American Businessman and Entrepreneur
Mr. Poizner has over two decades of starting and running technology companies in Silicon Valley. Currently, Mr. Poizner is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Encore Career Institute. Encore Career Institute, created with the Sherry Lansing Foundation and Creative Artists Agency, will offer professional certificates and career counseling designed specifically for students transitioning to new careers or seeking to remain viable in today’s job market. Previously, Mr. Poizner founded and served as CEO of Strategic Mapping Inc., a software company that developed a program to display geographic data on digital maps. He also founded SnapTrack, Inc., which pioneered technology that put GPS receivers into cell phones. Mr. Poizner has a passion for education and public service, co-founding EdVoice, an educational non-profit organization dedicated to improving public schools and serving the interests of K-12 children in California. He also served as a volunteer teacher in San Jose’s Mount Pleasant High School teaching 12th grade American Government. In 2003, Mr. Poizner co-founded the California Charter Schools Association. He was later elected statewide and served as California’s Insurance Commissioner from January of 2007 through January of 2011. In 2010, he ran for Governor of California. Mr. Poizner has an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business (1980).