# Paul English

> Paul M. English is a Boston-based technology founder, engineer, investor and philanthropist. The cofounder and former CTO of Kayak now leads Gumdrop, an AI calendar assistant, and wrote The Meeting Book, published in 2026. His nonprofit work includes Summits Education, Embrace Boston, Winter Walk and applied AI education initiatives in Boston.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Gumdrop
- **Organizations:** Gumdrop, Kayak, Lola, Boston Venture Studio, GetHuman, Boston Light Software, Intermute, Moonbeam, Xiangqi.com, Summits Education, Embrace Boston, Winter Walk, Paul English Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute, Boston Public AI
- **From:** Boston, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Boston Latin School, Undergraduate degree in computer science, University of Massachusetts Boston, Master’s degree in computer science, University of Massachusetts Boston, Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Massachusetts Boston
- **Known for:** Cofounded Kayak, which went public in 2012 and was acquired by Priceline in 2013., Built Boston Light Software, acquired by Intuit, and cofounded Lola, acquired by Capital One., Authored The Meeting Book: How the Best Companies Meet Better, published by Wiley in May 2026.

## Career timeline

- **1980s** — Created the game Cupid and licensed it to Games by Apollo while still a young programmer.
- **1989** — Completed his master’s degree at UMass Boston and joined Interleaf.
- **1998** — Founded Boston Light Software.
- **1999** — Boston Light Software acquired by Intuit.
- **2004** — Cofounded Kayak with Steve Hafner and served as CTO.
- **2012** — Kayak went public; Priceline announced an acquisition agreement.
- **2013** — Priceline completed the Kayak acquisition.
- **2015** — Cofounded Lola and Summits Education.
- **2016** — Created Winter Walk with Ari Barbanell and Robyn Glaser.
- **2017** — Began the initiative that became Embrace Boston with Reverend Liz Walker.
- **2021** — Capital One acquired Lola; Xiangqi.com relaunched.
- **2026** — Leads Gumdrop, published The Meeting Book and contributed $1 million toward a Boston Public Schools AI literacy partnership.

## Achievements

- Cofounded Kayak, which went public in 2012 and was acquired by Priceline in 2013.
- Built Boston Light Software, acquired by Intuit, and cofounded Lola, acquired by Capital One.
- Authored The Meeting Book: How the Best Companies Meet Better, published by Wiley in May 2026.
- Committed $5 million to establish the applied AI institute at UMass Boston and an associated scholarship fund.
- Contributed $1 million to launch a Boston Public Schools AI literacy partnership announced in March 2026.
- Cofounded nonprofit initiatives in education, homelessness awareness and racial justice.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — His personal now page identifies him as Gumdrop CEO and says he is helping Steve Hafner create a conversational travel company called Lola Agent.
- **2026-05** — The Meeting Book released May 26, 2026.
- **2026-03** — Announced a $1 million contribution for a Boston Public Schools AI literacy partnership with UMass Boston.

## Links

- Website: https://paulenglish.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/englishpaulm/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/englishpaulm
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/englishpaulm

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/paul-english
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-20