Bill Townsend

Bill Townsend, (born December, 1964) is a serial entrepreneur who helped launch several leading Internet properties, most notably search engine Lycos, social networking pioneer sixdegrees.com, and GeoCities. He is a published author on entrepreneurship, most recently appearing in the Harvard Business Review, April 2007. He is chairman of [http://www.amatifoundation.org The Amati Foundation] and partner in sports marketing firm [http://www.corvosi.com Corvosi]

Background

Townsend was born in Pennsylvania. Townsend's mother is Jacquelyn Mayer Townsend, Miss America 1963, and a professional motivational speaker and his father, John Townsend, is an attorney and former President of the Meadows Race Track. [http://www.jackiemayer.com] (Additional source: "Guideposts Magazine"). He has one sister, Kelly, who is a former newscaster with NBC and Fox.

Professional career

Townsend has founded or co-founded or served on the executive management teams at several high profile Internet companies most notably Internet search engine Lycos, Inc. [http://www.baylor.edu/business/index.php?id=37748] .

He is a partner in sports marketing firm Corvosi [http://www.corvosi.com] which represents clients Rahal Letterman Racing, Michael Jordan Motorsports, Laila Ali, Carey Hart and Suzuki and serves as VP Online, managing the multi-hundred million dollar e-commerce operations of fitness and beauty company BeachBody.com.

He was formerly Executive Vice President, Office of the CEO at biometric authentication, transaction and loyalty firm, Pay By Touch [http://www.paybytouch.com/portal/site/main/menuitem.4124f653a8f45108e9a51010292041a0/?vgnextoid=f0ca06b39393e010VgnVCM1000009c02140aRCRD&year=2006] and Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer of strategic consulting and corporate turnaround firm Interminds [http://www.interminds.com] . He served as VP Business Development at Deja News (now Google and eBay), and assisted in the launch of GeoCities (now Yahoo!) and turnaround of NewsAlert, now [http://www.marketwatch.com Dow Jones MarketWatch] . Source: [http://www.paybytouch.com/portal/site/main/menuitem.4124f653a8f45108e9a51010292041a0/?vgnextoid=f0ca06b39393e010VgnVCM1000009c02140aRCRD&year=2006] .

Townsend holds an MBA from Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business where he holds the John P. Schoen Enterpreneur-in-Residence chair. [http://www.baylor.edu/business/emba]

Philanthropy

In 2000, Townsend founded The Amati Foundation, to help expand the stringed arts, specifically education in playing, making, and preserving the violin. [http://www.amatifoundation.org/getinvolved.html] In 2006, he released a seminal study on consumer attitudes toward classical music events and how those attitudes affect attendance at orchestras in the United States and Europe. The study was featured in The Strad magazine. [http://www.thestrad.com]

Townsend began studying violin making under the tutelage of Ziang Mei then continued learning techniques from William Hilton (a student of Vhakn Nigogosian), and Alberti Genduso (who has studied with the famed German master Horst Kloss and Karl Ray, director of the Bavarian State School of Violin Making in Mittenwald, Germany). In 2005 he introduced a wood treatment system to increase sonority and harmonics in instrument making. This system, Il Cremonese Violin Treatments, creates a base from which to apply varnish and protect wood. [http://www.TownsendViolins.com] [http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/?SecID=278&ArID=84453] Additional source: Los Angeles Times Magazine, December 2004 print edition. His instruments are owned by Martie Maguire of Dixie Chicks, Anne Akiko Meyers, [http://www.southaustinjugband.com/ Brian Beken of South Austin Jug Band] and Edward Caner, violin clinician at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Politics

Townsend was the 1992 Republican candidate for United States Congress in Pennsylvania's 20th Congressional District, narrowly losing by 1 1/2% to 16-year Democrat incumbent Austin J. Murphy. [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/townsend.html] (Additional source: "The Congressional Record" and Republican National Committee)

Internet

He wrote the Internet industry's first "Children's Advertising Guidelines" in 1986, outlining methods for the delivery of online advertising to underage consumers and establishing advertising standards for firms marketing to minors. He was active in early Internet privacy initiatives. Served on the Internet Advertising Bureau and as Vice Chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulation's Internet Standards and Measurement Committee. [http://www.interminds.com]

External links

[http://www.amatifoundation.org The Amati Foundation]

[http://www.corvosi.com Corvosi, LLC]

[http://www.BeachBody.com BeachBody]

[http://www.townsendviolins.com Townsend Violins]

[http://www.interminds.com Interminds, LLC]

[http://www.baylor.edu/business/index.php?id=37748 Baylor Business Review Podcast: Entrepreneurship and Innovation (interview with Townsend)]

[http://www.baylor.edu/business/index.php?id=38157 Baylor Business Review Podcast: Four Things to Look for in a New Business Venture (interview with Townsend)]

[http://www.baylortv.com/video.php?id=001020 High-Tech Entrepreneur Shares Lessons (video of speech at Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business)]

External links