About Josh

Josh Knauer is a serial social entrepreneur, technologist, and speaker with over 30 years of experience founding and leading successful organizations in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. A systems thinker known for spotting emerging trends at the intersection of technology, sustainability, and social impact, Josh has raised over $100 million in investment capital for ventures he has founded or advised. He has successfully built and exited multiple companies, including two acquired by publicly traded firms.

Josh was appointed by President Barack Obama to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), where he contributed to innovations in data sharing and science policy. His work has been featured in Time, Wired, Fortune, and Newsweek, and he’s a contributing author to numerous articles, reports, and books published by outlets such as Fortune, MarketWatch, the National Academy of Sciences, the Brookings Institute, and the White House.

After selling his data analytics company Rhiza to Nielsen in 2017, Josh served as Nielsen’s Senior Vice President of Product and Strategy, leading the integration of AI-powered analytics to make consumer data more accessible and actionable for brands and advertisers.

Josh is also a sought-after speaker at corporate events, conferences, and universities. He has delivered keynote talks and workshops at global events including SXSW, AdWeek, New York Climate Week, the World Economic Forum, and numerous industry summits, where he shares insights on climate innovation, purpose-driven business models, and emerging technologies.

Earlier in his career in 1996, Josh founded and led Green Marketplace, one of the first online marketplaces for environmentally and socially responsible products, which he sold to Gaiam in 2002. He also directed the Information Commons Initiative at MAYA Design, and in 1991, founded the EnviroLink Network, one of the Internet’s earliest nonprofit platforms supporting environmental and social causes.

Josh is currently a co-founder of ReSeed, a climate tech company that connects smallholder farmers to global ecosystem services markets, and JumpScale, an advisory firm that helps purpose-driven enterprises align their capital, operations, and culture with their mission. He also serves as an advisor to a growing portfolio of impact-driven startups across sectors.

He teaches as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon University, serves as an Executive-in-Residence at Columbia University Ventures/NYSERDA, and sits on the boards of nonprofit organizations, including the Social Venture Network (SVN) and WQED Multimedia (Mr. Rogers' public television station). A passionate mentor, he regularly advises emerging entrepreneurs building businesses at the intersection of profit, people, and planet.

Every photo on this website is taken by Josh and represents an experience, story, and memory from his life and work.