Mark Walsh

Mark Walsh is a Internet/New Media luminary known for leading hyper growth in emerging markets. Mr. Walsh currently serves as CEO of Genius Rocket (www.geniusrocket.com), a mid-Atlantic start-up, and is also founder and managing partner of Ruxton Ventures, LLC, a private equity and investment firm. Notable Ruxton investments include Blackboard Inc. (the publicly traded leader in enterprise software for the education industry), Half.com (acquired by eBay), and Day Corp.

Previously, Mr. Walsh was a member of the board of Blackboard Inc., and served as President , CEO, and Chairman at VerticalNet, the first publicly traded B2B Internet company. Before VerticalNet, he was a senior vice president and corporate officer at America Online, where he founded and managed AOL Enterprise, AOL’s B2B division. Prior to AOL, Mr. Walsh was President of General Electric's GEnie Online Service, Vice President and General Manager of the Interactive Services division of CUC International, and headed HBO’s new business development in New York for the HBO and Cinemax brands.

Mr. Walsh serves on the board, or as an advisor to a number of public and privately held companies as well as non-profits, including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland. . He hosts a popular talk show on XM Satellite Radio. Mr. Walsh earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and B.A. from Union College, where he serves as a trustee