides an application programming interface designed for fraud detection on the modern web.
Chad Bronstein
CEO, Founder of Fyllo
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About Fyllo: Fyllo is a software company that provides compliance-first solutions for highly regulated industries.
Bradley Keywell
Chief Executive Officer of Uptake Technologies
Brad Keywell is a lifelong entrepreneur and co-founder of seven technology companies, a cultural curator of innovation platforms, and a philanthropist. He is the co-founder and CEO of Uptake Technologies, an Industrial AI software platform harnessing predictive analytics to deliver outcomes of increased productivity, reliability, safety, and cybersecurity to global industry. Uptake was named “Startup of the Year” in 2015 by Forbes, was #5 in the 2017 CNBC Disruptor 50, and was named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. Brad is a co-founder of Tempus, Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN), Echo Global Logistics (NASDAQ:ECHO), MediaOcean, Drivin (acquired by NYSE:KAR), and the venture capital firm Lightbank. He is on the Board of Trustees of Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR). He is the founder and Chairman of Chicago Ideas, which has grown into one of the largest innovation and ideas gatherings in the world. He is the Chairman of Future Founders Foundation, providing entrepreneurial education to inner-city students in the Chicagoland area. Brad is an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He earned a J.D. at the University of Michigan Law School and a BBA from the University of Michigan School of Business. Brad and his wife, Kim, signed The Giving Pledge in 2016.
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About Chicago Ideas Week, Drivin, Echo Global Logistics, Groupon, Groupon Netherlands, Lightbank, Mediaocean, Uptake Technologies, Zest Health: Uptake Technologies designs and develops enterprise software.
Kayne Grau
Chief Executive Officer of Uptake Technologies
I am in my dream job and serving as CEO and Board DIrector of Uptake. While working with an amazing team, I am refining the company’s products, expanding its global footprint and developing/nurturing a high performing work environment. Previously, I served in various senior executive functions with KAR Global (NYSE: KAR), the acquirer of DRIVIN, a company I co-founded and served as CEO until April 2017. Prior to KAR, I held senior management roles with Music Dealers, Apartments.com, Cars.com, eToys.com, and Allstate. In my free time, I assist various companies as a board member, advisor, and investor.
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About Uptake Technologies: Uptake Technologies designs and develops enterprise software.
Daniel L. Ushman
Founder & CEO of TrendSpider
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About TrendSpider: TrendSpider is software that is used to make technical analysis with scanners, charts, analyses, automation and backtesting services.
Dan Wagner
Founder & CEO of Civis Analytics
Dan Wagner is ambassador for the firm’s external partnerships, representing the company’s vital, core interests as it engages client business opportunities. Dan served as the Chief Analytics Officer on the 2012 Obama campaign, overseeing a 54-person team of analysts, engineers and organizers that provided analytics and technologies for voter contact, digital, paid media, fundraising and communication. His department’s work was credited with “reinventing how national campaigns are done” and has been highlighted in Time Magazine, MIT Technology Review, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Los Angeles Times, and Harper’s. Dan began his work in politics as the Deputy Voter File Manager for Barack Obama during the 2008 Iowa caucuses, which defined the relevance of data, and client comprehension of data, in his career. That led to roles as the Great Lakes Targeting Desk and National Get Out the Vote (GOTV) Targeting Director, followed by the National Targeting Director at the Democratic National Committee for the 2010 election cycle. Dan previously worked with the FTI Consulting Economics Practice. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in economics and public policy. Dan is originally from Birmingham, Michigan, where he grew up imitating Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” performance. He remains the first one on any dance floor. He is fluent in Spanish and, according to two sources with knowledge of the incident, cried during “Like Water for Chocolate.” He used to play congas – not to be confused with the bongos – in a DC funk band.
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About Civis Analytics: Civis Analytics is a software company that helps public and private sector organizations make data-driven decisions.
Mathew Joseph Elenjickal
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FourKites
Matt is the founder and chief executive officer of FourKites. He founded FourKites in 2014 after recognizing pain points in the logistics industry and designing elegant and effective systems to address them. Prior to founding FourKites, Matt spent 7 years in the enterprise software space working for market leaders such as Oracle Corp and i2 Technologies/JDA Software Group. Matt has led high-impact teams that implemented logistics strategies and systems at P&G, Nestle, Kraft, Anheuser-Busch Inbev, Tyco, Argos and Nokia across North America, Western Europe and Latin America. Matt is passionate about logistics and supply chain management and has a keen sense for how technology can disrupt traditional silo-based planning and execution. Matt holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from College of Engineering, Guindy, an MS in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from Northwestern University, and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. He lives in Chicago.
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About FourKites: FourKites is a supply chain visibility platform designed for transportation into yards, warehouses, and stores.
Ruben Flores-Martinez
Founder & CEO of CASHDROP
Ruben Flores-Martinez is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at CASHDROP.
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About CASHDROP, Sugr: CASHDROP is a mobile commerce platform that helps businesses create and manage an online storefront from a smartphone.
Marc Shiffman
Chief Financial Officer, President & Chief Executive Officer of SMS Assist
Marc Shiffman currently serves as the president and chief executive officer. Shiffman joined SMS Assist in 2010 to oversee special initiatives. Since joining the organization, he has primarily focused on finance and administration, including accounting, corporate finance, human resources, legal, marketing, compliance, training, and operations. Prior to joining SMS Assist, Mr. Shiffman founded Marc R. Shiffman Advisors, which provided general management and consulting services to specialty and consumer products companies. In his role there, Mr. Shiffman provided strategic, financial and operating support as well as interim executive management. He also sourced deals, evaluated opportunities and performed due diligence for potential acquisitions across multiple industries. Before starting his own consulting practice, Mr. Shiffman served in financial and general management positions of increasing responsibility as a senior executive at MacAndrews & Forbes owned and operated companies including Revlon, Coleman and Sunbeam. Mr. Shiffman earned a bachelor’s of science degree in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from The Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.
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About SMS Assist: SMS Assist is revolutionizing the multi-site property management market using the SMS proprietary technology platform.
Michael Winnick
Founder, CEO of dscout
Michael leads dscout working closely with our team to reshape the in-context research landscape. Prior to starting dscout, Michael served as Managing Partner at gravitytank, where he worked across all aspects of the firm’s business, from strategy to BD, producing exponential growth. Michael is an expert in consumer electronics and digital service, and has deep passion for developing high performance teams.
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About dscout, gravitytank, Jump Satori, LeadAide: dscout helps companies better understand the experiences people have with their products and brands in everyday life.
Thomas Giacomini
President & CEO of JBT Corporation
Thomas Giacomini was appointed JBT Corporation’s President and Chief Executive Officer in September 2013 and was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors in May 2014. Prior to joining JBT, he served as Vice President (since February 2008) of Dover Corporation, a diversified global manufacturer, and President and Chief Executive Officer (since November 2011) of Dover Engineered Systems. Prior to serving in these roles, Giacomini served as President (from April 2009 to November 2011) and Chief Executive Officer (from July 2009 to November 2011) of Dover Industrial Products and President (from October 2007 to July 2009) of Dover’s Material Handling Platform. Giacomini joined Dover in 2003 following its acquisition of Warn Industries, an industrial manufacturer specializing in vehicle performance enhancing equipment. During his 12 year tenure at Warn Industries he held a variety of leadership roles including President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Warn Industries, Giacomini held various roles at TRW, Inc. Giacomini holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Michigan (Dearborn).
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About JBT Corporation: JBT Corporation is a global technology solutions provider to the food processing and air transportation industries.
Brian Deck
Interim President And CEO of JBT Corporation
Brian Deck was appointed as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of JBT Corporation in February 2014, and became Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of JBT in May 2014. Prior to joining JBT, Deck served as Chief Financial Officer of National Material L.P., a private diversified industrial holding company (since May 2011). He served as Vice President of Finance and Treasury (from November 2007 to May 2011) and as Director, Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis (from August 2005 to November 2007) of Ryerson Inc., a metals distributor and processor. Prior to his service with Ryerson, Deck had increasing responsibilities with General Electric Capital, Bank One (now JPMorgan Chase & Co.) and Cole Taylor Bank. Deck holds an MBA with a concentration in finance from DePaul University in Chicago, and a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Illinois.
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About JBT Corporation: JBT Corporation is a global technology solutions provider to the food processing and air transportation industries.
Xiao Guo
President and Chief Executive Officer of Thoughtworks
Xiao Guo has been the Chief Executive Officer and President at ThoughtWorks, Inc. since June 2013. He served as China Managing Director, General Manager of China Operations and Director of Technology of ThoughtWorks, Inc. from 2004 to June 2013. Xiao Guo has helped to create and grow ThoughtWorks’ China branch, and has served as Deputy General Manager for this region. He is focused on growing ThoughtWorks’ business in the Chinese market, building its thought leadership in the Chinese IT industry, and delivering business value to its clients in China and worldwide. He joined ThoughtWorks in 1999 as a Senior Consultant. He has spent 8 years of his career implementing distributed, multi-layer, multi-tier enterprise solutions. Xiao Guo has helped a number of clients to build large scale, mission critical, globally deployed applications with high scalability, availability and reliability.
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About Thoughtworks: Thoughtworks is a community of passionate individuals whose purpose is to revolutionize software design, creation, and delivery.
David Casem
Co-Founder & CEO of Telnyx
David Casem is the Co-Founder & CEO.
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About Telnyx: Telnyx is a VoIP service provider that offers a cloud-based platform that offers access to carrier grade voice services over the internet.
Matt Gorniak
Chief Executive Officer of ThreeKit
Matt Gorniak is the Chief Executive Officer at Threekit.
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About ThreeKit: ThreeKit is a 3D product configuration and visualization platform that enables brands to create and manage beautiful visuals at scale.
Aaron Coles
Founder and CEO of Drift Net Securities
Aaron Coles currently works as Founder and Chief Eexecutive Officer at Drift Net Securities.
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About Drift Net Securities: Drift Net Securities creates and provides technical solutions to keep communities safe and disrupting security and AI-based technology.
Stuart Frankel
CEO of Narrative Science
Stuart Frankel founded the company with Kris Hammond and Larry Birnbaum. Prior to Narrative Science, Stuart was President of the Performics division of DoubleClick and was a member of DoubleClick’s senior management team when the company was sold to Google. A lawyer and a CPA, Stuart earned a BS from Miami University and a JD from Vanderbilt.
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About Narrative Science: Narrative Science creates software that writes stories from enterprise data to drive understanding and results.
Shailendra Singh
Founder & CEO of Samya.AI
Shailendra Singh is the Founder & CEO at Samya.ai and the Board Member at MarketsandMarkets.
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About Samya.AI: Samya.AI operates as a revenue growth AI company that brings the power of deep learning.
Mert Iseri
CEO of SwipeSense
Mert Hilmi Iseri is the young turk of design. His journey started off in Istanbul, Turkey and changed courses completely once he arrived at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering. After graduating with his own degree ?Entrepreneurial Design? in the spring of 2011, he is excited to embrace design and entrepreneurship to galvanize a generation into positive change. During his time in Northwestern, he co-founded Design for America, a national network of student led design studios working to create social impact. Currently, he is the Co-founder and CEO of SwipeSense – a company that aims to save the 100,000 deaths that occur every year in the US due to Hospital-Acquired Infections.
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About SwipeSense: SwipeSense is a healthcare technology company that makes healthcare safe, efficient, and predictable through location-aware applications.
Michael Jansen
Chairman, Founder & CEO of Cityzenith
Michael Jansen is a sought after Smart City industry leader and public speaker with numerous awards and accolades to his credit, and has been featured on CNN, CNBC, and myriads of business, technology, and AEC publications worldwide, including Architectural Record, ENR, Business Week, Domus, Contract Magazine, et. al. In 2007, Michael was awarded Building Design + Construction Magazine’s prestigious “40 Under 40” award honoring top CEOs in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry under the age of 40. An impassioned architect, urbanist, and entrepreneur, Michael founded Satellier in 2004, a CAD and BIM production services company backed by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital. Under his leadership, in just four years Satellier experienced explosive growth from a team size of 10 to over 450 and fundamentally changed the way AEC firms deliver services. In 2010, Michael assumed the helm of Cityzenith to pursue his dream of transforming life in cities all over the world. Michael was educated as an architect at Yale and Cambridge; earned a Fulbright scholarship; studied art and architecture in China and India; speaks four languages and has traveled to more than 80 countries; designs high-end, exotic furniture, and is an avid guitar player.
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About Cityzenith: Cityzenith is a technology startup that provides data visualization platform software and applications for IoT and Smart Cities.
Biju Nair
President & CEO of HYLA Mobile
Biju Nair has over 18 years’ experience as an entrepreneur and technology industry leader. In March 2011, Biju Nair joined Synchronoss and serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Strategy Officer. In this role, Biju Nair is responsible for leading the strategic vision of the company. Prior to joining Synchronoss, Biju Nair was the Chairman & CEO of Sapience Knowledge Systems, Inc., a venture backed wireless software company (acquired by Synchronoss Technologies in 2011). Previously, Biju Nair held the position of Senior Vice President & GM of the Connectivity and Security Group at Smith Micro Software (NASDAQ: SMSI) and Corporate Vice President & GM and founder of Mobility Solutions Group at PCTEL, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCTI) which was acquired by Smith Micro in 2008). Biju Nair also held senior executive positions at SAFCO Technologies and Agilent Technologies. Biju Nair holds a Master of Science degree in Electronic and Computer Engineering from Politechnika Warszawska and a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Illinois Institute of Technology.
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About HYLA Mobile, Synchronoss Technologies: HYLA Mobile is a provider of mobile device trade-in and reuse solutions it enables information access for new users.
Jason Fried
Co-Founder & CEO of Basecamp
Jason Fried is the Co – Founder & President of 37signals. A privately-held Chicago-based company committed to building the best web-based tools possible with the least number of features necessary. Jason Co – Wrote all of 37signals books, including their latest “Rework”, and is invited to speak on entrepreneurship, design, management, and software all around the globe. Jason believes there’s real value and beauty in the basics.
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About Basecamp, Inc.com: Basecamp is a private, secure space online where people working together can organize and discuss.
Glenn Trout
President and CEO of VelocityEHS
Glenn Trout is President & CEO of VelocityEHS. Glenn has more than 20 years of experience in the EHS industry, which includes authoring articles for trade publications, serving on the VPPPA Region V board and participating in numerous panel discussions and webinars. He has spoken at more than 100 industry events on topics such as occupational health and safety, regulatory compliance and risk assessment. Prior to joining VelocityEHS in 2000, he gained management experience at Mead Paper and Ernst & Young. Glenn holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Miami University in Ohio and an MBA in Management and Strategy, Marketing and International Business from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University.
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About VelocityEHS: VelocityEHS is a new kind of EHS software company, helping you reach your environmental, health, safety and sustainability goals faster.
Donald Wisniewski
CEO of Cyberhull
Don joined his first start up company, Cybiko Inc, as President in 1999. Don led the funding effort for Cybiko and with other team members raised $19.5million in Venture Capital funding. Cybiko launched a ( Gameboy like ) wireless connected internet device under his leadership and the company grew from 25 to over 275 employees in 2 years. Ninety percent of the Cybiko employees were based in Moscow, Russia. Don, working with his team, then organized the company into several divisions one of which was a wireless content publisher/developer, Cybiko Wireless. Starting with only 9 employees and $300k in funding, he took lead role and grew that entity to over eighty employees in two year with the majority of resources being located off shore. He then sold Cybiko Wireless to a leading French Mobile Game Publisher providing significant ROI for his investors. Don next founded 3D Wireless Games Inc. a specialized Mobile Content Development company. He established its base of operations in Russia, built the team and successfully sold the company to Superscape, Plc. Don joined Superscape as SVP Operations and Marketing and played a key role in re engineering operations, substantially growing the off shore development team from 15 to 95 employees and driving Superscape into a Top 5 publisher in the US Mobile Games market. Superscape was sold to Glu Mobile in April 2008 for $36 Million and after he finished the integration of the two companies, Don went on to Co-Found CyberHULL. For the past 10 yrs he has focused his efforts in the Russia IT market. He has established significant off shore development teams multiple times and delivered very strong results.
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About Cyberhull: Cyberhull is an IT company that has teams of outsourced software and programming development and involves in data transformation and more.
Arvind J. Singh
Chairman & CEO of Utopia
Arvind Singh is the Co-founder and CEO of Utopia Global, an industry leader in Enterprise Information Management software and services and long-time SAP Partner organization. Arvind believes true innovation happens when we push ourselves beyond the “good enough” and that 80% effort gets you through life but is not good enough to differentiate yourself and your organization. Arvind is a serial entrepreneur with experience in building global businesses for the last 20 years. Prior to co-founding Utopia in 2003, Arvind was the CEO of Value Communications Corporation (ValuCom), a company he founded in 1996. Under his leadership, ValuCom grew to be one of the most recognized brand names in prepaid telecom in the US. The company was acquired by Rediff.com (NASDAQ: REDF) in 2001.
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About Utopia: Utopia is an enterprise data solutions provider that leverages its proprietary Enterprise Data Lifecycle Management (EDLM) methodology.
Zach Kaplan
Co-Founder and CEO of Inventables
Zach Kaplan is the Founder and CEO of Inventables, the leader in 3D carving. A maker his whole life, he is on a mission to ignite digital manufacturing world wide and provide everyone with ambition a way to get started. Inventables flagship products Easel, Carvey, and X-Carve are used by a new wave of makers carving everything from circuit boards to skate boards. Named a “modern Leonardo” by the Museum of Science and Industry and a 40 under 40 by Crain’s Chicago Business, his dream is to create a world with 2 million digital manufacturers that have raving fans, not just customers.
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About Corazon Capital, Inventables: Inventables is a 3D carving company offers a powerful machine, intuitive software and unique materials.
Rahul Shah
Founder and CEO of Katalyst Technologies
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About ForecastEra, Katalyst Technologies: Katalyst Technologies provides a full range of IT professional services for its clients in the U.S., Middle East, and India.
Yona Shtern
CEO of Arrive
He is Expertise in building & managing successful global brands in e-commerce, telecommunications and fashion retail.
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About Arrive, ParkWhiz: Arrive is a provider of parking and other connected mobility services through apps, websites, voice platforms.
Gary Cohen
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cova
Gary leads Cova’s charge into the legal cannabis space by guiding the vision, strategic development, ‘go to market’ plans and culture. Before joining Cova, Gary was a principal in over a dozen tech start-ups in the mobile communications industry ranging from small VC funded companies to Fortune 100 firms, including Onavo, which was later acquired by Facebook. In those companies he led sales, marketing, business analytics and market expansions. He has also held a multitude of leadership roles with Verizon and AT&T. Gary holds a Degree in Finance with a Masters in Marketing from the University of Colorado. In his spare time Gary enjoys skiing, mountain biking, outdoor sports, travel and comfort food.
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About Cova, EZLinks Golf: Cova offers POS solution in the cannabis industry and helps retailers simplify compliance, reduce costs, and increase revenue.
Wes Shepherd
CEO of Unifyd Insights
Wes Shepherd currently works as the CEO for Unifyd Insights.
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About Unifyd Insights: Unifyd is a pre-integrated data & analytics marketplace. Connect your data to expand and enrich it.
Justyn Howard
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Sprout Social
Justyn Howard is the founder and CEO of Sprout Social, a leading Social Media Management (SMM) platform.
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About Sprout Social: Sprout Social provides a platform for businesses to manage social media engagement, publishing and analytics.
Pamela Morgan
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Third Key Solutions
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About Empowered Law, Third Key Solutions: Third Key Solutions offers consulting and cryptographic key management solutions for companies using decentralized digital currencies.
Daniel Adamany
Founder & CEO of AHEAD
As president and CEO of AHEAD, Daniel Adamany is responsible for company strategy and overall vision of the organization. Daniel is hands-on, engaging directly with clients and partners, ensuring the organization continues to meet and exceed expectations. Prior to AHEAD, Daniel played a pivotal role in EMC’s rise to prominence, winning several national awards for leadership and performance. Daniel has a robust background in sales strategy and an unparalleled understanding of finance. He plays a critical role in structuring deals and assisting clients with procuring vital solutions in today’s difficult economy. Daniel is also involved in several entrepreneurial ventures within various industries, including real estate, hospitality, and entertainment, where he lends his experience and vision to drive success. Daniel has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
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About AHEAD, Vertical Trail: AHEAD is a solutions-based company that helps clients move to an optimized IT service delivery model.
Matt Kunkel
Co-Founder & CEO of LogicGate
Matt Kunkel is the CEO and co-founder of LogicGate, Inc. Mr. Kunkel has over a decade of experience delivering cutting edge technology solutions to solve complex business issues related to audits, investigations, risk management, regulatory compliance, and process automation. He is an industry leading expert in solving organizations governance, risk, and compliance issues using technology. He regularly consultants and leads large teams that solve client needs in the areas of Financial Services, Healthcare, Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Device Manufacturing, and Energy.
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About LogicGate: LogicGate builds technology that allows businesses to automate and track disorganized processes in risk and compliance.
Annemarie Omrod
President & CEO of John Galt Solutions
As the founder of John Galt Solutions, Annemarie currently serves as its President and CEO. She ensures the daily operations and strategic vision of the company closely align with our customers’ needs. She has helped customers such as Hasbro, Fidelity Investments, and DuPont build their forecasting and demand planning processes. Annemarie was one of the chief designers of John Galt’s award-winning ForecastX Wizard software. Annemarie is a frequent expert speaker at APICS, the Institute of Business Forecasting, DC Expo and others. She was recently published in the Harvard Business Review and has written for Start Magazine. Annemarie earned her BS and Masters from Drexel University, and is also a Certified Professional Forecaster.
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About John Galt Solutions: John Galt Solutions provides forecasting and supply chain planning solutions to increase forecast accuracy, enhance collaboration.
Brad Weisberg
Founder & CEO of Snapsheet
Brad founded Snapsheet in 2011 and has led the company through multiple hyper growth stages. He is passionate about developing creative solutions for today’s complex problems, using powerful technical platforms to deliver great user experiences. He is a champion for the Chicago tech community and regularly mentors leaders at emerging tech companies. His work with Snapsheet has been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company. Brad has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and advertising from Indiana University Bloomington. He is a guest lecturer at Northwestern University.
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About Snapsheet: Snapsheet delivers claims experiences through its cloud-native claims management software and tech-enabled appraisal services.
Orazio Buzza
Founder & CEO of Fooda
Orazio Buzza is a Co-Founder at Fooda, Inc. He served as President & Chief Operating Officer of Echo Global Logistics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECHO), from May 2005 until August 2010. From October 2003 to May 2005, he was the CFO and COO of InnerWorkings, Inc. (Nasdaq: INWK). From July 2001 to September 2003, Orazio was Vice President of Finance and Operations at Bus Bank, an online provider of charter bus services. He received his bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Supply Chain Management from the University of Illinois, and he is also a CPA.
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About Fooda: Fooda is a food technology platform that connects restaurants to people while at work.
Michael Nervick
CEO/Founder of Sleek Technologies
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About Sleek Technologies: Freight Management Saas and Data
Ashish Rangnekar
Co-Founder and CEO of BenchPrep
Ashish Rangenkar is one of BenchPrep’s co-founders, and directs business development, public relations, and operational efforts on a day-to-day basis. Before founding BenchPrep, Ashish perfected his analytical skills as a strategy consultant for Capital One. At 22, he was an adjunct lecturer in the Math department at the City University of New York, an experience that has helped inform his perspectives on education and learning.
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About BenchPrep: BenchPrep offers a learner success platform to improve engagement and outcomes for learners.
Christopher Ainsley
CEO of ShopperTrak
Christopher Ainsley is the chief executive officer of ShopperTrak. Christopher is leading ShopperTrak’s global expansion as the retail industry’s leader in consumer behavior intelligence and information products. Christopher is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s day-to-day operations as they relate to revenue growth and strategic direction. Under his leadership, the company has an increased presence in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Christopher joined ShopperTrak in 2008 after serving as president and CEO of The Patent Board where he successfully transitioned the company from a consultancy to a business model of online tools and analytical products. Prior to that, he served as senior vice president of global strategy and business development for LexisNexis, New York. Christopher has also served as president and chief executive officer of Wolters Kluwer Health, one of three international divisions of Wolters Kluwer NA. A native of England and now an American citizen, Ainsley earned a Master of Arts degree from Oxford University and graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration with a master of business administration degree
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About ShopperTrak: ShopperTrak is a provider of people counter technology and foot traffic analysis that improve retail profitability.
Andy Yin
CEO APAC of ShopperTrak
Andy Yin is CEO APAC at ShopperTrak.
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About ShopperTrak: ShopperTrak is a provider of people counter technology and foot traffic analysis that improve retail profitability.
Jack Philbin
Co-Founder, President & CEO of Vibes
As one of the premier thought-leaders in mobile marketing and wireless, Jack spearheads Vibes’ strategic direction and drives the company’s position as the leading provider of mobile relationship management technology solutions for leading brands. An entrepreneur and builder, Jack has specific expertise in business development, strategic client management and consumer marketing. Jack currently serves as Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association North America Board of Directors and on the CTIA Wireless Internet Caucus. Jack was honored with the MMA’s “Outstanding Individual Achievement” award in 2005. Under Jack’s leadership, Vibes was ranked #92 on the 2007 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing US companies and has received numerous awards for their innovation.
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About FireStarter Fund, Mobile Marketing Association, Vibes: Vibes is a mobile marketing software platform.
Archie Gupta
CEO of Root3 Technologies
CEO at Root3 Technologies.
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About Root3 Technologies: Information Technology and Services
Tarik khribech
CEO/Founder of Allbetter
Allbetter was born out of passion, innovation, and irritation. Founder Tarik Khribech was born in Morocco and migrated to the USA. He soon finished his Master’s degree in Computer Science and began working for Fortune 100 companies. Years of launching innovative businesses with growing success fueled Tarik’s fire for measurable, positive results. But as an immigrant, he saw first-hand the frustration of small business life, especially during the recent pandemic. Irritation grew while using the available apps for homeowners and contractors, and an idea, a deep, long-term vision, and a solution were born. Now entering its third year, allbetter has attracted a world-class team of visionaries, business and brand strategists, technology and app experts, and more, all dedicated to make the contractor and homeowner industry better, make small business better, make busy homeowners feel better, and this world, well…you know.
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About Allbetter: Changing the way property owners find local contractors, and helping both succeed.
Christopher Kenessey
Chief Executive Officer of NetMotion Software
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About Forbes Technology Council, NetMotion Software, YPO: NetMotion Software is a tech company that provides security solutions, device management, and monitoring of remote devices.
Riana Lynn
Founder and CEO of Journey Foods
Riana Lynn is a leader in food innovation, technology, and venture strategy. As a serial entrepreneur, she develops high-growth, nationally recognized technology and food businesses. Scaling a family juice company inspired her to develop FoodTrace, supply chain software that impacts thousands of food businesses across the US and beyond. Riana’s development strategies are pivotal to some of the world’s most innovative food and agriculture startups. She also works with Fortune 500 companies on new innovations. Her accomplishments have been featured on CNBC, Forbes, USA Today, Wired, TechCrunch, INC, Entrepreneur Magazine, Crain’s “20 in their 20s”, among others.
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About Journey Foods: Journey Foods solves food science and supply chain inefficiencies with enterprise software to help companies feed 8 billion people better.
Daniel Estrada
Co-Founder and CEO of 86 Repairs
Daniel Estrada is the co-founder and CEO of 86 Repairs, the repair and maintenance management platform built for the restaurant industry. He has over 20 years of experience in technical and leadership roles, including as a software engineer, project manager, consultant to startups and Fortune 500 companies, and as the practice head in a global digital consultancy. Daniel is a first generation American, multi-citizen, and speaks 3 languages.
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About 86 Repairs: 86 Repairs is a subscription service that optimizes and manages end-to-end equipment repair and maintenance for restaurant groups.
Sean Chou
CEO of Catalytic
Sean Chou is the CEO and Co-founder of Catalytic, a company he founded in 2015 built on his lifelong obsession with working smarter. The company’s people-friendly automation platform frees up people to do more meaningful work, increases the speed of doing business, and improves the quality of outcomes. Prior to Catalytic, he was the founding CTO and EVP of Services at Fieldglass, a software-as-a-service pioneer acquired in 2014 by SAP for approximately $1 billion.
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About Catalytic: Catalytic offers the easiest platform for digital transformation and the automation of knowledge work.
Michael Greenough
Chairman and CEO of SSA Global
Michael Greenough is Chairman and CEO at SSA Global.
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About : SSA Global is a leading global provider of enterprise software applications and related services.
Rakesh Madhava
Founder & CEO of Nextpoint
Rakesh Madhava is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of NextPoint Inc., where he leads a unique team of computer scientists, litigation support professionals, and communication experts. He has 15 years of experience in legal technology and trial support with specific experience in white-collar criminal defense, breach of contract, intellectual property, shareholder suits, tortious interference suits, and product liability. Madhava is a frequent speaker on the topics of cloud computing and new technologies in electronic data management and is an avid participant in legal technology industry events. In 2005, he received a special proclamation for his work within the 7th Circuit Bar Association and is a member of the American Society of Trial Consultants, American Institute of Graphic Arts, and TiE, a network of professionals that fosters entrepreneurship.
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About Nextpoint: Nextpoint develops regulatory, compliance, and litigation software applications.
Vrahram Kadkhodaian
CEO of PROLIFIQ
Vrahram Kadkhodaian is the CEO of Prolifiq. He joined Prolifiq in September 2016 as Chief Commercial Officer and transitioned into the role of CEO in February 2017. Vrahram is responsible for driving the company’s continued growth by building upon Prolifiq’s longstanding legacy of innovation, customer centricity, and passion for solving complex business challenges. Vrahram has spent over a decade in executive sales leadership positions, working for organizations such as Wells Fargo, CDC Software (Pivotal CRM), and SalesForce.com, where he has been responsible for not only customer acquisition & customer success, but also go-to-market strategy and distribution, locally and internationally. Vrahram specializes in solving complex business problems by leveraging technology in regulated markets, such as financial services & healthcare, with an emphasis in medical devices & pharmaceuticals.
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About PROLIFIQ: PROLIFIQ is a computer software company that specializes in the fields of sales enablement, account planning, and content enablement.
Jake Lumetta
Founder and CEO of ButterCMS
Jake Lumetta serves as a Founder and CEO at ButterCMS.
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About ButterCMS: Add a blog or CMS to your website in minutes. ButterCMS is a headless CMS and blogging platform built for developers.
Dan Ratner
Cofounder & CEO of Public Good Software
Dan Ratner is Executive Chairman and co-founder of Public Good, an organization that helps people find, connect with and support organizations that are working on the causes they care about. Prior to Public Good, Dan served as Director of Development for President Obama‘s 2012 reelection campaign, and as co-founder and COO/CTO at Sittercity, the nation’s largest service dedicated to helping parents find quality childcare online. In addition to his startup and campaign work, Dan is on the boards of Open Books, a Chicago literacy organization, and Fulcrum Point New Music Project. Also an investor, Dan serves on the board of Impact Engine, an accelerator and early stage investment fund. He also loves to write—he’s published two non-fiction books on nanotechnology and is working on a novel.
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About Cure Violence, Impact Engine, Open Books, Public Good Software: Meet new donors and raise more money by making online fundraising easy and accessible to all.
Aksh Gupta
CEO and Co-Founder of Occasion
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About Occasion: Occasion provides a simple, but powerful tool for merchants to grow their business and connect with customers.
Adam Siegel
Co-Founder and CEO of Cultivate Labs
Adam is a founder of Inkling and as CEO is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the company and assisting in business development and client service. Before founding Inkling, Adam spent 10 years as a consultant at Accenture, working with a long list of Fortune 100 and Government Agencies and also leading up research initiatives around next generation user experiences. Adam has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Indiana University.
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About Cultivate Labs, Federis Group: Cultivate Labs use crowdsourcing their best thinking to guide your most important decisions.
Killian Tobin
CEO & Co-founder of Omega Grid
Killian is an engineer with an MS in computer science and applied knowledge of system optimization using neural networks and genetic algorithms. Killian has consulted or sold software to utilities for over 18 years. He was responsible for energy platform sales at Oracle Utilities and business development at Uptake (the fastest growing startup of 2015 according to Forbes, beating Slack and Uber).
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About Omega Grid: Omega Grid is a blockchain local energy market platform
Jennifer Fried
Co-Founder & CEO of ExplORer Surgical
Jennifer Fried is the CEO & Co-Founder of ExplORer Surgical .
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About ExplORer Surgical, Portfolia: ExplORer is an interactive surgical playbook that promotes optimal teamwork in the operating room.
Steve Kreynin
CEO of Forte Group
Steve Kreynin is a CEO at Forte Group. Steve founded Forte Group two decades ago with the dream of building a bridge between people and technology. What began with a vision in a garage now bridges 800 employees across 11 global offices together.
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About Forte Group: Forte Group is a full-service custom software delivery partner with a global team of experts who bring the best technology talent and value-driven practices to achieve clients’ mission in accelerating their business.
Ben Margolit
Co-Founder and CEO of Rentgrata
Ben Margolit is a Co-Founder and CEO at Rentgrata.
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About Rentgrata: Rentgrata is a messaging platform that connects prospective renters with current residents of apartment communities.
Charles Kwon
Co-Founder & CEO of OmniSparx
Charles Kwon has over 30 years of experience in transforming companies by leveraging disruptive technologies. He has built and sold multiple startups and helped companies such as Microsoft, Dell, HP, and Dropbox.
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About OmniSparx: OmniSparx is a premier collaboration platform for crypto organizations to create and share value within their communities.
Andrew Rowland
Founder, CEO of Classkick
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About Classkick: Classkick pffers a real-time personalized feedback and help platform for teachers and students.
Nick Kokonas
CEO of Tock
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About Alinea Restaurant, Tock: Tock is a cloud-based platform with flexible data structures that provide comprehensive restaurant and event booking services.
Mike Preuss
Co-founder & CEO of Visible.vc
Mike leads Business Development initiatives for Formspring where he oversees distribution across the web, media partnerships, and monetization. He is also in the Orr Entrepreneurial Fellowship and an advisor at EveryMe. Prior, Mike helped get a startup off the ground at Indiana University from which he graduated with degrees in Entrepreneurship and Finance.
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About FounderDating, Visible.vc: Visible.vc is an investor relationship management platform used by company founders across the globe.
Jeffrey Eschbach
Founder & CEO of Page Vault
JEFFREY ESCHBACH is an entrepreneur and tech innovator, with over 20 years of experience creating new products and businesses. He is the founder and CEO of Page Vault Inc., a company that transforms Internet content into evidence for the legal world. Before that, Jeffrey built a career leading R&D initiatives at Intel Japan and Motorola Research Labs. After moving to Chicago a decade ago, he became immersed in its growing startup scene, and now advises and invests in early-stage companies there. He received an MBA with honors from The Kellogg School of Management, regularly teaches as a professor at the school, and serves as the Director of Program Outreach for the Kellogg Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative. He also holds undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University. Jeffrey is a National Science Foundation Fellow, has earned 11 USPTO patents related to cloud-computing, and frequently speaks on startup and corporate innovation topics.
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About Chicago Early Growth Ventures (CEGV), Kellogg School of Management, Page Vault: Page Vault enables legal professionals to easily capture web content for use as evidence in the U.S. courts.
Amir Badr
Co-founder & CEO of Upkey
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About Upkey: Upkey is a provider of remote career readiness and talent engagement tools for students, universities, and companies.
Robert Yoskowitz
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nullafi
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About Nullafi: Nullafi Shield is a zero-code add-on to any endpoint that gives admins one-click control over what data that endpoint receives
Jay Sebben
Founder & CEO of L Street Collaborative
Jay Sebben is the Founder & CEO at L Street Collaborative, LLC.
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About Crowdfind, Fultonbridge Partners, L Street Collaborative, Quicksilver Studios, Stetco Group: L Street Collaborative is a venture development company focused on developing enterprise software platforms.
Daniel Lee
Chief Executive Officer of Kokomo 24/7
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About Kokomo 24/7: Public Safety Cloud Platform with modules – AI-driven Incident Management, Emergency Operation Center, and Anonymous Reporting
Amanda Lannert
CEO of Jellyvision
Amanda Lannert is the Chief Executive Officer of The Jellyvision Lab, 8Inc. and has been a key figure in driving the company’s direction since its founding in 2001. Her focus at The Jellyvision Lab is on furthering the company’s digital strategy, improving processes to better scale operations, and customer acquisition to continue fueling the company’s growth. Under Amanda’s leadership, Jellyvision has doubled its revenue three out of the last four years and has grown to serve hundreds of mostly Fortune 1000 clients with interactive communication solutions for desktop, mobile, and emerging platforms via the company’s digital agency work and ALEX, the Jellyvision Benefits Counselor (www.meetalex.com). Prior to joining The Jellyvision Lab, Amanda managed global brands for Kellogg’s while at Leo Burnett, where she developed strategies and implemented campaigns for Pop-Tarts and Nutri-Grain bars, in addition to spending two years in a new business and new brand development think tank. Amanda was recently named CEO of the Year at the Moxie Awards and has been profiled in the Chicago Tribune. She is also active in Chicago’s startup community, serving on the advisory boards of 1871 and The Starter League, where she also teaches, as well as mentoring at TechStars, where she was named 2013 Mentor of the Year, and Healthbox Industries. Mrs. Lannert also enjoys a good cupcake.
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About Jellyvision: We make learning and decision making delightful. ALEX, our benefits expert, helps millions of employees understand their benefit options.
Craig Ulliott
CEO of Codeverse
Specialties:software development, scalable web architectures, social business models, viral marketing
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About Codeverse: Codeverse is the world’s first interactive coding studio & edtech platform,, founded on the mission to teach a billion kids to code.
Mehdi Bentanfous
CEO North America and CRO Industries of KINEXON
Mehdi Bentanfous is the CEO North America and CRO Industries at KINEXON.
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About KINEXON: Real-time location intelligence for the Internet of Things.
Jessica Droste Yagan
CEO & Managing Partner of Impact Engine
Jessica Droste Yagan is CEO of Impact Engine, a venture fund that invests financial and human capital in early-stage, for-profit technology startups that are improving education, health, economic empowerment, and resource efficiency. Prior to Impact Engine, Jessica led the creation of McDonald’s Corporation’s sustainable sourcing strategy, most recently as Director of Sustainable Supply for McDonald’s USA. In that role, she enabled the integration of ethical, environmental, and economic sustainability across all food and packaging sourcing. She also architected numerous specific projects including Marine Stewardship Council-certified fish and a multi-million dollar investment in improving the livelihoods of Guatemalan coffee farmers while simultaneously strengthening the coffee supply chain. Prior to her work with McDonald’s USA, Jessica led strategy and alignment of global sustainable sourcing at McDonald’s and consulted with city, non-profit, and corporate clients in the areas of strategic planning, corporate social responsibility, and inner city economic development. She has co-authored two Harvard University case studies on public-private partnerships and currently serves as a board member for Social Venture Partners Chicago, OneGoal Chicago, The Honeycomb Project, Metropolitan Planning Council, and Piece & Co. Jessica earned recognition on Chicago Crain’s 40-Under-40 list in 2013 and served as a 2014 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Haverford College, an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. She attended the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, IL for high school. Most importantly, Jessica tries to keep up with logistics for her wonderful and active family. She lives in Chicago with her husband Sam and three children.
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About Impact Engine: Impact Engine is a venture capital and private equity firm that invests financial and human capital in early-stage companies.
Geoff Surkamer
Chief Executive Officer of MSI Data
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About MSI Data: MSI Data develops enterprise, scheduling, and mobile software that helps companies improve the productivity of their field workforce.
Filip Boksa
CEO of BookingKoala, LLC
Filip Boksa is the CEO and Co-Founder of BookingKoala,
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About BookingKoala, LLC, King of Maids LLC, Sassy Egg Inc: All-in-one platform designed for the service industry. From marketing & sales to management & convenience.
Ed LaHood
CEO of Thyng, LLC
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About MainCloud, Thyng, LLC: Thyng is an easy to use Augmented Reality authoring app that allows you to create your own Augmented Reality experiences on any surface!
Erhan Musaoglu
CEO of Logiwa
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About Logiwa: Logiwa is the industry-leading WMS serving retail, e-commerce, wholesale, and 3PL businesses worldwide for over a decade.
Colin Armitage
Founder and CEO of Origsoft
Throughout his career Colin has been a key industry player focused on building companies and solutions where technology is aligned to true business needs. From the founding of Original Software in 1997, through its expansion into North America and based on its rapidly expanding product suite, Colin has provided the leadership and vision to deliver continual and profitable growth driven by innovation.
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About Origsoft: Original Software offers a test automation solution focused completely on the goal of effective software quality management.
Tim Stojka
CEO and Chairman of Agentis
Tim is currently CEO ,Founder & Chairman of Agentis Energy based in Chicago. Agentis delivers energy-efficiency software applications to businesses for improved energy management through utility partnerships. Tim previously served as co-founder/Chairman and CEO of Commerx™. A pioneer in the development of Internet eCommerce systems, Tim was responsible for helping to direct and communicate the vision and growth strategies of Commerx. Through his aggressive promotion and strategic partnering, Tim successfully positioned Commerx as a leading provider of collaborative, Web-hosted supply chain solutions for industrial markets. In 2000, Commerx was awarded the Smithsonian/ComputerWorld technology award for innovation. Tim has been featured in top business publications including Business Week, Fortune, Forbes, Crain’s Chicago Business, and Business 2.0 and is a frequent speaker at tech industry conferences. In early 2000, he was named one of 25 “E-Champions” by BtoB magazine and was a Top 10 finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
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About Agentis, Fast Heat: Agentis Energy provides businesses with actionable information derived from energy data.
Michael Wons
President and CEO of CellTrak
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About CellTrak, Civix, PayIt: CellTrak delivers mobile phone-based automation to agencies that are no-longer intended to work with self reported info and paper processes.
Seshadri Guha
CEO & Founder of Tada Cognitive Solutions also referred to as TadaNow
Guha is Chairman of CGN Global with over 20 years of experience managing complex business challenges and defining unique approaches for strategy and collaborating with other leaders to drive strategic transformational change within global firms.
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About CGN Global, Tada Cognitive Solutions also referred to as TadaNow: TadaNow leads Supply Chain Software Market providing real-time E2E visibility, collaboration & orchestration using digital twin technology.
Steve Kaiser
Co-Founder & CEO of OrecX
Steve has 28 years experience in voice recording technology sales and support. Prior to co-founding OrecX, Steve founded Stevens Communications, the North American channel partner for Nice Systems.
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About OrecX: OrecX is an international provider of enterprise grade call recording, quality management, and screen recording solutions.
Wendell Jisa
Chief Executive Officer of Reveal
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About Reveal: Reveal is a global provider of eDiscovery, compliance and risk technology.
Wes Smithe
Co-Founder & CEO of Direct
Wes Smithe is the CEO & Co-Founder at Direct
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About Direct, GamedayHousing: The Essential All-In-One Software Solution for Vacation Rental Management.
Emily L Barr
President & Chief Executive Officer of Graham Media Group
Emily L. Barr is President & Chief Executive Officer of Graham Media Group, the television broadcasting division of Graham Holdings Company. She has held this position since July 2012. Prior to joining Graham Media Group, Barr served as President and General Manager of ABC 7 Chicago (WLS–TV), the ABC-owned station in Chicago, a position she held from April 1997 until July 2012. Under her leadership and throughout her tenure, ABC 7 strengthened its dominance in the market and remained the top-rated/most watched station in Chicago. In 2009, Barr helped create The Live Well Network, a digital broadcast, online and wireless network focused on home, health and lifestyle programming. A native of Haverhill, MA, Barr is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and holds a BA in Film Studies from Carleton College in Northfield, MN. In 1986, she earned an MBA from George Washington University in Washington, DC.
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About Graham Media Group: Graham Media Group is a broadcast media company.
Michael Mullarkey
CEO/Chairman of Brickfish
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About Brickfish: Brickfish provide social media software that enables brands to build, manage and monitor social engagement and ROI.
Phil Alexander
Chief Executive Officer, Founder of ConceptDrop
Philip Alexander is the Founder and CEO of Nexus A.I. & ConceptDrop.
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About ConceptDrop, Ernst & Young, Nexus A.I.: ConceptDrop matches brands with an invite-only community of creative professionals.
Igor Fedulov
CEO of Intersog
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About Intersog: We build software and help other companies attack their business goals, solve IT skills shortage issues and embrace innovation.
Carl Nerup
CEO of Cog
Mr. Nerup is the Founder and Chairman at Cog Systems, a private company focused on delivering high assurance ARM based virtualization solutions to the mobile, server, and IoT markets. Prior to this role, Mr. Nerup was the CMO at Cog Systems. Previously, Mr. Nerup was Vice President in Samsung’s Global Enterprise Business, where he had sole accountability for all direct and indirect sales for the industry leading Samsung Knox Secure Mobility platform. Prior to that, he was a member of the Executive Team at General Dynamics Broadband, where he was the Vice President in charge of global business development for their new line of business in the secure mobility industry – GD Protect. He also served as an Executive in Residence at Carnegie Mellon University, where he worked with the Quality of Life Technology Foundry; a National Science Foundation Engineering Resource Center. He was also a vice president in AT&T’ Strategic Business Development organization, where he had responsibility for identifying new business opportunities across all AT&T business units. He also evaluated all Venture opportunities and managed the full Minority Investment Portfolio for AT&T. Prior to AT&T, Mr. Nerup was a Managing Director at Digital Island, a Cable & Wireless Company, a start-up provider of global hosting and content delivery services. Previous to that, Mr. Nerup was on the launch team for Aerial Communications, a start-up provider of GSM services in seven markets across the U.S., where he was the Head of Sales Operations and Distribution Strategy. Additionally, Mr. Nerup continues in his role as a Partner at Skyline Partners, a private equity firm based in Denver that specializes in select investments and specialized management consulting. Mr. Nerup is a frequent speaker at industry forums and conferences. He also provides advisory services to numerous companies in the emerging high technology and telecommunications industries as well as select non-profit organizations and graduate schools. As a fun fact, Mr. Nerup has been part of six ‘exits’ in his career through either acquisitions or mergers. He is also an avid backpacker and lover of the outdoors.
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About Aegis Secure, Cog: We virtualize IoT. Cyber security focused on the connected device marketplace.
George Burciaga
Founder & CEO of Elevate Digital
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About Elevate Digital, IGNITE CITIES: Elevate Digital is an interactive digital advertising and software company that transforms the way advertisers interact with consumers.
Michael Krasman
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of UrbanBound
Michael is a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded five high growth businesses over his career. He is currently the co-founder and CEO of UrbanBound, a cloud-based Relocation Management Software company. UrbanBound is reshaping the way employers offer and administer relocation benefits for their employees. Through the platform, employees can learn about their new city, organize their entire move, and get connected to a vetted network of service providers. Michael has spent the past 15 years focusing on the cross section of technology and Human Resources and is also a co-founder and board director of Hireology, a platform that uses data to make better hiring decisions. Michael holds a Bachelors of Business Administration with High Honors from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and is a past-president of the Chicago chapter of the Entrepreneur’s Organization. In his spare time, Michael enjoys listening to music, playing piano, cooking, watching Michigan football and spending quality time with his family and friends. He lives in Chicago with his wife and two children.
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About Hireology, UrbanBound: UrbanBound is a smart software solution designed for employee management and relocation benefits.
Kareem Irfan
CEO of Cranes Software
Irfan has served as a director of the Company since July 8, 2014. Since 2011, Irfan has been the Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel of Cranes Software International, a company offering data analytics and engineering simulation software. From 2005 until 2011, he was General Counsel at Schneider Electric, a company which specializes in electricity distribution, automation management and production of installation components for energy management. Irfan is a graduate of DePaul University College of Law, holds a MS in Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois, and a BS in Electronics Engineering from Bangalore University.
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About Cranes Software: A company offering data analytics and engineering simulation software.
William Cordes
Founder and CEO of KPI Sense
William Cordes is the Founder and CEO of KPI Sense.
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About Cordes Consulting, KPI Sense: CFO solutions built for SaaS businesses. Tech-enabled automation paired with SaaS expertise at one low monthly cost.
JC Garrett
CEO & President of FarShore
JC Garrett has spent nearly his entire career working with startups in one form or another. JC currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the 200+ person global custom software development agency, FarShore, and is the primary startup mentor for its investment and advisory arm, Dashfire. He started with FarShore in its early stages over 10 years ago and has worked closely with hundreds of startups to be a strategic leader in their tech and business planning processes. While software development is FarShore’s business, JC always looks at tech with the end goal of creating profitable and sustainable ventures that can raise money, scale operations and grow revenue. He also serves as a coach for several startup accelerators and enablement organizations while co-hosting the recently launched “Mentor Musings” web series.
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About Dashfire, FarShore: FarShore is a software development company that provides clients with web site and mobile application development.
Jordan Lowe
Chief Executive Officer of ServerCentral Turing Group
Jordan Lowe co-founded SCTG in 1999 and today is responsible for company strategy. He loves scuba diving and drinking adventurous new blends of whiskey — but not at the same time.
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About Deft, ServerCentral Turing Group: SCTG is a trusted provider of colocation, cloud, and disaster recovery services for startups, enterprises, and Fortune 500 companies.
Andrew Degenholtz
CEO & Founder of eMagazines
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About Community Path Media, eMagazines, Oplytic, ValueMags: eMagazines produces and delivers vibrant, mobile-ready editions of 150 of the world’s most respected magazines.
Terrence Ryan
CEO, Chairman & Founding Partner of Calcium
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About Calcium, Discovery Health Partners: Calcium is reshaping the healthcare ecosystem by giving individuals more control over their health records, decisions and care.
Robert Lowe
Chief Executive Officer of Wellspring
Robert Lowe is the CEO of Wellspring Worldwide. Rob was previously the Director of Enterprise Creation at Carnegie Mellon University, a position created to provide management advice and assistance to the university’s many start-up companies. He was also a professor of entrepreneurship and corporate strategy at Carnegie Mellon University and has authored over a dozen academic papers on technology commercialization and start-ups. As a recognized expert in technology commercialization, Rob has been interviewed by and quoted in a wide range of media, including Forbes, BBC Radio, Inc. Magazine, and MIT Technology Review. Prior to his academic career, Rob worked for the Boston Consulting Group where he advised clients in pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and industrial automation. He also worked for the University of California’s Office of the President as a Special Projects Consultant to develop metrics, performance evaluation software, and policy analysis related to the University of California’s over 200 start-up companies. Dr. Lowe earned his Ph.D. and MS from the University of California, Berkeley and undergraduate degrees in economics, finance, and computer information systems from the University of Michigan.
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About Wellspring: Wellspring provides software to manage tech scouting, licensing, investing, and university tech transfer.
