Mark Coopersmith

Mark Coopersmith is a Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at The Haas School of Business. Mark teaches the sought-after Workshop for Startups course from which a broad range of innovative new ventures are regularly launched. The workshop course also produces more than a few startup failures, providing many additional learning opportunities. Mark also co-teaches the pioneering course “The Other 'F' Word" about how insights developed from a more thorough and comprehensive investigation of failure can drive innovation, growth and long-term success.

Mark is broadly involved in executive education, distance learning and other international programs at UC Berkeley, working with groups from Brazil, Norway, Australia, China, France and other regions around the globe.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities Mark is an accomplished executive and an advisor to businesses ranging from VC-backed ventures through global corporations such as Intel and DirecTV. He currently sits on a number of boards and advisory boards.

Previously Mark led the $350mm Global Technology Brands group at Newell Rubbermaid, founded and built a $150mm consumer products and online commerce division for Sony, and was founding CEO of online payments venture WebOrder which is now a part of Google. Earlier in his career, Mark was a strategy and M&A consultant with Ernst & Young.

A sought after speaker and commentator, Mark has been quoted in the The Economist, the New York Times and USA Today, and has appeared in media including Fox News, CNN, The Huffington Post and National Public Radio. In addition to his teaching at UC Berkeley, Mark mentors aspiring entrepreneurs and teams including those working at the UC Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator. Mark is an alumnus of UC Berkeley, where he earned his BA and MBA degrees.