“A Silicon Valley executive, entrepreneur and marketing specialist, Peter Hirshberg might just be the definitive voice on how new technology affects business and culture.”
This is the opening description TED gave before his first talk in 2008. What was true then is still true today, but instead of talking about the web and the internet, now Peter has focused his attention on blockchain technology and is adding his considerable knowledge and experience to Swytch.
Hirshberg has been at the forefront of innovation and disruptive change in emerging media and technology for more than 25 years. He’s passionate about the intersection of technology and civic engagement and has been instrumental in creating two centers of urban innovation from scratch.
Chairman, City Innovate Foundation, an organization formed with The San Francisco Mayor’s office, UC Berkeley and the MIT Media Lab to promote a network of global civic innovation centers.
Chairman and Co-founder of San Francisco’s Gray Area Art and Technology Theater, one of San Francisco’s most vibrant and civic-minded arts organizations, a center for digital media education, incubation, performance and exhibition.
He is co-author of the best selling book “Maker City”, which examines economic development and the many experiments that are defining the renewal of America’s Cities. (You can purchase it on Amazon here: ).
He is founder of the Maker City Project, which helps brands connect with cities for community engagement and for tangible results in corporate responsibility. He comes to this work after 15 years at the helm of the Re:Imagine Consulting Group, helping brands with strategy and marketing in a world of empowered connected audiences. He’s worked with executive teams at Best Buy, Sony, IBM, Verizon, Time Warner, Unilever, GE, Estee Lauder, Telefonica and many others on digital and growth strategies.
Previously, Hirshberg was Chairman of Technorati, the pioneering social media search engine and advertising network with over a billion monthly page views. During a nine-year tenure at Apple Computer, Hirshberg headed Enterprise Marketing, where he grew Apple’s large business and government revenue to $1 billion annually.
Peter is a sought after technology and innovation speaker, having presented at TED, the World Economic Forum, DLD, The Aspen Ideas Festival, E.G.,Techonomy, CeBIT, WEB 2.0 Summit, and many other events.
His board and advisor positions have included Active Video Networks, Technorati, Build Public, The Computer History Museum, & Gray Area Foundation for the Arts. He is a Senior Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy and a Henry Crown fellow of the Aspen Institute.
Evan Caron, CEO and co-founder of Swytch, has effusive praise for Peter:
“We believe it’s the highest praise for our project to get Peter’s attention and for him to be actively involved in our mission. He’s worked in high level roles at companies that have changed how we interact digitally, and his impact has been felt across the tech industry. He brings a breadth of experience and wisdom that is truly helping Swytch achieve our vision.”
The Swytch team is excited to move forward with Peter Hirshberg to achieve our goals of increasing renewable energy production and replacing fossil fuels.
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