Kim Polese

Overview

Kim Polese is an angel investor and technology executive based in San Francisco, California. She serves as the Chairman of CrowdSmart, a collective intelligence platform that accelerates startup traction and funding, and helps investors identify promising startups. Polese has a long track record of technology innovation, beginning her career in AI and expert systems, and later co-founding Marimba, where she served as President, CEO, and Chairman, leading the company through an IPO and a successful acquisition by BMC. She also served as CEO of SpikeSource, a software company that pioneered the automation of open source software management, which was acquired by Black Duck in 2010. Polese advises numerous early-stage companies and serves on several boards, including the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, TechNet, the Public Policy Institute of California, the University of California President's Board on Science and Innovation, and the Long Now Foundation. In 2011, she was named to President Obama's Innovation Advisory Board. She received a Bachelor's degree in Biophysics from the University of California, Berkeley, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Business and Economics from California State University. An Aspen Institute Crown Fellow, Polese is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including InformationWeek's 'Top Technology Executives,' the National Center for Women and Information Technology Innovator Award, and Time Magazine's '25 Most Influential Americans.'

Investment Focus

• Technology startups
• Seed stage
• United States-based companies

Portfolio Companies