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Kevin Ryan, YC ’85

Kevin Ryan, YC ’85

Founder and CEO, AlleyCorp; Co-founder of MongoDB, Business Insider, Gilt Groupe, Zola, Nomad Health, Pearl Health, and Transcend Therapeutics
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Kevin Ryan headshot

Often called the “Godfather of NYC tech,” Kevin Ryan is one of the leading internet entrepreneurs and investors in New York. He is a co-founder of MongoDB, Business Insider, Gilt Groupe, Zola, Nomad Health, Pearl Health, and Transcend Therapeutics, and founds and actively invests in new companies with AlleyCorp every year. Kevin currently serves as Chairman of the Board for more than 10 companies he founded. 

Earlier in his career, Kevin helped to grow DoubleClick first as President and then as CEO, leading their growth from a 20-person startup to a publicly-traded global leader with over 1,500 employees, through IPO in 1998, and acquisition by Google in 2007.

Kevin has been a civic leader in New York at the city and state level. Appointed by Governor Cuomo, he served on a three-member Fast Food Wage Board that successfully advocated for a wage increase for the state’s fast food workers. Kevin was also a member of the state's Backend Expenses Commission, advising on spending and enhancing efficiencies, as well as the MTA commission focused on engaging startups and new technologies to improve accessibility and congestion challenges in New York. Additionally, Kevin served on the board of the Trust for Governors Island.

Kevin serves on the Board of Tech:NYC, where he is a founding member and chairs the Policy Committee. He is also the Vice Chairman of The Partnership for New York City, a Director Emeritus at Human Rights Watch, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, Kevin held positions on the boards of Yale University, Yale University Press, INSEAD, Mercy Corps, The NYC Investment Fund, the advisory board of Doctors Without Borders, and the Yale International Council.

Actively engaged in philanthropy, Kevin and his wife Pascaline Servan-Schreiber support organizations including University of the People, The Marshall Project, MLT, Endeavor, Fund for Public Health in NYC, and the Center for Mindful Learning. He continues to be one of the leading funders of the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science. AlleyCorp also invests out of a dedicated Social Impact vertical, which funds both for-profit companies and nonprofit entities dedicated to building technology solutions for low-income and underserved families.

Kevin has been recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, LLP, featured as one of The 100 Most Influential New Yorkers of the Past 25 Years by The Observer, and named one of the 50 Most Influential Business People by Crain’s New York Business, where he was later inducted into the Hall of Fame.