Michael Schutzler (born 1962) is the CEO of Livemocha,[1] an online language learning community. He is also an author and business coach.
Schutzler's father was born in Lithuania and his mother originated from Frankfurt, Germany. After marrying, they emigrated to Chicago, USA. Their son was born two years later.
Schutzler’s tertiary education began at Pennsylvania State University. There, he earned a Bachelor of Science,[2] in Electrical Engineering.[3] This was followed by an MBA[2] in Finance and Economics from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester.[3]
In 1996, Schutzler co-founded his first company, the Seattle-based FreeShop.com, pioneering online shopping and email marketing. From there, he founded Piri Reis Ventures LLC, a federation of investors for which he served as advisor, investor, and board member to Internet and enterprise software company start-ups.
Since 2000, he has served as CEO and senior executive in several Internet industry firms and services including Classmates.com,[1][4][5]Monster Worldwide[6] and RealNetworks.[7][8]
In 2007, Schutzler founded the business-coaching firm, CEOsherpa.com.[1][9]
He currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington Michael G. Foster School of Business, as well as for FlowPlay Inc., makers of Ourworld.com, and Digital Forest, a successful hosting company.
On June 8, 2010, Schutzler was announced as the new CEO of Livemocha.[1]
Schutzler is the author of Inspiring Excellence. He and his wife Carolyn reside in Bellevue, Washington.
Interviews