Steven Jonathan Spinner (born July 17, 1969) is an American business executive who is known for his work as an
angel investor and adviser to
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
startups and his volunteer work as a fundraiser for President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns.
He previously served as a stimulus adviser for the
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
and was peripherally associated with the Department of Energy loan to a failed solar company,
Solyndra
Solyndra was a manufacturer of cylindrical panels of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells based in Fremont, California. Heavily promoted as a leader in the sustainable energy sector for its unusual technology, Solyndra ...
.
Education
Spinner was born and grew up in
North Woodmere, New York
North Woodmere is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Hempstead, New York, located in far western Nassau County on the South Shore of Long Island in the Town of Hempstead.
History
Prior to its development in the late 1950s, the land stre ...
. He received his BA from
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
in 1991, where he majored in economics and classics. At Wesleyan he ran
cross country for four years, was elected a member of
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
and won the school’s Maynard Award as the top scholar-athlete.
He received an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
from
Harvard Business School in 1996 where he served as Vice President of the Harvard Graduate Council.
Business
Early career and Olympics
After graduating from Wesleyan, Spinner worked in
McKinsey & Company’s Hong Kong office as a
Henry Luce Scholar
A Luce Scholar is a recipient of a cultural exchange and vocational fellowship sponsored by the Henry Luce Foundation, a private foundation established by Time, Inc. founder Henry R. Luce.
The program
Founded in 1974, The Luce Scholars Progra ...
. Spinner turned to serving the U.S. by working to develop marketing partnerships in connection with the
1996 Summer Olympic Games in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
.
As Program Manager for Atlanta Centennial Olympic Properties (the official joint marketing program of the
USOC and the host city
), Spinner managed a marketing evaluation strategy that led to $655 million in corporate sponsorships, including $426 million of official domestic sponsorships.
His forecasting models in connection with the 1996 Olympics led to the largest TV rights purchase in U.S. history to that date.
Between 1996 and 2000 he worked for
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
attaining the position of Senior Vice President of strategic partnerships.
["Steve Spinner"](_blank)
at Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The president and chief executive offic ...
. He then served as Senior Vice President at NotifyMe Networks.
Entrepreneurship
Spinner has spent more than 15 years advising startup companies in technology, media and retail, as well as founding a small business.
In 2002 he founded the company
Sports Potential in
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County within the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south ...
which offers a test called SMART to assess the mental and physical qualities of children and guide them to appropriate sports. Candidates are tested on a variety of physical skills, ranging from speed to balance.
More recently, Spinner has become an active angel investor in addition to his role as advisor to startup companies and small businesses in the greater San Francisco area. He is known as a "connector" within Silicon Valley, introducing venture capitalists to other entrepreneurs, and currently serves as an angel investor and advisor to more than 10 companies. Spinner is a speaker at various think tanks and has spoken as an expert at university entrepreneurship forums.
Public service
Policy
Spinner was a senior fellow and served as energy policy adviser with the
Center for American Progress
The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The president and chief executive offic ...
.
Spinner publicly advocated for energy policies that support clean, renewable energy.
Politics
As an early, prominent supporter of Senator Obama from the technology sector,
Spinner was one of the
Obama campaign's authors for its innovation agenda announced at
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
's headquarters in November 2007. After election day, Spinner was asked to serve on the Obama-Biden Transition Project in its Technology, Innovation & Government Reform Working Group (focusing on "Innovation and National Priorities" initiatives).
During the President's 2012 reelection campaign, Spinner served as a California finance chair and founded "Technology for Obama" (T4O). He also prominently supported
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
by spearheading the Obama campaign's effort to raise funds to retire Clinton's
2008 Presidential election campaign debt.
On April 2, 2013, Spinner was announced as Campaign Chair for
Ro Khanna
Rohit Khanna (; born September 13, 1976) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic serving as the U.S. representative from California's 17th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he defeated eight-term incu ...
for Congress in his effort to represent
California's 17th congressional district
California's 17th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California that is currently represented by Ro Khanna. It is located in the South Bay and East Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The district i ...
(south Silicon Valley)
Working with Jeremy Bird, Larry Grisolano and other senior Obama 2012 campaign veterans, he said "the goal in bringing together the best talent from the Obama team is to run a campaign in a strong Democratic district that operates like a battleground state in a presidential election".
Public service
Seeking to help the country in the
economic recovery
An economic recovery is the phase of the business cycle following a recession. The overall business outlook for an industry looks optimistic during the economic recovery phase.
During the recovery period, the economy goes through a process of e ...
, Spinner served as a stimulus adviser for the
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
. Spinner was hired to bring Silicon Valley experience to a Washington bureaucracy.
Spinner acted as a liaison between the
Recovery Act Office and the Loan Programs Office.
Spinner started as a loan program advisor to Energy Secretary
Steven Chu in April 2009, a month after the department had approved a conditional commitment for Solyndra’s loan guarantee. He left in September 2010. Spinner served as the
DOE's lead representative on the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
Business Council, White House Innovation Cohort, and White House Automotive Communities Task Force.
In 2011, he was peripherally involved in the
Solyndra loan controversy and it was reported that he pushed a loan "across the finish line" ahead of a September groundbreaking ceremony.
According to the Department of Energy, Spinner "played no role in the decision-making on or evaluation of individual loan applications" and his role in Solyndra was limited to the timing and production of the ceremony itself.
Public documents released by the White House that detail Spinner's emails to Department of Energy officials confirm this limited role.
On June 26, 2015, Spinner was announced by President Obama as a Member to the President's Commission on White House Fellowships.
Personal
Spinner met his wife, Allison, in Silicon Valley with whom he has two young boys. He is a board member of the Las Lomitas Education Foundation. He competed in and finished the 2003 Ironman Switzerland.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spinner, Steve
1969 births
American business executives
Angel investors
Harvard Business School alumni
Living people
Obama administration personnel
People from North Woodmere, New York
Wesleyan University alumni