Alexandre Mars
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Alexandre Mars (born c. 1976)[1] is a French-born businessman and philanthropist. He founded the instant messaging technology company Scroon, later acquired by Blackberry,[2] and has been CEO of the technology company Phonevalley.[3] He is also the founder and chief executive officer of the Epic Foundation.[4]
Early life
Mars was born in the Boulogne-Billancourt neighborhood of Paris, and raised in France and the United States. His parents were French; his father Dominique was an entrepreneur who founded Mars and Co., a consulting company. He attended Florent Schmitt de Saint-Cloud high school, HEC Paris, and Paris Dauphine University.[5] While still a high school student he founded a concert promotion company and one of Europe's first web agencies.[6]
Entrepreneurship
In 2001 he founded Phone Valley, a mobile telephone company, and sold it to Publicis Groupe in 2007, staying on as manager of the Publicis mobile phone division.[5] In 2006 he founded a social media management system called ScrOOn, and sold it to BlackBerry in 2013.[6]
Philanthropy
In 2014 he founded a New York-based charity called the Epic Foundation, designed to link wealthy young entrepreneurs with charities helping children and young people.[6] The foundation's goal is to "develop new tools that will enhance how donors select, monitor and experience their impact.”[1] The foundation accepts applications from non-governmental and social service agencies. The 15-member staff evaluates the applications, makes recommendations to the foundation's clients, and helps them to track the effect of their donations. Mars funds the Foundation's operations personally, so that 100% of donations go to the targeted charities.[1]
Advocacy
Mars has been an outspoken critic about advertising on mobile platforms. He has said existing advertisers do not focus on the technology well, saying they "always go with the easiest answer. Google for sure—less and less AOL."[7] He has criticised data mining from companies such as Facebook, saying the company needs to get additional permission from users in order to individually target them more carefully.[8]
Personal life
In 2010 he moved to New York City with his wife and three children. They live in Brooklyn. He has competed in the New York Marathon.[5]
References
- ^ a b c "The Top 20 Philanthropists Under 40". The Observer. April 1, 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ "BlackBerry Acquired Social-Media Startup in May". Bloomberg. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ^ "Epic Foundation, le don débridé". Le Monde (in French). 31 March 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ^ "Executive profile: Alexandre Mars". Bloomberg. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ a b c "Alexandre Mars, the man behind Publicis Mobile". TransMark Partners. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ a b c Murray, Sarah (June 4, 2015). "Alexandre Mars: High-tech philanthropist looks to tap the wealth of entrepreneurs". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
- ^ "Publicis' Head Of Mobile Disses AOL While Sitting Next To AOL's Director Of Mobile". Business Insider. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ^ Bradshaw, Tim (5 February 2012). "Facebook looks to make mobile click". Financial Times. Retrieved 19 May 2015.(subscription required)