Mark Donovan

Mark Donovan is a seasoned executive leader in technology-centric venture building.

Mark is currently a founding partner of Karmist and Athlete Journey—consumer monetization platforms which sit at the intersection of behavior and engagement. Over his career he has built, scaled and, in some cases, liquidated businesses with focuses ranging from AI and Blockchain (as interim COO of EPIC.ai), participatory sports services and wellness (as a seed investor and board member of imATHLETE, acquired by Gannett in 2019), proximity and contextual sensor-based mobile engagement (as COO of Thinaire), consumer mobile health, incentives and behavioral economics (as CEO of GoMed), VoIP managed services (as CEO of Flyfone International, acquired by IBN in 2005), residential real estate (as a founding executive team member of Rent.com, acquired by eBay in 2005), behavioral health services (as VP of Operations and Product at Lifescape, a JV between TCI Cable and Value Options) and think tank services (as Director of Development for Digital Evolution, IPO 1999 as US Interactive). His affiliated ventures have seen liquidation events generating in excess of $900M in shareholder value and had successful international adoption in over 65 countries.

In addition to his work in new venture development, Mark has been engaged with some of the world’s most prominent brands to provide innovations advisory with a client list including SegurCaixa Adeslas, Pfizer, Walgreens, adidas, British Telecom, Bill Blass and Unilever, mastering the intersection of fast paced growth and evolution within large scale enterprises.

Prior to his current entrepreneurial focus, Mark worked for Mercer Management Consulting and the Strategic Planning department at the Walt Disney Company. Mark currently serves on the Board of Advisors for Emerson College (as vice chair), Pace University’s Lubin School of Business, and Rutgers University’s Center for Innovation Education, Disruptive Innovation Program, as well as the Board of Directors for Athlete Journey.

In non-professional endeavors, Mark is a classically trained vocalist, by way of the Tanglewood Music Center in the Berkshires, and has been an accomplished marathoner for over three decades. He is the author of multiple issued patents and has a bachelor's degree in communication from Emerson College and a master's degree in education from Columbia University.