As a graduate of Northwestern University, M.Sc. Data Science and the University of Washington with a B.Sc. in Mathematics, Mark Gustafson has 30+ years of experience in the software industry, to go with his 11+ years in the energy and utility industry. The last 7+ years Mark has been helping Avista with their corporate venture capital strategy and strategic investments.
Background
In 1999 Mark co-founded Reischling Press Inc.’s current business model and led their technology revolution in the personalized photo merchandise industry for over 11 years as their CTO and executive director. Today RPI leads the industry and has offices in Seattle, Atlanta and the Netherlands. From 2010-2012 Mark was the CEO of August Systems, a home health software company where he led them to a cloud / SaaS based delivery model. Mark’s experience in Agile software delivery and Dev Ops landed him at Avista Corp. where he helped bring modern software delivery and operations techniques to the Utility. Mark now leads all Strategic Investments for Avista as the President of Avista Development, Inc. a non-regulated, wholly owned subsidiary of Avista Corp. Mark also holds numerous patents and currently serves on many boards in the early stage energy startup space.
Previous Assignments and Credentials
- Utility Management Certificate from Willamette University
- Certificate of Finance and Accounting for Executives from the University of Washington Foster School of Business