Craig Powell (businessman)

Craig Powell (born May 22, 1977) is an American entrepreneur and business executive who is the current CEO of Motus, LLC.[1] Prior to Motus, Powell founded Educational technology company ConnectEDU.[2][3] He is also the chairman for Your Grateful Nation and sits on the board of directors for Beat the Street Foundation.[4][5]

Craig Powell
Born (1977-05-22) May 22, 1977
Alma materBrown University (BA)
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known for
Craig Powell, CEO, Motus

Career

Craig Powell began getting involved in education reform and access at an early age.[6] He founded edtech company ConnectEDU in 2002 at 22 years old, and landed the company on Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Hot List” in 2005.[2][3][7] He led ConnectEDU to more than $20M in revenue and secured more than $50M in growth financing, including a $500,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.[3][8] He also served as Strategic Advisor to New Markets Venture Partners, an education-focused investment company, assisting with the acquisition of ConnectEDU’s assets in 2014.

In 2013, Powell joined Boston, Massachusetts company Motus (then known as Corporate Reimbursement Services, or CRS) as President and COO, bringing senior management and tech teams from ConnectEDU with him. This team transformed the company through investments in automation, a technical approach and a mobile enterprise platform. They also rebranded the company as Motus, the workforce management company that today offers a cloud-based mobile enterprise platform.[9][10][11][12]

In July 2014, Powell became President and CEO of Motus as part of the company’s new direction.[12] Motus helps employers calculate mileage reimbursement for employees who operate a motor vehicle not owned by the employer for the employer’s business purposes.[13][14][15]

In 2018, Powell led Motus to an acquisition by private equity and growth capital firm Thoma Bravo, LLC and merger with Runzheimer, creating the leading provider of mileage reimbursement technologies serving the nation's most complex transportation companies.[16][17] Under Powell’s leadership, Motus has been named among the best places to work in Boston[18][19][20][21] and Milwaukee[22], company of the year[23][24][25][26], and one of the largest mobile technology companies in Massachusetts.[27] Powell was also been named Executive of the Year by the American Business Awards.[28]

Powell has served as a source on leadership and company growth for publications including Entrepreneur[29][30], Forbes[31][32], Inc.[33], and InformationWeek.[34]

Advisory Roles

Powell is the chairman for Your Grateful Nation, an organization focused on helping U.S. military Special Operations personnel and veterans to succeed in corporate America.[4] He is a founding member and currently sits on the board of directors for the Beat the Streets Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps urban youth succeed in school and life through co-educational wrestling.[5][35] He also serves as a board member for JVS, a nonprofit that helps individuals from diverse communities to find employment and build careers, while partnering with employers to hire, develop, and retain workforces.

Powell also served as a board member for the I Have a Dream Foundation, an education reform organization that works with students in under-resourced public schools or housing projects.[36]

Early life and education

Powell grew up in Maryville, Missouri. In high school, he was an All American wrestler, recording 63 wins and 0 losses in 1994–95 and won the state championship both years.

Powell was offered wrestling scholarships by seven Midwest wrestling programs, but he attended Blair Academy on an Army (West Point) scholarship.

A senior year shoulder injury prevented him from attending the U.S. Military Academy, so he continued his education at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he served as Captain of the Brown Wrestling team twice and was awarded the Cliff Stevenson Outstanding Leadership Award for his contributions off the mat.

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References
  1. "Motus, LLC: Private Company Information – Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  2. "ConnectEdu | Crunchbase". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  3. Brussel, Joe Van (2012-08-30). "ConnectEDU Founder Craig Powell Seeks To Level College Admissions Playing Field". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  4. "New Company Helping Special Forces Veterans Find Jobs". NECN. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  5. "Providence Journal- At the Schools: R.I. Wrestling Program Sets the Standard". Beat The Streets Providence. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  6. Carey, Kevin (2011-08-28). "The End of College Admissions As We Know It". Washington Monthly. September/October 2011. ISSN 0043-0633. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  7. Staff, Entrepreneur (2005-11-16). "8 Perpetually Hot Businesses". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  8. "Grant – ConnectEdu – 2013-09-10 | Crunchbase". Crunchbase. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  9. "Motus LLC - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  10. "Motus | Crunchbase".
  11. "Working at Motus". Glassdoor. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  12. "Motus: A Better Way to Reimburse". VentureFizz. 2017-12-18. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  13. Erb, Kelly Phillips. "IRS Announces 2017 Mileage Rates For Taxes, Reimbursement Rates May Differ". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  14. "Publication 463 (2018), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses | Internal Revenue Service". www.irs.gov. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  15. "This Company Makes It Easier for Field-Based Employees to Get Travel Reimbursements".
  16. "Thoma Bravo Completes the Acquisition of Lexmark Enterprise Software | Kofax". www.kofax.com. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  17. Bravo, Thoma. "Thoma Bravo Acquires and Merges Motus and Runzheimer to Create Market Leading Vehicle Management Platform". www.thomabravo.com. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  18. "BBJ announces the 2016 Best Places to Work honorees". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  19. "Announcing the 2017 BostonFest Coolest Companies Finalists".
  20. "Motus Named a "Best Place to Work" by the Boston Business Journal for the Second Straight Year". Motus | Mobile Workforce Solutions. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  21. "Best Places to Work Small Companies". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  22. "Motus Named a "Top Workplace" For Fourth Time by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel". Motus | Mobile Workforce Solutions. 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  23. "Motus Wins Stevie® Award for Company of the Year in 2017 American Business Awards". Motus | Mobile Workforce Solutions. 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  24. "Motus Named Company of the Year by Business Intelligence Group in the 2018 BIG Awards for Business". Motus | Mobile Workforce Solutions. 2018-10-03. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  25. "50 Global Leaders Win 2018 BIG Awards for Business". Business Intelligence Group. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  26. "Motus Wins Stevie® Award for Company of the Year". Motus | Mobile Workforce Solutions. 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  27. "Largest Mobile Technology Companies in Massachusetts". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  28. "Management Awards | Stevie Awards". stevieawards.com. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  29. Powell, Craig (2018-07-30). "$1 to $1 Billion: A 4-Stage Formula for Company Growth". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  30. Powell, Craig (2018-11-30). "Sustaining Company Culture Is Crucial for the Long-Term Success of Your Business". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  31. Council, Editors, Forbes Technology. "11 Skills And Priorities Tech Executives Should Focus On In 2019". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-07-24.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  32. Council, Editors, Forbes Technology. "Fighting For Top Tech Talent? 13 Ways To Convince Them Your Company Is Worth It". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-07-24.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  33. Cohan, Peter (2018-04-06). "You Won't Believe How These Growth Strategies Are Propelling 3 Startups to IPO". Inc.com. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  34. "Why SaaS Cannot Be Ignored by Today's Businesses". InformationWeek. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  35. "3 Boston Entrepreneurs Talk Fighting and Business".
  36. "I Have A Dream Foundation Celebrates 35th Anniversary Gala". www.blackenterprise.com. 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
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