Christopher M. Schroeder (born July 28, 1964) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

, advisor and investor in interactive technologies and social communications. The breadth of his activities range from consumer-oriented and interactive enterprises in news and media, education, social networks, marketing and health. Having served in government and politics at the national level, he is a frequent advisor, keynote speaker/moderator and writer on areas of the intersection of the private and public sectors in technology, media, the internet, global entrepreneurship, international economics, and national security.


Early Life and Education


Schroeder was born on the lower east side of New York City, and raised in Scarsdale New York

Scarsdale

Scarsdale could be*Scarsdale, New York, a village and town in Westchester County, New York, United States, for which The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet is named...

, by the children of Italian Immigrants and attorneys Edmund R. Schroeder (formerly of Cadwalader) and Elaine Diserio Schroeder. Edmund Schroeder is the founder of Education Through Music, offering music programs to inner city schools. Elaine Schroeder, who began college at age 14 and Fordham Law School at 18, practiced in New York City and was active in, and Chairman of, the music center Caramoor in Katonah, New York. Christopher Schroeder attended Harvard College, graduating Magna Cum Laude in American and Ancient History (where he studied with Lincoln scholar David Herbert Donald

David Herbert Donald

- Career :Majoring in history and sociology, Donald earned his bachelor degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He earned his PhD in 1946 under the eminent, leading Lincoln scholar, James G. Randall at the University of Illinois...

) and international diplomacy historian Ernest May

Ernest May (historian)

Ernest Richard May was an American historian of international relations whose 14 published books include analyses of American involvement in World War I and the causes of the Fall of France during World War II...

. He subsequently graduated With Honors from Harvard Business School. He worked in finance for Salomon Brothers, Inc and the private equity firm Thayer Capital Partners, and was Treasurer and head of business development for The Washington Post Company.


Internet Entrepreneur, Investor and Global Activities in Technology-based Start-ups


Schroeder became CEO and President of Legi-Slate, Inc., a leading online B2B provider of information on federal and state legislation and regulation. Backed by The Washington Post Company, he successfully sold the enterprise in 1999. He then was named CEO and Publisher of washingonpost.newsweek interactive (which hosted washingtonpost.com and newsweek.com among other news and information sites). Upon attaining profitability, he joined an investor group including Polaris Ventures, Sequoia Capital, The Carlyle Group, Allen and Company and Interactive Corp (IAC) to become CEO of HealthCentral, among the largest collection of condition and wellness-specific interactive experiences focused on people finding and sharing real-life experiences related to their health needs. HealthCentral was recently named one of the Inc 500/5000 fastest growing private companies in the United States. He has invested in and advised a series of start-ups in related areas including FiveStarAlliance, SBNation.com, run by former AOL executive Jim Bankoff, and CareeerCore.com, a career navigation online tool kit and destination.

Schroeder has been a thought leader and organizer in various internet organizations. He was one of the first board members of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, a co-founder of the Online Publishers Association, and founding member of the Digital Health Coalition. He was one of the first interactive executives named to the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Hall of Achievement, among the top tech business executives to watch by Business Forward Magazine, Media Magazine and Washingtonian Magazine. He was named PharmaVOICE’s Top 100 Most Inspiring People in Life Sciences.

Schroeder has also recently been engaged in exploring more global trends towards entrepreneurship, with a special focus on the developing world and the Middle East. He has been a speaker on trends in global entrepreneurship for the COE 2010 gathering of regional entrepreneurs and investors in Dubai, Endeavor’s gathering of global entrepreneurs and the Abrajj Capital annual meeting. He is a member of the Board of Advisors of the American University of Cairo School of Business and Oasis500, a leading incubator committed to funding 500 start-ups in Jordan.

He has written and spoken extensively on trends in media, the internet and global environment for The Washington Post,, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, AllThingsD, Fortune Magazine, C-SPAN and TechCrunch


Efforts in Connecting Public Policy and Politics with Business and Entrepreneurship


Schroeder served in leading management roles in President George Bush

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

’s 1988 and 1992 election campaigns, and worked on Secretary of State James A. Baker’s staff with then Under Secretary (and currently President of the World Bank) Robert Zoellick

Robert Zoellick

Robert Bruce Zoellick is the eleventh president of the World Bank, a position he has held since July 1, 2007. He was previously a managing director of Goldman Sachs, United States Deputy Secretary of State and U.S. Trade Representative, from February 7, 2001 until February 22, 2005.President...

. He has supported and advised other centrist political candidates in policy and internet related issues.

He has served in the advisory gathering for the Small Business Administration’s efforts to support entrepreneurship leading to Startup America, and the Brookings entrepreneurship committee for their annual gathering on US Islam relations. He is on the advisory boards of the Center for New America Security (CNAS), where he also wrote a paper on the economic risks of cyber/network security, Business Executives for National Security (BENS), and George Washington University’s interactive/media initiative on the environment, Planet Forward.

Schroeder actively supports our veterans, including Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an online community for returning veterans and lobbying groups for veteran issues.

He is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations, French American Foundation and American Council on Germany. He is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization and involved in an off-shoot group building connections between the US and Middle East CEOs and entrepreneurs.


Personal


Schroeder is married to Alexandra Coburn, who he met in College, and has worked in stock research, emerging market finance, and is currently working in creative writing. They have three young children.

Schroeder has been a judge for the Mitchell Scholarship, The French American Young Leaders program and The American Council on German Hunt Fellowship. He advises the National Gallery of Art on Internet issues and communications and has been involved with the Arena Stage, the National Cathedral Elementary School, Beauvoir, and Harvard.