Kevin O’Leary – Speakers
Investor on ABC’s Shark Tank, Chairman of O’Leary Financial Group & Bestselling Author
The son of a United Nations ILO official, Kevin O’Leary had the opportunity to be educated in Cambodia, Cyprus, Tunisia, Ethiopia, France, and Switzerland. Kevin attended the University of Waterloo, in 1977, receiving an Honors bachelor’s degree in environmental studies & Psychology, in 1980 received his MBA from Ivey Business School.
After briefly working at Nabisco Brands, he pursued a career in television production & became a founding partner in Special Event Television, which produced programming such as The Original Six, Don Cherry’s Grapevine, and Bobby Orr and the Hockey Legends.
Kevin co-founded SoftKey Software in 1986, the 1st software company to apply the principles of consumer goods marketing to the software industry. In January of 1994, SoftKey became a catalyst of consolidation in the software industry, raising over $ 1 billion in a series of debt & equity financings & completing the first trans-border three-way pooling, merging with Spinnaker Software & WordStar International. In 1995, SoftKey acquired Compton’s New Media & The Learning Company. In 1996, SoftKey completed the acquisition of Minnesota Educational Computer Company. In 1997-1998, SoftKey acquired Creative Wonders, Mindscape and Broderbund making it the world leader in the development of educational, reference & home productivity software & the world’s second largest consumer software company with annual sales over $800 million, two thousand employees & subsidiaries in 15 countries. In 1996 SoftKey became The Learning Company. In May 1999, The Mattel Toy Company acquired The Learning Company for $4.2 billion.
In July of 2007 Kevin became a founding SPAC investor & Director of Stream Global Services Inc., focused on the growing outsourcing business services market.
Kevin O’Leary is the Chairman of O’Shares ETF Investments & Beanstox, an automated internet-based investment advisory service. He holds investments in over 30 private venture companies. He is a member of Boston’s 120-year-old Hamilton Trust, the oldest investment club in the US. He is a contributor to CNBC, ABC News and Good Morning & an entrepreneur/investor co-host for the Discovery Channel’s Project Earth series. He is also an investor/host of ABC Television’s four-time Emmy Award-winning venture capital reality programs Shark Tank & Beyond the Tank, produced by MGM//Sony/ABC.
Kevin O’Leary is an active photographer, watch collector, guitarist and author of three number #1 best best-selling book
