# Trevor Sumner

> Trevor Sumner is the CEO of i-Genie.ai, an AI platform that mines hundreds of billions of Google searches, reviews, and social posts to feed consumer insights and product R&D for brands like Unilever, Coca-Cola, Kenvue and Clorox. A NYC-based serial entrepreneur with multiple exits, he previously ran Perch (acquired by Raydiant) and co-founded LocalVox (acquired by Blackstone). He runs the early-stage advisory and investment firm Summoner, mentors at the ERA accelerator, and has been a Rethink Retail Top Retail Expert six years running. Off the clock he is a scuba diver on every continent, a 600-pound-marlin angler, and a Princeton computer scientist who treats pressure as a privilege.

- **Role:** CEO at i-Genie.ai
- **Organizations:** i-Genie.ai, Summoner, ERA (Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator), Raydiant, Perch, LocalVox
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BSE in Computer Science, Princeton University
- **Known for:** Rethink Retail Top Retail Expert / Top 100 Retail Industry Influencer six consecutive years (2021-2026), Retail Tech Innovation Hub Top 50 Retail Tech Influencers (2020-2026), Named Most Influential CEO in Visual Merchandising by Corporate Vision

## Career timeline

- **1998** — Graduated Princeton University with a BSE in Computer Science
- **1998-2000s** — Head of Product Management & Technical Sales at Trilogy/pcOrder, the e-commerce configuration company that hit a $300M+ IPO valuation
- **2000s** — Director of Product Marketing & Technical Business Development at Tantau Software / 724 Solutions (wireless infrastructure, $120M acquisition)
- **2000s** — Senior Product Marketing Manager at Lombardi Software (BPM, acquired by IBM for $176M)
- **2000s** — Director of Product Management & Marketing at Narrowstep (digital asset management/CDN, acquired by KIT Digital)
- **2000s** — VP Product Marketing and employee #7 at Weplay, a social network for youth sports
- **2010-2015** — Co-founded and served as President/CTO of LocalVox, a local social and mobile marketing platform; grew to 100+ employees and 8-figure revenue; acquired by TBC Holdings / The Blackstone Group
- **2017** — Became CEO of Perch Interactive, the in-store product-engagement and interactive display company
- **2018** — Perch announced new CEO and $1.7M seed funding under Sumner
- **2020** — Navigated COVID, which wiped out roughly 70% of Perch's ARR, and led the company's recovery
- **2022** — Perch acquired by Raydiant; Sumner became Head of AI and Data Platform Products / Head of AI and Innovation at Raydiant
- **2024** — Formalized Summoner, his early-stage B2B, AI and retail-tech investment and advisory firm; managing director
- **2025** — Named CEO of i-Genie.ai, the AI consumer-insights platform founded by ex-Unilever and Coca-Cola insights leaders Stan Sthanunathan and Paul Van Gendt

## Achievements

- Rethink Retail Top Retail Expert / Top 100 Retail Industry Influencer six consecutive years (2021-2026)
- Retail Tech Innovation Hub Top 50 Retail Tech Influencers (2020-2026)
- Named Most Influential CEO in Visual Merchandising by Corporate Vision
- Led Perch to awards including a Forbes '15 Tech Companies to Watch', CIO Review Top 20, the Edison Gold Medal for Retail Innovation, plus Clio and Digi awards
- Grew Perch's business 127% in his first year as CEO
- Co-founded LocalVox and exited to The Blackstone Group; covered by Forbes, Business Insider and Huffington Post as a top NYC startup
- Helped grow Raydiant 357% YoY, ranked #460 overall and #55 in software on the Inc. 5000
- Lead mentor at ERA, NYC's accelerator; regular contributor to Inc, Forbes and TechCrunch

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — i-Genie.ai associated with a Series A / $7.5M funding milestone (last raised Sept 2025)
- **2026-03** — Featured in a Medium/SuperWarm interview, 'From Surveys to Signals,' on reinventing consumer insights with AI
- **2026** — Named a Rethink Retail Top Retail Expert for the sixth consecutive year

## Links

- Website: https://i-genie.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevorsumner
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/trevorsumner
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trevnyc/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/trevor-sumner
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-04