Chip Ransler

Professor Ransler has been an expert on entrepreneurship, managing the startup enterprise, marketing, business development, and corporate innovation for over 15 years. He has served as CEO, Chief Strategy Officer, CFO, COO, Founder, Executive Director, strategy consultant, and angel investor for a variety of industries. He has co-taught the capstone entrepreneurship course (COMM 4681) at the McIntire School since 2017 and also teaches marketing at the UVA Darden School of Business.

Professor Ransler also serves as Executive Director of HackCville, a nonprofit entrepreneurial talent accelerator in Charlottesville, VA. During his three years of leadership, HackCville has grown from serving 75 students per year in three programs to 1,200+ students in 12 programs. He also established the Launch Summer Academy, during which more than 100 students train each year for paid high-tech internships at HackCville's 200+ company partners.

Previously, Professor Ransler was a Co-Founder of Husk Power Systems, the world's largest distributed renewable energy startup based in Bihar, India, and Fort Collins, Colo., and was named an Aspen Institute Fellow and PopTech Fellow and was a Social Entrepreneur of the Year in both India and the United States.

Professor Ransler lives in Charlottesville with his wife, Madeleine, and toddler, Hawks.

Areas of Expertise

• Entrepreneurship
• Corporate innovation
• Marketing strategy
• Startup growth strategies
• Management for growth

Education

• MBA University of Virginia - Darden Graduate School of Business Administration (2007 — 2009)
• BA University of Virginia (1997 — 2001)

Companies

• Board Member Forge (2020)
• Assistant Professor McIntire School of Commerce (2019)
• Adjunct Lecturer University of Virginia Darden School of Business (2017)
• Co-Founder Husk Power Systems (2008)
• Executive Director Forge (2016 — 2020)
• Lecturer in Commerce McIntire School of Commerce (2017 — 2019)
• CEO Branch Basics (2015 — 2015)
• COO/CFO Branch Basics (2014 — 2015)
• Consultant Branch Basics (2013 — 2013)