Henry Poole

Henry applies 30 years of experience helping organizations achieve impact by identifying strategies that work with their cultures, and leverage emerging open technologies. As a founder of CivicActions, Henry has consulted to dozens of organizations and is currently leading a research effort to analyze the recent successes of a number of NGOs that have seen breakthough social change through the use of technology.

Poole began his Internet career at Vivid Studios with a study of the WELL community in 1993. That research led to pioneering one of the first Internet agencies, which by 1995 was delivering strategies and Internet solutions to organizations including Microsoft, Apple, Nike, Sony, Bank of America as well as numerous Internet start-ups.

After selling Vivid in 1998, Poole intensified his study of the cultural patterns behind successful Internet business models. In 2000, Poole joined MandrakeSoft, a Paris based Linux software company at the forefront of the Linux open source movement. While at MandrakeSoft, Poole hired Howard Rhiengold to lead a research effort to determine the motivations behind 400 volunteer programmers who were instrumental in MandrakeSofts product development efforts. Under Poole's leadership, the firm became the leading retail distributor of Linux in the United States.

In 2002, interested in the business success of a small number of free software / open source firms, and the trend towards software as a service, Poole published the Affero General Public License (the current standard for SaaS free / open source software) and joined the board of the Free Software Foundation.

In 2003, Henry joined politics by leading technology for a candidate for U.S. President. The lack of solid technological infrastructure for progressive NGO's and political organizations led Henry to co-found CivicActions in 2004. Since co-founding CivicActions, Poole has provided strategic planning services for numerous think-tanks and international NGOs. Pool has spoken in U.S., Europe, and Asia about the impact of emerging social technologies on society and business, and how to leverage them effectively.

While not working with NGOs, Poole serves on the board of several emerging tech and clean energy firms and spends time with his family in Lafayette California.