Chairman of the Board KidBacker Foundation For Entrepreneurship, Founder Kidbacker & Hatchpad
Heather Holst-Knudsen is the CEO & Founder of HatchPad, a social learning network and collaboration platform that enables young business enthusiasts and entrepreneurs ages 13 to 25 to learn how to start, fund and run a business starting from idea all the way to prototype, company funding and go-to-market strategies, anytime anywhere.
Holst-Knudsen is also founder and Chairman of the Board of KidBacker Foundation for Entrepreneurship, a 501c3, that offers business grants and academic scholarships to young entrepreneurs ages 10 to 25.
An avid entrepreneur and intrapreneur, Holst-Knudsen has founded and led multiple business units for large organizations. She is founder and is former President of Manufacturing Enterprise Communications, a B2B media platform that connected CXOs in manufacturing with senior level leaders in technology around the world. Prior to Manufacturing Enterprise Communications, Heather was Founder and President of Managing Automation Media and TechMatch Solutions, all divisions of Thomas Publishing Company in New York, City. Holst-Knudsen is a trusted advisor to many top manufacturing and technology organizations including Cisco, AT&T, Google, SAP, Oracle, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Ford, L’Oreal, Procter & Gamble, Colgate Palmolive and more. She has 25 years of B2B media experience, is a veteran digital media expert, and has been in a C-level leadership role for over 20 years.
Holst-Knudsen believes in and respects the imagination, creativity and fearlessness that young business minds bring to the table and is passionate about unleashing their entrepreneurial skills and spirit so they can own their own destiny.
Heather has an SBLL from Georgetown University, Washington, DC and a Masters in Publishing from New York University, New York, NY.
Meet Heather Holst-Knudsen and other 3.0 Leaders this Feb 22-23, 2017 at the 3.0 Leaders Innovation & Investment Convergence Conference in Bradenton, Fla. This conference, held in the Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan area, is an international event drawing on speakers and attendees from across North America and the globe.