Newswise — The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College has announced that Derek Schoettle MBA’03, CEO of ZoomInfo, and John Landry 69‘ MP’08, serial tech entrepreneur and investor, are new Entrepreneurs-in-Residence that will work with Babson’s emerging entrepreneurs on their ventures.

As CEO of ZoomInfo, Schoettle, whose background is in Artificial Intelligence and data analytics, is motivated to take the company from a leading sales and management product to a highly sophisticated customer engagement platform. He has significant experience with both new technologies and large-scale platforms, holding responsibility for go-to-market strategy, business operations, and customer success in his previous roles at IBM and Cloudant. He is engaged with a number of local startups and recently participated as a judge at the 2018 B.E.T.A. Challenge.

Self-described as a serial CTO, Landry has held numerous roles, including VP of Technology Strategy at IBM, where he developed IBM’s nascent internet strategy in the mid to late 1990s, and CTO at Lotus Development, where he led the Lotus Skunkworks to secretly develop Lotus Domino, the web-based version of Lotus Notes. Parlaying his software background into tech investing and mentoring, Landry has invested extensively as “Lead Dog” investor of Lead Dog Ventures, served on the boards of over 40 start-ups, and mentored teams as a TechStars mentor. As well, he has served as a Babson College Trustee.

“Derek and John bring incredible experience and deep tech industry knowledge to their role as Entrepreneurs-in-Residence. They continually demonstrate their passion and vision for what tech can be and do next,” said Debi Kleiman, Executive Director of the Blank Center for Entrepreneurship. “We are really excited to have these accomplished alums give their time and energy to support the next generation of Babson tech entrepreneurs.”

Schoettle and Landry are the two newest Entrepreneurs-in-Residence to join Babson’s cohort of executives, entrepreneurs, and investors who contribute their expertise to and share their perspectives with the community in varying ways. They will be kicking off their engagement with events and office hours at the Blank Center.

About Schoettle

Schoettle is CEO of ZoomInfo, the leading B2B contact database provider. He has more than 20 years of experience in technology and was the Chief Business Officer and General Manager of the Watson and Cloud Platform business at IBM prior to joining ZoomInfo. Schoettle has also held executive roles at Cloudant, acquired by IBM, Vertica Systems, acquired by HP, and Infocrossing and Intellireach, both acquired by Wipro. He holds an MBA from Babson College’s Olin Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from Dickinson College.

About Landry 

Landry is a serial CTO, software entrepreneur, and active investor as Managing Director of Lead Dog Ventures. His past roles include VP of Technology Strategy at IBM, CTO at Lotus Development, acquired by IBM, and Executive VP of Development and CTO of Cullinet Software, acquired by Computer Associates, among many others. He recently was honoured with the 2018 Commonwealth Award for his significant contributions to Massachusetts’s technology ecosystem and holds a B.S. from Babson College.

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader for Entrepreneurship of All Kinds®. The top-ranked college for entrepreneurship education, Babson is a dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society. We prepare the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to make a difference in the world, and have an impact on organizations of all sizes and types. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value.

About the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson College

The Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship accelerates the practice of entrepreneurship by providing Babson’s emerging entrepreneurs with access to events, workshops, mentoring and competitions that enable them to test and refine their founder skills. The Butler Launch Pad is the hub of this entrepreneurial ecosystem, connecting our students and alumni with the broader business and entrepreneurial community through a series of programs and learning experiences that support our entrepreneurs along their journey. Included in these programs are two of Babson’s Signature Events: Rocket Pitch and B.E.T.A. Challenge, as well as the highly regarded Summer Venture Program that accelerates the top 15 student ventures at Babson each year.