Alan Spoon, Regent Emeritus, Smithsonian Institution; Partner Emeritus, Polaris Ventures, Former President, The Washington Post Company
Alan Spoon is a Partner Emeritus (former Managing General Partner) of Polaris Partners. Mr Spoon joined Polaris in the spring of 2000 and has been part of Polaris since 1996 as an early advisor and initial investor. He focuses on investments in information technology, with emphasis on revenue-stage companies, digital media, e-commerce, distance learning, and financial services. Previously, he was at The Washington Post Company where he worked for 18 years. Over his career with The Post Company, he served as President, COO, CFO, President of Newsweek, and head of business development. Mr Spoon is also a director of Danaher Corporation as well as IAC/InterActive Corp. Prior boards include LegalZoom, Getty Images, and Human Genome Sciences. Non-Profit Leadership roles include Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation, trustee (Board member edX; Harvard-MIT MOOC platform); Norwood School, former trustee and board chair; and WETA, former trustee. Mr Spoon is a graduate of Harvard University (JD) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (SM and SB).
