Drew Banks is a seasoned tech entrepreneur, business author, and novelist. As a retired executive, he has demonstrated a passionate for visual communications, disruptive solutions, global hypergrowth, low bureaucracy, and fast execution. Drew's nearly 4-decade tech career began in 1982 as an intern at SAS institute while he attended NC State, earning dual BS's in CSC and EE. After graduation - and a 2-yr detour to NYC where he dabbled in the performing arts - Drew went to business school at MIT Sloan and then out to San Francisco where he spent the next 3 decades and still lives to this day. Drew ran the gamut in Silicon Valley from big company to small. He held a variety of leadership positions during his ten-year tenure at computer visualization giant Silicon Graphics (SGI), most of which involved developing and integrated corporate-wide systems to enable employee efficiency. He co-created Silicon Junction, one of the first major corporate Intranets used for knowledge management. From this experience, he co-authored his first business book - Beyond Spin in 1999.From experiences he gained as VP Community for ThirdAge Media, Drew co-authored his second business book - Customer.Community in 2002.In 2001, he founded Drew Banks Partners and in 2005, he founded Pie Digital Inc. He's a self-proclaimed accidental entrepreneur who tripped into his own (failed) startup world, now advises other entrepreneurs how to grow, fund, and sell theirs. He was particularly attracted to early-stage European companies with global potential. His last two companies are prime examples. In the final decade of his career, he worked to globally expand two European companies - Prezi and Drops – transitioning Prezi’s English-only product to multiple languages and growing their international market to over 40 million non-US users, while helping expand Drops’ market and helping position the bootstrapped language-learning start-up to be sold to Kahoot! In addition to his business books, he holds two patents in the area of home automation. In addition, Drew has written two novels - Able was I and Ere I Saw Elba and he is a frequent blogger and public speaker. He's currently working on his 5th book and a screenplay. He lives in San Francisco with his husband, Nick Rubashkin, who’s an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCSF.