Brad Keywell is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist from Michigan. He is the founder and CEO of Uptake Technologies, an industrial AI software provider. He is a founding investor of Tempus Labs, co-founder of Groupon, Echo Global Logistics, Mediaocean, Drivin, and Lightbank. Keywell is the recipient of the 2019 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year award.
Keywell started his career as an intern for Sam Zell's Equity Group Investments, LLC. In 1999, he and Eric Lefkofsky co-founded Starbelly, an online supply chain management firm, which was acquired in January 2000 by HA-LO, for $240 million. In February 2005, he co-founded Echo Global Logistics, a technology-based enterprise transportation management firm, which became a publicly-traded company on NASDAQ in June 2009. Keywell served as the Chairman of the Board of the company until 2017. In June 2006, Keywell co-founded MediaBank, a SaaS provider to the advertising and media buying industry. In 2012, a merger between MediaBank and Donovan Data Systems created Mediaocean, and in 2014, Vista Equity Partners acquired MediaOcean, for an estimated $1.5 billion. In 2007, he co-founded ThePoint.com, an online collective action website. In late 2008, it became a collective buying platform, and changed its name to Groupon. The company went public in 2011 on NASDAQ. Keywell served on the Board of Directors from its inception through 2018. In February 2010, Keywell co-founded Lightbank, a technology venture and mid-stage investment firm. In 2013, he co-founded DRIVIN, an automobile data analytics company. In 2016, KAR Auction Services acquired DRIVIN in a $43 million stock deal. In July 2014, Keywell founded the industrial AI software companyUptake; the third unicorn in Illinois, valued at over $2.3 billion. In 2015, he became an early investor and director of Tempus, a medical technology company. In September 2018, he founded and launched the wndr museum, an experiential art museum located in Chicago’s West Loop. Keywell has been an adjunct professor at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago and the author of the book Biz Dev 3.0: Changing Business as We Know It, published by ALM Publishing. He is the host of a podcast, The Upside, and a participant of the Renaissance Weekend and the TED Conference.
Philanthropy
In 2014, Keywell created the Keywell Foundation to support nonprofit and NGO enterprises. In 2015 he and his wife Kim took The Giving Pledge to give away half of their wealth. He is the founder and chairman of Chicago Ideas, an innovations and ideas gathering. He is Chairman of the Future Founders Foundation, providing entrepreneurial education to students in Chicago, and Illinois Innovation Council.
Awards
Keywell was the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year in 2019.
