Gary Swart
- A thought leader in entrepreneurship with thirty years’ experience as a business leader
- Venture Partner at Polaris Partners and Silicon Valley executive veteran
- Former CEO of oDesk, now Upwork, the world’s largest online workplace
A veteran Silicon Valley executive and Venture Partner at Polaris Partners, Gary Swart is considered by many a thought leader in the field of entrepreneurship. He has over thirty years’ experience as a business leader and is credited with building the world’s largest online marketplace. oDesk had over eight million freelancers and over a million clients. He managed to guide the company through difficult times, going through a successful merger with Elance in 2014, and creating what is today known as Upwork. Then, as now, Gary is a champion for both entrepreneurship and workplace innovation.
Gary, after completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration at the University of Maryland, started out with a number of sales, management, and leadership positions at Pure Software before becoming a Business Unit Executive for IBM’s Rational Software Group. He later, before joining oDesk, joined Intelibank where he was the Vice President of Worldwide Sales responsible for building the direct and indirect sales organisation and channel development.
These days, Gary Swart is a Partner at Polaris Partners, a company that invests in technology and healthcare companies. He represents Polaris on the boards of SimplyInsured, Quantcast, and CliQr while mentoring business leaders at innovative companies, working to change the way we live and work.
Amongst the many keynotes he has delivered thus far, Gary counts the Inc. Leadership Conference, SCSW, GigaOm Net:Work, HBS, the Economist’s Ideas Economy Panel, and a host of others. His commentary has appeared on LinkedIn, where he is considered an influencer, The Washington Post, Forbes, The Next Web, and TechCrunch. He has also appeared on numerous radio and television outlets, including Startups Uncensored, Fox Business Network, CNBC, BBC, NPR, and National Public Radio. He is also a faculty member at the Alchemist Academy and a StartX Mentor.
Gary Swart – Speaker
Gary Swart has sat on a number of boards of some of the most innovative, fastest growing companies to be found in Silicon Valley. Gary has translated his myriad experiences into an inspirational, forward-thinking, collaborative approach when it comes to building and motivating business minds. Able to draw on three decades’ worth of experience as a business leader and entrepreneur, Gary offers audiences strategic, practical advice on succeeding in a dynamic, constantly changing business environment.
Speaking Topics
North America