Scot M. Rourke

President & CEO

Intelligent Community Forum Visionary of the Year 2008

Scot is an internationally known thought leader in leveraging information technology to foster economic development and improve quality of life. As head of the Knight Center of Digital Excellence, Scot oversees efforts to help communities nationwide ensure their citizens can take advantage of social, civic, and economic opportunities made possible by broadband access. The Akron-based Center provides world-class resources and on-site guidance to develop sustainable universal access programs that allow all citizens to participate in today's digital economy.

The Center was created by a partnership between Cleveland-based OneCommunity and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Scot also serves as president & CEO of OneCommunity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering economic and civic progress through the innovative and collaborative application of information technologies. In March 2008, the Intelligent Community Forum, an international think tank focused on economic growth in the broadband economy, named Scot the Intelligent Community Visionary of the Year for taking OneCommunity from vision to reality.

Before leading OneCommunity and the Center, Scot was president of a national information technology and services company, which had more than 30 offices nationwide and several hundred employees. There Scot led the management buyout and successful turnaround of a $200 million division. He has spent most of his career transforming mid- to large-sized businesses by developing innovative business models and leveraging the latest information technology tools. He also has advised or managed numerous high-growth technology businesses, including his own software and consulting business. Scot received a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan, concentrating in business administration and organizational studies.

Scot was named one of the “Top 40 Under 40” by Crain's Cleveland Business in 2004. He is a founding partner of Cleveland Social Venture Partners, a venture-based philanthropic organization that contributes time and financial resources to actively build capacity for select nonprofits. Scot also is president of the Friends of the Cleveland School of the Arts board of trustees and serves on the board of the Great Lakes Science Center. He also serves on the board of PreEmptive Solutions, a leading provider of advanced software security tools.