2014 Ponaganset Distinguished Alumni Award Winner Profile

A. George “Skip” Battle – Class of 1962 

Retired CEO of Ask Jeeves and Member of the Board of Directors of Many Corporations.

 CEO of Ask Jeeves (retired), former Ponaganset Alumnus Skip Battle has received numerous awards and honors. Skip grew up in Glocester, RI and was a member of the first graduating class at Ponaganset Junior / Senior High School.  Upon graduation from Ponaganset, he attended Dartmouth College from 1962-1966 and earned a degree in Economics. Skip went on to attend Stanford University from 1966-1968 and earned an MBA in Finance.  

 Highlights of Skip Battle’s career include being a National Merit Scholar; receiving a Bachelor’s Degree with Highest Distinction from Dartmouth College; and an MBA from Stanford University where he held McCarthy and University Fellowships; being appointed to the Commission on Executive Exchange by President Reagan; and, Senior Moderator of the Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.

Video of Interview of Skip Battle on Pando discussing some of his philosophies and experiences – 1962 PHS Graduate

Link to a 3-1/2 minute interview conducted in July 2012 during which Skip shared some of his philosophies on leadership, life, and work. This is a rare insight into effective practices that support success from a national business leaders and graduate of Ponaganset High School.

 

Skip Battle began his employment at Anderson Consulting (Accenture), earning Partner before retiring. He went on to serve as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of Ask Jeeves.   He has also served on the Boards of Directors of several companies including:  LinkedIn, Expedia, Netflix, Workday, Open Table, FICO, Sungevity and the Masters Select Family of Funds. He is a past member of numerous more Boards of Directors for companies and non-profit cultural and educational organizations.   

The table below was taken from Skip’s Linedin.com page. It outlines some of his professional contributions and accomplishments.  

LinkedIn

Member of the Board of Directors Linked In April 2010 – Present (4 years 8 months)

LinkedIn is an Internet company focused on connecting the world's professionals. The company is privately held and has a diversified business model with revenues driven from user subscriptions, advertising sales and software licensing. The LinkedIn Web site launched in 2003 and is the largest professional networking site in the world with more than 65 million members, representing 200 countries and executives from every Fortune 500 company.

Sungevity

Member of the Board of Directors Sungevity

February 2010 – Present (4 years 10 months)

Sungevity is a solar sales company, with a mission to take solar to the mainstream market. Our company has a strong team that brings together successful start-up experience, environmental leadership and solar industry knowledge. Sungevity has designed and launched a unique online sales process to make it easy and affordable for homeowners to go solar

Workday

Member of the Board of Directors Workday

April 2006 – Present (8 years 8 months)

With the appointment, I became the first external member to join Workday's Board.
Workday is the leader in SaaS-based enterprise solutions for global human resources, payroll and financial management, providing new levels of business agility for a fraction of the cost of buying, deploying and maintaining legacy on-premise systems. More than 130 customers, spanning mid-sized organizations to global Fortune 500 businesses, have selected Workday. Workday Human Capital Management and Workday Financial Management use modern, standards-based technologies to provide an unparalleled level of agility, ease-of-use, and integration capability.

OpenTable

Member of the Board of Directors OpenTable

January 2006 – Present (8 years 11 months)

OpenTable provides solutions that form an online network connecting reservation-taking restaurants and people who dine at those restaurants. Our solutions include our proprietary Electronic Reservation Book which computerizes restaurants’ host-stand operations and replaces traditional pen-and-paper reservation books, as well as www.OpenTable.com, a popular restaurant reservation website which diners use to find, choose and book tables in real-time. The OpenTable network includes approximately 10,000 restaurant customers, spanning all 50 states and select international markets. Since our inception in 1998, we have seated approximately 90 million diners through OpenTable reservations. OpenTable is headquartered in San Francisco, California

Netflix

Member of the Board of Directors Netflix

June 2005 – Present (9 years 6 months)

With more than 12 million subscribers, Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) is the world's largest subscription service streaming movies and TV episodes over the Internet and sending DVDs by mail. For $8.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited streamed TV episodes and movies and can receive unlimited DVDs delivered quickly to their homes. With Netflix, there are never any due dates or late fees. Members can select from a growing library of titles that can be watched instantly and a vast array of titles on DVD. Among the large and expanding range of devices that can stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix are Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PS3 game consoles and, this spring, Nintendo's Wii console; Blu-ray disc players from Samsung, LG and Insignia; Internet TVs from LG, Sony and VIZIO; the Roku digital video player and TiVo digital video recorders; and Apple's iPad tablet.

Expedia

Member of the Board of Directors Expedia

January 2005 – Present (9 years 11 months)

Expedia.com is the world's leading online travel site, helping millions of travelers per month easily plan and book travel. Expedia.com (http://www.expedia.com/, 1-800-EXPEDIA) aims to provide personalized service, the latest technology and the widest selection of vacation packages, flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises and in-destination activities, attractions, and services. With the Expedia Best Price Guarantee, Expedia.com promises to offer to its customers the best rates available online for all types of travel. Expedia.com is an operating company of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).

FICO

Chairman of the Board of Directors FICO

February 2002 – Present (12 years 10 months)

FICO (NYSE:FICO) transforms business by making every decision count. FICO's Decision Management solutions combine trusted advice, world-class analytics and innovative applications to give organizations the power to automate, improve and connect decisions across their business. Clients in 80 countries work with FICO to increase customer loyalty and profitability, cut fraud losses, manage credit risk, meet regulatory and competitive demands, and rapidly build market share.

The Aspen Institute

Senior FellowThe Aspen Institute

1995 – Present (19 years)

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC, Aspen, Colorado, and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and has an international network of partners.

Advent Software

Member of the Board of Directors Advent Software

June 2005 – May 2011 (6 years)

Advent Software, Inc., a global firm, has provided trusted solutions to the world’s financial professionals since 1983. Today firms in more than 60 countries rely on Advent technology to run their mission-critical operations. Advent’s quality software, data, services and tools enable financial professionals to improve service and communication to their clients, allowing them to grow their business while controlling costs. Advent is the only financial services software company to be awarded the Service Capability and Performance certification for being a world-class support and services organization.

Ask.com

CEO Ask.com

January 2001 – August 2005 (4 years 8 months)

From 2004 to 2005, I was the executive chairman of Ask.com (formerly Ask Jeeves) after serving as the company’s CEO for three years. Ask.com is an operating business of IAC. The Ask Network of sites is the 6th largest Internet property in the U.S., with 95.7 million domestic unique monthly visitors, according to January 2010 comScore data. Ask.com syndicates its search technology and advertising solutions to a network of affiliate partners.

PeopleSoft

Member of the Board of Directors PeopleSoft

January 1995 – January 2004 (9 years 1 month)

My 10-year tenure as a director of PeopleSoft was during the time when industry rival Oracle attempted a buyout. The struggle began in June 2003 and lasted 18 months.

Accenture

Worldwide Managing Partner of Market Development and Member of the Executive CommitteeAccenture

January 1968 – January 1995 (27 years 1 month)

From 1968 until my retirement in 1995, I served in various management roles at Arthur Andersen LLP and then Andersen Consulting LLP (now Accenture), where I became worldwide managing partner of market development and a member of the firm's executive committee.

 

Congratulations to Skip as the 2014 recipient of the Ponaganset High School Distinguished Alumni Award.


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