Kevin Surace
{{short description|American businessman}}
{{COI|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kevin J. Surace
| image = Kevin Surace.jpg
| caption = Surace in 2016
| birth_name =
| birth_date = July 12, 1962
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = American
| other_names =
| alma_mater = Rochester Institute of Technology
| occupation = Businessperson
| website = [http://KevinSurace.com KevinSurace.com]
}}
Kevin Surace (born July 12, 1962) is an American technology innovator, producer{{Cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/betsy-wolfe-clifton-duncan-danny-burstein-more-to-star-in-estella-scrooge-musical|title=Betsy Wolfe, Clifton Duncan, Danny Burstein, More to Star in Estella Scrooge Musical|date=9 September 2020}} and entrepreneur.{{cite web |url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=438646&privcapId=36478030&previousCapId=11112314&previousTitle=Western%20Association%20of%20Venture%20Capitalists|title=Company Overview of Serious Energy, Inc. |author= |date= |publisher=businessweek.com |accessdate=December 27, 2012}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite web |url=http://www.rit.edu/alumni/ihf/inductee.php?inductee=16 |title=Innovation Hall of Fame |author= |date= |publisher=rit.edu |accessdate=December 27, 2012}} He is the CTO of Appvance, creator of an Generative AI software QA platform.{{cite web |url=https://appvance.ai/leadership |title=Kevin Surace, CTO |author= |date= |publisher= appvance.ai |accessdate=October 28, 2023}} He was Inc. Magazine’s 2009 entrepreneur of the Year.{{cite web |url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/20091201/entrepreneur-of-the-year-kevin-surace-of-serious-materials.html |title=Entrepreneur of the Year 2009: Kevin Surace of Serious Materials |author=Leigh Buchanan |date=Dec 1, 2009 |publisher=inc.com |accessdate=December 27, 2012}} He is the inventor of QuietRock Soundproof Drywall.{{Cite web|url=https://www.futureinreview.com/leaders/kevin-surace/|title=Kevin Surace|website=Future in Review|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-22}}
Planet Forward, CNBC and the World Economic Forum have recognized Surace as an innovator and a technology pioneer.{{cite web |url=http://PlanetForward.org/2011/03/14/planet-forward-on-tv-coming-april-8/ |title=Cross-posted from Advanced Biofuels USA by Joanne Ivancic |author= Susanna |date= March 14, 2011 |publisher=planetforward.org |accessdate=December 27, 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2010/08/04/15-Leading-Innovators-For-the-Next-Decade.html |title=15 Leading Innovators For the Next Decade |publisher=CNBC |access-date=December 27, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206214447/http://www.cnbc.com/id/38559700/15_Leading_Innovators_For_the_Next_Decade?slide=14 |archive-date=December 6, 2013 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.weforum.org/contributors/kevin-surace |title=Kevin Surace |author= |date= |publisher=weforum.org |accessdate=December 27, 2012}} He has 93 patents worldwide.{{cite web |url=https://www.softwaretestpro.com/training/ai-test-generation-what-we-learned-so-far/ |title=AI Test Generation. What We Learned So Far. {{!}} SoftwareTestPro |website=www.softwaretestpro.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403045809/https://www.softwaretestpro.com/training/ai-test-generation-what-we-learned-so-far/ |archive-date=2019-04-03}} Surace is a speaker on AI, Generative AI, robotics, automation and the future of work.{{cite web|url=https://www.bigspeak.com/speakers/kevin-surace|title=Kevin J. Surace Keynote Speakers Bureau & Speaking Fee|publisher=|accessdate=2 February 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jxlx9SZEAk|title=Kevin Surace: Robotics, AI, the end of human work, and a coming Renaissance|last=Kevin Surace|date=4 May 2015|publisher=|accessdate=2 February 2018|via=YouTube}}
Education and personal life
Surace earned a B.S. in electrical engineering technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He serves on the RIT Board of Trustees, was alumni of the year in 2011, outstanding alumnus in 2019{{Cite web|url=https://www.rit.edu/news/surace-named-2019-outstanding-alumnus|title=Surace named 2019 Outstanding Alumnus|website=RIT|language=en|access-date=2019-08-22}} and was inducted into the school’s Innovation Hall of Fame.
His wife Marita Surace died on February 5, 2012.{{cite web |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mercurynews/obituary.aspx?pid=155821335#fbLoggedOut |title=Marita Surace |author= |date=February 12, 2012 |publisher=legacy.com |accessdate=December 27, 2012}} He married Erica Rogers on January 1, 2014. She is the CEO of Silk Road Medical.{{cite web |url=http://www.silkroadmedical.com/about-us/management-team/ |title=Management Team « Silk Road Medical Silk Road Medical |website=www.silkroadmedical.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802152905/http://www.silkroadmedical.com/about-us/management-team/ |archive-date=2013-08-02}}
Career
Surace was the executive vice president of products and network services at General Magic, leading the development of the first large scale artificially intelligent voice user interface, and the team that developed the OnStar Virtual Advisor for General Motors."{{cite web |url=http://www.sustainablesociety.org/kevin-surace.html |title=Kevin Surace's Bio |date= |publisher=sustainablesociety.org |author= |accessdate=December 27, 2012}} He also served as the chairman, CEO and president of WebKnight, Inc. (sold to Micrografx).{{citation |mode=cs1 |last1=Scarlett |first1=Kane |date=1998-01-15 |df=mdy |url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/2076597/news-and-new-product-briefs--1-15-98-.html |title=Micrografx snaps up WebKnight Java authoring tool company |department=News and New Product Briefs (1/15/98) |work=JavaWorld |accessdate=2020-07-16}} He became the CEO then CTO of Appvance, the developer of an AI native quality platform for automated software testing and Chairman of cybersecurity company Token. Surace also held engineering and management positions at National Semiconductor, IBM and Seiko Epson.
Surace co-founded Serious Energy, a cleantech company that uses disruptive technologies to reduce energy usage in buildings. Serious Energy’s product EcoRock (an eco-friendly drywall) earned a Best New Product award from Popular Science magazine{{cite web |url=http://www.popsci.com/bown/2008/product/serious-materials-ecorock |title=Serious Materials EcoRock |author= |date= |publisher=popsci.com |accessdate=December 27, 2012}} and was named the most innovative environmental product of the year by the Wall Street Journal.{{cite web |url=http://www.rit.edu/showcase/index.php?id=28 |title=Alumnus Kevin Surace, Entrepreneur of the Year |author= |date= |publisher=rit.edu |accessdate=December 27, 2012}}
Surace launched the cloud-based procurement platform Perfect Commerce and serviced as its chairman, CEO, and president. In 1992, Surace also co-founded Air Communications Inc., and became the company’s CEO and president. In 2010, he led Serious to replace all windows in the Empire State Building to reduce energy consumption.{{cite web |url=http://www.inc.com/articles/2010/03/serious-materials-greens-empire-state-building.html |title=Serious Materials to Green the Empire State Building |author=Leigh Buchanan |date=Mar 4, 2010 |publisher=inc.com |accessdate=December 27, 2012}}
Surace is the CTO of Appvance, creator of an AI driven QA platform. He has served on boards for RIT, Zeta Design/Build, WaterCity, Coyuchi, Spot Trender and TweetSecret.
Surace holds several patents in green technologies, and has authored articles on energy efficiency and the green economy.{{cite web |url=http://www.greenbiz.com/bio/kevin-surace |title=Kevin Surace |author= |date=January 14, 2010 |publisher=greenbiz.com |accessdate=December 27, 2012}} In 2009, he delivered a TED talk on his patented eco-friendly drywall and the need to rethink basic materials in a sustainable light. He is quoted as saying, "[It takes the equivalent of] eight thousand gallons of gas to build one house. … It’s like driving around the world six times. We must change everything."{{cite web |url=http://www.sittingo.com/speaker/ksurace |title=Kevin Surace's Presentations |author= |date=February 2009 |publisher=sittingo.com |accessdate=December 27, 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_surace_fixing_drywall_to_heal_the_planet.html |title=Kevin Surace invents eco-friendly drywall |author= |date=Feb 2009 |publisher=ted.com |accessdate=December 27, 2012}} He delivered an earlier TED talk on Worst Case Climate Change Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211210/KjOP3Y_JUX8 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20140520032000/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjOP3Y_JUX8&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjOP3Y_JUX8| title = Worst Case Climate Change (2008 TED Talk) | website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}
Awards and recognition
In 2009, Surace was Inc. Magazine entrepreneur of the Year.{{cite web|url=http://www.tiecon.org/speaker/kevin-surace-0|title=Kevin Surace|date=|publisher=tiecon.org|author=|accessdate=December 27, 2012}} In 2010, CNBC, one of 15 Leading Innovators for the next decade. In 2010, the World Economic Forum, Tech Pioneer.
In 2010 he was the keynote speaker for the Democratic Caucus (House of Representatives).{{cite web|url=http://directsaleassociates.blogspot.com/2010/01/kevin-suraces-comments-at-2010.html |title=Kevin Surace's Comments at 2010 Democratic Caucus Job Summit |date=14 Jan 2010 |publisher=directsaleassociates.blogspot.com |accessdate=December 27, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304125444/http://directsaleassociates.blogspot.com/2010/01/kevin-suraces-comments-at-2010.html |archivedate=March 4, 2016 }}
In 2011, Planet Forward nominated Surace as an Innovator of the Year.{{cite web |url=http://interactive.wxxi.org/highlights/2011/03/planet-forward-wxxi-tv |title=Planet Forward on WXXI-TV |author= |date=2011-08-17 |publisher=interactive.wxxi.org |accessdate=December 27, 2012}}
References
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Category:21st-century American businesspeople
Category:American technology writers