# Bart Swanson

> Bart Swanson is an advisor to Horizons Ventures and serves on the boards of Zoom, Impossible Foods, and numerous transformative technology companies. With more than fifteen years in tech as an entrepreneur, mentor, and executive, he helped lead Amazon's international expansion (1998-2001), served as COO of Badoo, and chaired Summly before its acquisition by Yahoo. A Wharton MBA and Lauder Institute Fellow, Swanson champions impact investing - every founder he backs signs a legally binding Impact Pact. His 2024 portfolio generated over $400 million in wealth creation, with $342 million going to BIPOC and women founders, while creating 436 jobs at a 48% compound annual growth rate.

- **Role:** Advisor at Horizons Ventures
- **Organizations:** Horizons Ventures, Zoom Video Communications, Impossible Foods, Modern Meadow, Otter.ai, LeoLabs, Saildrone, Xampla, Levelset, Seasoned, Evolv.ai, Brightseed, Benevolent AI, Curie Co, Claimit
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA in History, University of Southern California, MBA, University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School, MA in International Studies, University of Pennsylvania, Fellow, The Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Served on boards of three companies acquired by tech giants: DeepMind (Google), Onavo (Facebook), and Summly (Yahoo), Board member of Zoom Video Communications since 2013, before it became a household name, 2024 portfolio generated over $400 million in wealth creation, with $342 million to BIPOC and women founders

## Career timeline

- **1998-2001** — General Manager at Amazon.com - led international expansion into Germany, France, and the United Kingdom
- **Early 2000s** — Managing Director at EMI Music Europe
- **Mid-2000s** — Managing Director International at GSI Commerce (later acquired by eBay)
- **2010-2011** — Chief Operating Officer at Badoo, a social discovery network
- **2012-2013** — Chairman and President of Summly Ltd. - mobile news app acquired by Yahoo
- **March 2013-present** — Advisor at Horizons Ventures Limited, Hong Kong-based venture capital firm
- **August 2013-present** — Board Member at Zoom Video Communications
- **2015-2017** — Non-executive Board Member at MTG AB
- **2025** — Strategic Advisor at Claimit, UK AI-powered ecommerce startup

## Achievements

- Served on boards of three companies acquired by tech giants: DeepMind (Google), Onavo (Facebook), and Summly (Yahoo)
- Board member of Zoom Video Communications since 2013, before it became a household name
- 2024 portfolio generated over $400 million in wealth creation, with $342 million to BIPOC and women founders
- Created 436 jobs in 2024 portfolio companies with 48% compound annual growth rate since 2021
- Pioneer in legally binding impact investing through mandatory Impact Pacts for all portfolio companies
- Key executive in Amazon's international expansion establishing footprints in Germany, France, and UK
- Serves on boards of transformative companies across AI, space technology, food tech, and biotech
- Fellow of prestigious Lauder Institute combining international studies with business education

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Joined UK startup Claimit as strategic advisor to help scale their AI-powered ecommerce solution
- **2024-12** — 2024 portfolio results showed $400M+ in wealth creation with $342M to BIPOC and women founders, creating 436 jobs

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartswanson/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/bart-swanson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-02