The Hokenson Group: International Strategic Advisory and Marketing Consulting

Board

Christopher Gergen

Lifelong Entrepreneur and Author

SMARTHINKING and New Mountain Ventures, LLC

Christopher Gergen is a lifelong entrepreneur with a passion for creating new learning environments. Currently, he is the Co-Founder and Partner in New Mountain Ventures (www.newmountainventures.com), a national consulting and education company that helps organizations and aspiring leaders achieve excellence and results through a mastery of entrepreneurship. Christopher is also the co-author of Life Entrepreneurs, Mavericks in the Art of Leading and Living, of which Howard Schultz, Chairman of Starbucks Coffee Company said: “Business leaders and entrepreneurs alike will greatly benefit from Life Entrepreneurs. It captures the essential qualities of leadership including finding a worthy path, being willing to fail, and taking courageous action. I highly recommend it”

Christopher is also the co-founder and former Chairman of SMARTHINKING (www.smarthinking.com), the leading online tutoring provider in the United States—serving over 70,000 students from more than 300 universities, colleges, and high schools. Other entrepreneurial ventures include starting a coffeehouse/bar dedicated to promoting the arts and music in Santiago, Chile and helping to launch the “Entrepreneur Corps”—a national service initiative sponsored by AmeriCorps*VISTA that placed 400 full-time business volunteers for a year of service in over 90 non-profit organizations across the country.
Christopher is on the founding board of E.L. Haynes Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. and is the founder and recent director of LEAD!, a non-profit leadership and entrepreneurship program for local high school students. Now entering its tenth year, LEAD! aspires to teach personal leadership through entrepreneurship. To date, the program has contributed over $20,000 and hundreds of hours of direct service to area non-profits. Christopher regularly speaks to students and groups of business leaders about starting new enterprises and applying an entrepreneurial framework to life.

Other experiences include his role as Vice President of New Market Development for K12 Inc. (www.k12.com) where he led efforts to introduce K12’s multi-media curriculum and online learning platform into public schools. Prior to joining K12, Christopher was the Chief Operating Officer and VP of Business Development and Strategy for New American Schools, a non-profit education consulting and investment firm based in Alexandria, VA. Gergen received a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Duke University, a Master’s Degree in Public Policy with a focus in education from the George Washington University and his MBA from Georgetown University. Christopher is married with two children and currently resides in Washington, DC.

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