Brad Keywell // Guest Speaker
Brad was named EY World Entrepreneur of the Year in 2019, selected from the Entrepreneur of the Year winners of 46 countries, after being named overall Entrepreneur of the Year in the United States.
Brad is the founder and executive chairman of Uptake Technologies, an industrial artificial intelligence software company leveraging predictive analytics to enable increased productivity, reliability, and environmental responsibility for industrial operators in 21 countries. Uptake is a Technology Pioneer of the World Economic Forum, was Forbes Startup of the Year in 2015, is a three-time CNBC Disruptor, three-time Forbes Cloud 100, and was ranked third on Forbes AI 50 list.
Brad is a founding investor of Tempus Labs, a leader in the field of data-driven precision medicine. He is a co-founder of Groupon, Echo Global Logistics, MediaOcean, Drivin, Dough, and a founder of the venture capital firm Lightbank.
Brad is an investor (through Lightbank or personally) in Sprout Social, Udemy, Fiverr, Reverb, CrowdRise, GoPuff, Benzinga, and more. He is on the Board of Trustees of Equity Residential, an S&P 500 company.
Brad is the Founder and Curator of WNDR, presenting immersive art+technology, named a Best Immersive Experience by USA Today. From its original location in Chicago, WNDR is expanding to major cities nationally.
He is the Founder and Chairman of Chicago Ideas, one of the world’s largest city based ideas platforms, now in its eleventh year.
He is the host of The Upside, a podcast exploring the creative process with iconoclastic thinkers and doers.
He is the chairman of Future Founders, a non-profit providing entrepreneurship education to students in underserved communities throughout Chicagoland.
Brad signed The Giving Pledge in 2016, committing to give the majority of his wealth to charitable causes.
Brad is an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He earned a J.D. cum laude at the University of Michigan Law School and a BBA with honors from Michigan Ross.