{{short description|American businessman|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael Chasen<!-- include middle initial, if not specified in birth_name --> | image = MichaelChasen.jpg | image_upright = 0.8 | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Birth-date and age|Month DD, YYYY}} --> | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} or {{Death-date and age|Month DD, YYYY|Month DD, YYYY}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = CEO of PrecisionHawk | known_for = Co-founder of Blackboard Inc. along with Matthew Pittinsky, Stephen Gilfus, Daniel Cane | alma_mater = American University, Georgetown University | children = Skylar Pagie Chasen, Logan Chasen, Lily Chasen | spouse = Randi Chasen }}
'''Michael Chasen''' is an American businessman. He is a co-founder and former CEO of Blackboard Inc., a position he held from 1999 to 2012. In April 2013, Chasen co-founded SocialRadar, a technology startup company developing a location-based social app. In 2020, he co-founded ClassEDU, the maker of Class For Zoom, which aims to improve the effectiveness of Zoom-based remote learning.
== Early life ==
Michael Chasen grew up in Cheshire, Connecticut.<ref name=Gibbs/><ref name=Pearlstein12/> He developed an interest in computers at age 10,<ref name=Gibbs/> and he began writing programs on his father's Radio Shack TRS Model III.<ref name=Gibbs/><ref name=Pearlstein12/> He later used his skills to offer local businesses computer consulting while still in school.<ref name=Pearlstein12/><ref name=Coster10>{{cite news |title=America's 15 Most Powerful CEOs Are Under 40 |author=Helen Coster |url=http://news.in.msn.com/business/forbes/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3626184 |work=Forbes |date=2 December 2010 |access-date=30 May 2013 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Also during high school, he was an active member of BBYO (B'nai B'rith Youth Organization).<ref name=Homan13>{{cite news |title=Michael Chasen's new thing: SocialRadar |author=Nate Homan |url=http://brookline.patch.com/articles/brookline-teens-attend-convention-with-welcome-message-from-president-obama |work=Brookline Patch |date=28 February 2013 |access-date=30 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306081349/http://brookline.patch.com/articles/brookline-teens-attend-convention-with-welcome-message-from-president-obama |archive-date=6 March 2013 }}</ref>
Chasen attended American University and completed a degree in computer science in three years, graduating in 1993.<ref name=Kelleher11/><ref name=Huang06>{{cite news |title=America's youngest CEOs |author=Patricia Huan |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13743063/ns/business-forbes_com/t/americas-youngest-ceos/#.UZwmmys4X9M |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320070504/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/13743063/ns/business-forbes_com/t/americas-youngest-ceos/#.UZwmmys4X9M |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 20, 2014 |work=Forbes |date=7 July 2006 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref> While at American, Chasen worked part-time doing technology work for the FBI.<ref name=Pearlstein12/> He met future Blackboard co-founder Matthew Pittinsky in the American University dorms when Pittinsky wanted to borrow Chasen's laser printer.<ref name="Gibbs">{{cite news|author=Hope Katz Gibbs|title=Blackboard Rules: Advice from Two of the Smartest Kids in the Class|work=Beinkandescent|url=http://www.beinkandescent.com/tips-for-entrepreneurs/323/the-magic-of-blackboard-inc|url-status=dead|access-date=30 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320071314/http://www.beinkandescent.com/tips-for-entrepreneurs/323/the-magic-of-blackboard-inc|archive-date=20 March 2014}}</ref><ref name=Burn06/>
Following his undergraduate degree, Chasen earned an MBA with a focus in accounting from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business in 1995.<ref name=Gibbs/><ref name=Georgetown12>{{cite web|url=http://alumni.georgetown.edu/newsevents/newsevents_237.html |title=Alumni Spotlight |date=26 October 2012 |work=georgetown.edu |publisher=Georgetown University |access-date=30 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113073421/http://alumni.georgetown.edu/newsevents/newsevents_237.html |archive-date=13 November 2015 }}</ref>
== Career ==
=== Early career ===
While still at Georgetown, Chasen was inspired by the application process to multiple undergraduate and MBA programs to start Search and Apply Group, a company that offered a computer application allowing colleges to accept online applications.<ref name="Kelleher11">{{cite news|author=Anne Kelleher|date=1 July 2011|title=Blackboard Founders' Roots at American University|work=American Today|url=http://www.american.edu/americantoday/campus-news/20110701-Blackboard-Pittinsky-Chasen.cfm|access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref> After hearing about Search and Apply Group, Greg Baroni, who was Matthew Pittinsky's manager at KPMG Peat Marwick (now KPMG Consulting), offered Chasen a job.<ref name=Gibbs/><ref name=Kelleher11/> In 1996, Chasen left law school after completing one year to join KPMG as a consultant in the Higher Education Group.<ref name=Gibbs/><ref name=Finneran10/>
During their time at KPMG, Chasen and Pittinsky observed that colleges were investing in connecting classrooms and dormitories to the Internet, but there was a gap in the adoption of software to aid learning.<ref name=Finneran10>{{cite news |title=In Pictures: The Greatest Risk They Ever Took |author=Katy Finneran |url=https://www.forbes.com/2010/01/20/gucci-indy500-letterman-entreprenuer-management-risk-greatest_slide_23.html |work= Forbes|date= 20 January 2010|access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref>
Chasen and Pittinsky left KPMG in 1997 to launch their e-learning business.<ref name="Gibbs10">{{cite news|author=Hope Katz Gibbs|date=September 2010|title=Education + Technology = Michael Chasen's Blackboard.com|work=Beinkandescent|url=http://www.beinkandescent.com/entrepreneur-of-the-month/322/michael-chasen|url-status=dead|access-date=30 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418003207/http://www.beinkandescent.com/entrepreneur-of-the-month/322/michael-chasen|archive-date=18 April 2012}}</ref> In an oft-cited anecdote, Baroni allowed them to borrow their computers while they got themselves set-up, a situation that Chasen and Pittinsky used to then steal their office chairs.<ref name=Pearlstein12>{{cite news |title=Blackboard's Departing Founder, An opportunist who made his own luck |author=Steven Pearlstein |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/blackboards-departing-founder-an-opportunist-who-made-his-own-luck/2012/11/17/0663816e-2f7f-11e2-9f50-0308e1e75445_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207134431/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-11-17/business/35505772_1_blackboard-computer-for-small-businesses-desktop-computers |url-status=live |archive-date=7 December 2012 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=18 November 2012 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=Zhang12/>
=== Blackboard ===
Chasen and Pittinsky founded Blackboard LLC, a consulting company developing IMS (Instructional Management System) standards for elearning based on a contract from EDUCOM and the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative, in 1997.<ref name=Buchanan12>{{cite news |title=Private Again and On the Move |author=Leigh Buchanan |url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/201209/leigh-buchanan/life-after-the-inc-500-michael-chasen-blackboard.html |work=Inc. |date=30 August 2012 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=DeLaMerced11>{{cite news |title=Providence to Buy Blackboard for $1.64 Billion |author=Michael J. De La Merced |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/providence-to-buy-blackboard-for-1-64-billion |work=The New York Times |date=1 July 2011 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=Taylor06>{{cite news |title=Business Revolutionaries Learn Diplomacy's Value |author=William C. Taylor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/business/yourmoney/16mgmt.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& |work=The New York Times |date=16 July 2006 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref> In 1998, the company merged with CourseInfo LLC, a software provider which had developed a platform for internet and networked learning, which they called a "Course Management System" platform.<ref name=Nagler98>{{cite news |title=Senior's company helps to produce Web pages for college courses |author=Michelle Nagler |url=https://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/1997/10/seniors-company-helps-produce-web-pages-college-courses |work=Cornell Chronicle |date=October 16, 1997 |access-date=May 28, 2014}}</ref> The combined company became known as Blackboard Inc.<ref name=FastCompany03>{{cite news |title=Matthew Pittinsky And Michael Chasen - Fast 50 2003 |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/1537680/matthew-pittinsky-and-michael-chasen-fast-50-2003 |work=Fast Company |date=28 February 2003 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref>
Chasen became chief executive officer (CEO) of Blackboard in 1999,<ref name=Empson12>{{cite news |title=Blackboard: With Both Co-founders Now Gone, It's The End Of An Era For The Education Software Giant |author=Rip Empson |url= https://techcrunch.com/2012/10/18/with-both-co-founders-now-gone-its-the-end-of-an-era-for-education-software-giant-blackboard/ |work=TechCrunch |date=18 October 2012 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref> as one of the youngest CEOs of a publicly traded company<ref name=Burn06/><ref name=Kirdahy07>{{cite news |title=Young Guns: America's Youngest CEOs |author=Matthew Kirdahy |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/FunMoney/story?id=3717053&page=1#.UZwH5ys4X9M |work=Forbes |date=12 October 2007 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref> when he orchestrated Blackboard's initial public offering in 2004.<ref name=Buchanan12/><ref name=Gibbons04>{{cite news |title=Blackboard's Screeching IPO |author=Richard Gibbons |url=http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2004/06/24/blackboards-screeching-ipo.aspx |work=The Motley Fool |date=24 June 2004 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref>
By 2012 Blackboard had grown to more than 3,000 employees with 20,000 clients in over 65 countries, and earning $600 million in revenue,<ref name=Pearlstein12/><ref name=Zhang12/><ref name=Nagel12/> and Chasen announced he would be stepping down as the CEO of Blackboard.<ref name=Zhang12>{{cite news |title= Michael Chasen calls D.C. a top tech city |author= Tong Zhang |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2012/11/15/michael-chasen-calls-dc-a-top-tech.html |work=Washington Business Journal |date=15 November 2012 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=Overly12>{{cite news |title=Blackboard CEO Michael Chasen to step down in December, firm says |author=Steven Overly |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/blackboard-ceo-michael-chasen-to-step-down-in-december-firm-says/2012/10/15/6add898e-16ff-11e2-8792-cf5305eddf60_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=15 October 2012 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=Clabaugh12>{{cite news |title=Blackboard CEO Michael Chasen to step down |author=Jeff Clabaugh |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2012/10/15/blackboard-founder-to-step-down.html |work=Washington Business Journal |date=15 October 2012 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref> Jay Bhatt was named as his successor.<ref name="Nagel12">{{cite news|author=David Nagel|date=15 October 2012|title=Blackboard CEO Chasen To Step Down|work=THE Journal|url=http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/10/15/blackboard-ceo-chasen-to-step-down.aspx|access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=Clabaugh12/>
=== SocialRadar ===
In 2013, Chasen founded SocialRadar, a D.C.-based mobile startup focused on building a social location app for smartphones and Google Glass.<ref name="Bogan13">{{cite news|author=Aquala Bogan|date=9 May 2013|title=Blackboard Co-Founder Michael Chasen Announces Launch of SocialRadar|work=WashingtonExec|url=http://www.washingtonexec.com/2013/05/blackboard-co-founder-michael-chasen-announces-launch-of-socialradar/|access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=Flook13Apr29>{{cite news |title= Michael Chasen's new thing: SocialRadar |author= Bill Flook |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/techflash/2013/04/michael-chasens-new-thing-socialradar.html |work=Washington Business Journal |date=29 April 2013 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=Overly13>{{cite news |title= Michael Chasen launches new venture: SocialRadar |author= Steven Overly |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-business/post/michael-chasen-launches-new-venture-socialradar/2013/04/30/281ef5a0-b1b5-11e2-baf7-5bc2a9dc6f44_blog.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=30 April 2013 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref> He is the CEO of the new company.<ref name=Flook13Apr29/><ref name=Flook13Apr30>{{cite news |title= Ex-Blackboarders join SocialRadar, Michael Chasen's new startup |author=Bill Flook |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/techflash/2013/04/ex-blackboarders-join-socialradar.html |work=Washington Business Journal |date=30 April 2013 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref>
In June 2013, it was reported that Chasen had secured $12.75 million in a first round of investments.<ref name=Overly13/><ref name=Perez13>{{cite news |title=Blackboard Co-Founder Michael Chasen Raises $12.75M Series A For SocialRadar, A New Take On Location-Based People Discovery Apps|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/06/19/blackboard-co-founder-michael-chasen-raises-12-75m-series-a-for-socialradar-a-new-take-on-location-based-people-discovery-apps/|work=TechCrunch |date=19 June 2013 |access-date=25 June 2013}}</ref><ref name=Newman13>{{cite news |title=SocialRadar collects $12.75M from investors| author=Kira M Newman|url=http://tech.co/michael-chasen-socialradar-2013-06 |work=Tech Cocktail |date=19 June 2013 |access-date=25 June 2013}}</ref> SocialRadar's app was planned to enter beta testing in July 2013<ref name=Newman13/> and was initially developed for iPhone, followed by Android and Glass.<ref name=Flook13Apr29/><ref>{{cite news |title=SocialRadar collects $12.75M from investors| author=Steven Overly|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-business/post/socialradar-collects-1275m-from-investors/2013/06/19/7c58c38e-d844-11e2-9df4-895344c13c30_blog.html|newspaper=The Washington Post |date=19 June 2013 |access-date=25 June 2013}}</ref><ref name=Perez13/> On January 30, 2014, SocialRadar was released to the Apple AppStore.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.edn.com/socialradars-app-for-iphone-gives-you-real-time-information-about-the-people-around-you/|title=EDN - SocialRadar's App for iPhone Gives You Real-time Information About the People Around You|last=EDN|date=2014-01-30|website=EDN|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-29}}</ref>
== Awards and recognition ==
Chasen was included in ''Forbes’'' list of “America's 15 Most Powerful CEOs 40 And Under”<ref name=Coster10/> and ''Washington SmartCEO'' named Chasen as its first CEO of the Year in 2006.<ref name="Burn06">{{cite news|author=Timothy Burn|date=May 2006|title=Agent of Change: Blackboard CEO Michael Chasen erases the old way of learning|work=SmartCEO|url=http://www.smartceo.com/sites/default/files/May06.pdf|url-status=dead|access-date=30 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622164812/http://www.smartceo.com/sites/default/files/May06.pdf|archive-date=2018-06-22}}</ref> Other recognition received by Chasen includes being named Ernst & Young's "Entrepreneur of the Year for Emerging Companies in Washington, D.C."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.erc.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=4318#sthash.F5eXZxEm.dpuf |title=University of Maryland Technology Start-Up Boot Camp |date=October 2009 |work=Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute |publisher=University of Maryland |access-date=13 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822185054/http://www.erc.umd.edu/events/index.php?mode=4&id=4318#sthash.F5eXZxEm.dpuf |archive-date=22 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and being honored as a "Young Innovator" by the Kilby Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=84887&privcapId=25643 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130703185549/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=84887&privcapId=25643 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 3, 2013 |title=Executive profile: Michael L. Chasen |year=2013 |work=Businessweek |access-date=13 June 2013}}</ref> Chasen was listed by ''Washington Techway Magazine'' as one of D.C.'s "most-admired bosses" and was featured in ''Washington Business Forward's'' list of the Washington, D.C. area's "rising stars".<ref name=Georgetown12/>
== Investments ==
Chasen is an active angel investor. His portfolio includes Parchment, EverFi, and several others. After announcing his departure from Blackboard, it was reported that Chasen would be pursuing additional investment opportunities.<ref name=Zhang12/><ref name=Flook12Oct>{{cite news |title= Michael Chasen ponders angel investing post-Blackboard |author= Bill Flook |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/print-edition/2012/10/19/michael-chasen-ponders-angel-investing.html |work=Washington Business Journal |date=19 October 2012 |access-date=30 May 2013}}</ref>
== Personal life ==
Chasen lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife Randi and three children.<ref name=Pearlstein12/><ref name=Zhang12/>
== See also == * History of virtual learning environments
== References ==
{{reflist|2}}
== External links == *[http://www.socialradar.com/ SocialRadar website] *[https://www.classedu.com/ ClassEDU website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chasen, Michael}} Category:American chief executives in technology Category:American University alumni Category:Angel investors Category:American venture capitalists Category:Living people Category:McDonough School of Business alumni Category:Businesspeople from Washington, D.C. Category:Businesspeople from Connecticut Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:People from Cheshire, Connecticut