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 Robert N. Grosshandler
FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Robert Grosshandler's career spans more than 30 years as an entrepreneur and principal in e-commerce, software, marketing, and real estate ventures.
A pioneer of e-Philanthropy, Mr. Grosshandler designed the online charity mall model and launched iGive.com in 1997. The company enables consumers to shop at online merchants while directing up to 26 percent of every purchase to support their favorite causes. iGive.com's network now delivers shopping opportunities for over 200,000 consumers, donations to more than 30,000 worthy causes, and new customers for more than 670 merchants. He spearheads the company's overall strategy and champions its philosophy to "change online shopping for good."
During the 12 years prior to founding iGive.com, Mr. Grosshandler was president, chief executive officer, chairman and co-founder of The SOFTA Group, Inc., where he oversaw the development and marketing of management and analysis software for the real estate and investment fields. His contributions helped grow the organization from a two-person entrepreneurial enterprise into a company with more than 10,000 clients, 25,000 daily users, 160 employees, $16 million in annual revenue, and a ranking among the country's 500 fastest growing companies according to Inc. magazine. After a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company was sold in 1994 to a Dutch investor.
Before founding the SOFTA Group, Mr. Grosshandler worked as an international exporter.
From 1975 to 1980, Mr. Grosshandler served as a principal or lead principal in the acquisition and management of distressed real estate and manufacturing companies. His investment group took control, improved, then sold properties ranging from single-family home developments in Chicago's suburbs to raw farmland. Mr. Grosshandler's responsibilities included negotiating with lenders and unsecured creditors, and managing various operational issues.
Mr. Grosshandler is a past member of the Young Presidents' Organization as well as a past board member of the Chicago High Tech Association and the Information Technology Association of America. He was a judge for the 1999 GII awards. He studied economics at Northwestern University. |
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