Kim Polese

Kim Polese is the Chairman of CrowdSmart, a collective intelligence platform that accelerates startup traction and funding and helps investors identify promising startups. 

Ms. Polese has a long track record of technology innovation and began her career in AI and expert systems, moved into product management and led the launch of Java at Sun Microsystems in 1995. She then co-founded Marimba, serving as President, CEO and Chairman and leading the company through an IPO and a successful acquisition by BMC.

Ms. 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.

Ms. Polese received a Bachelor's degree in Biophysics from UC Berkeley and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Business and Economics from California State University. An Aspen Institute Crown Fellow, Ms. Polese is the recipient of the numerous awards and recognition including Information Week's "Top Technology Executives," The National Center for Women and Information Technology Innovator Award and Time Magazine's “25 Most Influential Americans.”