Technology >> CEO Interviews >> June 2, 2004
JOEL A. RONNING is Chief Executive Officer of Digital River, Inc. Mr.
Ronning's achievements have earned him a reputation as an entrepreneur,
innovator and visionary. During his career, he has successfully founded
three companies. Most recently, he founded Digital River, Inc., a global
leader in e-commerce outsourcing, where he has served as CEO since 1994
when the company was established. Leveraging his background in
technology and direct marketing, Mr. Ronning has aggressively led
Digital River to achieve revenue, gross margin and profitability
milestones, including GAAP profitability. In 2003 in its Technology Fast
50 and Technology Fast 500 programs, Deloitte & Touche ranked Digital
River number five among Minnesota's fastest growing technology companies
and 165th among the 500 fastest growing technology companies in North
America. Prior to launching Digital River, Mr. Ronning founded two other
companies where he held executive positions. For four years, Mr. Ronning
served as chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer
and secretary of Tech Squared, Inc., a direct catalog marketer of
software and hardware products. In 1990, Mr. Ronning founded MacUSA,
Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tech Squared, and served as its
Director and Chief Executive Officer. He has been a featured television
guest on CNNfn and Bloomberg TV. In addition to being quoted as an
industry-leader by national business and technology publications, Mr.
Ronning was featured in the recently released Enterprising Minnesotans
book, which highlights influential entrepreneurs throughout the state's
history. He also has received numerous industry awards, including CRN
magazine's Top 25 Rising Stars 2002 and its 2001 Top 25 Executives;
VARBusiness magazine's 2001 Top 20 Visionaries; Minnesota's 2001 Tekne
Leadership Award; and the 2000 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year,
e-Business-to-Business Services Award. Profile
then give us a picture of some things you're currently doing at the
company.
Mr. Ronning: To give you a little background
