Co-Founder of America Online and Chairman and CEO of Revolution LLC Steve Case to speak at Whitworth University President’s Leadership Forum May 3

WELLS FARGO BANK IS TITLE SPONSOR FOR THE EVENT

Steve Case will be the featured speaker at Whitworth University’s spring President’s Leadership Forum, to be held Tuesday, May 3, at 7:30-9 a.m. at the Spokane Convention Center. Cost for this event is $40 per person or $400 for a corporate table (10 seats per table). Breakfast is included, along with a copy of Case’s newest book, The Third Wave: An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future (to be published April 5). RSVP by registering online at whitworth.edu/leadershipforum.

Whitworth’s President’s Leadership Forum draws key national leaders to the Inland Northwest to provide wisdom and insight on a variety of contemporary issues.

Case’s entrepreneurial career began in 1985, when he co-founded America Online (AOL). Under his leadership, AOL became the world’s largest and most valuable Internet company, driving the worldwide adoption that has transformed business and society. At its peak, nearly half of Internet users in the United States used AOL. As the first Internet company to go public, AOL had the best performing stock of the 1990s. In 2000, Case negotiated the largest merger in business history, bringing together AOL and Time Warner.

Over the years, Case’s passion for helping entrepreneurs has remained his driving force. He has been a leading voice in shaping government policy on issues related to entrepreneurship, working across the aisle to advance public policies that expand access to capital and talent. He was the founding chair of the Startup America Partnership, an effort launched at the White House to accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation. Steve also was the founding co-chair of the National Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and a member of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, for which he chaired the subcommittee on entrepreneurship. In 2014, Steve was named a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.

Currently, Case is the chairman and CEO of Revolution LLC, a Washington, D.C.- based investment firm he co-founded in 2005. Through Revolution, he partners with visionary entrepreneurs to build significant “built to last” new businesses. Revolution has backed more than 30 companies, including sweetgreen, Zipcar, Revolution Foods, LivingSocial, Bigcommerce and Optoro.

He is also chairman of the Case Foundation, which he established with his wife, Jean, in 1997. Together, the Cases have invested in hundreds of organizations, initiatives and partnerships with a focus on leveraging the Internet and entrepreneurial approaches to strengthen the social sector. In 2010, the Cases joined The Giving Pledge and publicly reaffirmed their commitment to donating the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, offers 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Michelle Drennen, assistant director of development – advancement events, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4974 or iaevents@whitworth.edu.

Lauren Clark, media relations manager, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or lclark@whitworth.edu.