An 18-year Microsoft veteran who led and built technologies used by a billion people across the planet - and then joined the leadership of the 2nd largest independent eCommerce company in North America before negotiating a successful exit in 2018. As a best-selling author on technology as magic, multi-patent holder and angel investor, Stefan lives to envision and build the future. Currently, Stefan is the co-founder and CEO of HumanX – the world’s preeminent AI advisory and conference. Venture-backed and aligned with the needs of enterprises needing to deploy AI to obtain their competitive edge, HumanX helps turn inspiration into action.

Stefan is also a founder and General Partner of SilverCircle, a stage-agnostic venture fund that has invested in 31 deals since inception in late 2021. With over 160 LPs, nearly all of whom are operators, SilverCircle is more than just capital – it is the know-how and expertise to change the venture equation for the better. Stefan was previously the founder and Managing Director of ’87, an investment fund and business incubator in Chicago, IL. In his capacity there, he invested in and founded businesses aligned with a direct-to-consumer, data-backed thesis. Stefan is an Officer and founder of Stella Center, a PTSD treatment company that uses a revolutionary procedure to combat the effects of trauma. Finally, Stefan is a co-founder and initial Chief Product Officer of WeAreGiant, a company that connects musicians with their most passionate fans (launching in H2 2022).

Prior to ’87, Stefan was the Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer of Radial, where he transformed the overall company’s strategy to capitalize on the current state of eCommerce. He led a 320-person team that built the company’s technical products and services and managed $250M in revenue. After driving 7x growth in one of the product lines in 16 months, the team sold Radial to BPost for $850M, at twice the EBITDA multiple for which it sold 24 months earlier.

At Microsoft, Stefan was on the founding team of Bing.com and worked with people and organizations across the globe to build and promote industry-leading Search technologies. Bing grew from under 7% to nearly 30% US market share during his tenure and achieved profitability on over $3B in revenue. Prior to Search, Stefan led the strategy and development of Microsoft’s next generation online platforms, was the inventor and General Manager for Microsoft's muni WiFi strategy, built a cybersecurity defense unit, designed open-source development models for their flagship product, ran diligence and M&A efforts for a half-dozen acquisitions, and launched several global products to market.

His varied experiences have given Stefan a catbird seat to see how products and organizations can succeed or fail and has led him to develop tools, systems and contacts that turn an idea into a business.

Stefan has been writing code since he was 8 years old and is fluent in both hardware and software architecture, trends, and potentials. His best-selling book, Search: How the Data Explosion Makes Us Smarter, gained international prominence, and led to dozens of speaking engagements ranging from 10 to 25,000 people in places from TEDx to The Nantucket Project.

Stefan holds several US and international patents in the areas of big data and artificial intelligence. He is also an active investor in 26 startups ranging from healthcare to virtualization, consumer food and eCommerce.

Stefan serves on two corporate boards and two non-profit boards, including the GenCon Board for Conservation International and is active in Endeavor Global, a non-profit dedicated to incubating high-impact startups in developing markets.

His tenure on corporate boards includes or has included:

• Black Rifle Coffee Company (2017-2020): Stefan was one of 5 founding board members, helping the company grow from $13M in 2017 to $150M in 2020. Stefan was head of the Technology Committee, active in helping to rebuild their tech stack, completely revamping their ERP, creating the operational dashboards to scale the eComm portion of the business, and launching their mobile app. Stefan recently reengaged as advisor to assist the company in going public on the NYSE in 2022.
• Mighty Networks (2016-2019): Stefan was one of 4 board members of the fast-growing social network founded by serial entrepreneur, Gina Bianchini. He helped reposition the company’s strategy, product and positioning to accelerate growth, culminating in their series B raise from Intel Capital, among others.
• Fancy Sprinkles (2018-2020): Stefan was one of 4 board members and led the Technology Committee that resulted in a eComm replatform, an ERP selection, and operational enhancements that doubled revenue during his tenure. He was also active in driving new product development and positioning the company for adjacent markets.
• Teaching Strategies (2017-2018): Stefan refactored the technology and development division and helped the exec team expand into adjacent sectors. Left the board upon successful exit in 2018 to Summit Partners.
• Cyborg (2017-present): Stefan currently serves on the board of this stealth company that is pioneering data compression technologies.
• Alto Technologies (2017-present): Stefan serves as a Board member for this global company based in Chile and Miami that focuses on retail and supply chain loss prevention. He helped the company establish a US presence and aided in the growth from $0-10M ARR.
• Velou (2020-present): Stefan is an active Board Advisor to Velou, an eCommerce startup focusing on product search and discovery. He assists with GTM and building the company’s customer pipeline in the US.
• Sound Commerce (2021-present): Stefan is a Board Advisor to Sound Commerce where he focuses on product definition, GTM, and sales strategy for this fast-growing analytics company.
• Velo (2022-present): Stefan is on the board of and chairing the UX and Technology committee for this $40M outdoor cycling eCommerce rollup play (combining PlanetCyclery and Colorado Cyclist). He sourced and lead the deal and currently is working with the company to rebuild the entire tech stack, expand into adjacent markets, and build a best-in-class UX.
• Traffic Solutions Corporation (2018-2021): Stefan served on the board of this middle-market ($160M) traffic control provider. Stefan chaired the Technology Committee and has driven a complete re-architecture of the company’s intelligence infrastructure and led the company’s strategic planning to drive millions in operational efficiencies, resulting in an exit to AWP in 2021.