Four University of Illinois graduates within the College of Engineering are among those acknowledged as Crain’s Chicago Business’ 40 Under 40. For 25 years, Crain’s has recognized 40 individuals under the age of 40 who have made their mark on their respective industries. Those honored include Illinois graduates Gabriel Burt, Nate Laurell, Alexander Meyer and Zach Kaplan.
Written by Mike Koon, Engineering Communications Office
Four University of Illinois graduates within the College of Engineering are among those acknowledged as Crain’s Chicago Business’ 40 Under 40. For 25 years, Crain’s has recognized 40 individuals under the age of 40 who have made their mark on their respective industries. Those honored this year include Illinois graduates Gabriel Burt, Nate Laurell, Alexander Meyer and Zach Kaplan.
Burt earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in computer engineering from Illinois in 2005 and is the Chief Technology Officer for Civis Analytics. He was one of the first individuals called upon by the Obama administration to rescue the HealthCare.gov site after its less than auspicious roll out. His team helped run the Obama for America analytics department in the successful 2008 presidential campaign and is applying the same skills to aid non-profits in health care and education, corporations and political organizations.
Laurell, an entrepreneur in technology, finance and energy, received both a bachelor’s (1998) and master’s degree (2001) in electrical engineering from Illinois. He has founded New Frontier Holdings, a company that matches a small set of investors with budding entrepreneurs and ampCNG, a transportation company focused on displacing liquid fuels with compressed natural gas. He is also the co-founder of the retail energy supplier, energy.me.
Kaplan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Illinois in 2001. He co-founded two tech start-ups, LeverWorks, a custom software development company, and Inventables, which provides affordable manufacturing tools and low cost distribution for individual designers and entrepreneurs. Leo Media bought out LeverWorks in 2001, but Kaplan continues to serve as the CEO of Inventables. Kaplan sees “the maker movement” as the start of a third industrial revolution, so much so that he designed a free “maker space” on the third floor of the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, the first for the city.
Meyer received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Illinois in 1999 before earning an MBA for Harvard. He is Vice President of Global Development at SAP after having served as V.P. of Global Field Operations at the company. Meyer is the Chairman of the Harvard Business School Alumni Entrepreneurship Council of Chicago and is a member of the board of the HBS Club of Chicago. Meyer also has an interest in the theater, having been groomed in theater education by Second City Observatory. He currently serves on the board of Stage 773, which supports those involved in the city’s off-loop theater.