Mark Bowles featured lecturer for Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies Lecture Series
Mark Bowles, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, is the founder and co-inventor of the technology behind ecoATM, a company acquired in 2013 by Outerwall for $350 million. He is the holder of nine patents with 30 patents pending.
“An Entrepreneur’s Journey from Innovation to Commercialization” will be the topic of discussion for the Entrepreneurial Lecture Series. The lecture by Bowles is scheduled for February 5 at 11:10 a.m. in Landes Auditorium in the Galloway Building on the Lamar campus. The lecture series, sponsored in part by ExxonMobil and hosted by the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, features successful entrepreneurs who share their experiences with students in the College of Business and the community.
"We are very excited to host a great Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur like Mark Bowles,” said Paul Latiolais, director of the Center for Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship and the IES. “Mark has seen his company grow from startup to a world leader. His insight and passion for education will make for a great presentation for Lamar students."
Bowles was born and raised in Beaumont, attended Lamar University for three years before graduating from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in industrial distribution. The Beaumont native also earned the Master of Science degree in technology management from Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.
With more than 25 years of experience in wireless, semiconductor and retail industries, Bowles founded ecoATM, the first and only company to use automated self-service kiosks to evaluate and purchase consumers’ used electronic devices for resale or recycling. He has been involved in the formation and funding of six venture-backed startups raising 18 rounds of venture capital and debt financing totaling $250 million. Broadcom acquired another Bowles-founded companies, BlueSteel Networks, in 2000 for $110 million.
Bowles is a senior fellow of Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business, a board member for the University of San Diego’s Center for Peace and Commerce, chair of San Diego Venture Group and mentor/advisor to a variety of technology companies and incubators including TechStars and evoNexus. He now lives in San Diego with his wife and three sons.
The lecture is open to the public without charge.
