Keith Krach. Transformational Leader
Keith Krach is an American businessman, Silicon Valley innovator, philanthropist and public servant, noted for bringing transformational leadership to multiple sectors, including:
• Robotics
• Engineering Automation
• e-Commerce
• Higher Education
• Philanthropy
• Office Productivity
• Diplomacy
As Under Secretary of State, Krach led American economic diplomacy and had the rare distinction of being unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. For his work blocking the Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to infiltrate global 5G communications; his advocacy for the people of Taiwan; and for his work addressing the plight of the Uyghur minority suffering under oppression and genocide in China, Krach has been nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.
Chairman and Co-Founder, Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy
Currently, Krach is chairman of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy, a bipartisan, technology-focused, international policy institute with headquarters at Purdue University in West Lafayette Indiana, and in Washington D.C.
TECH STATECRAFT
The Institute specializes in “tech-statecraft,” a model of diplomacy that combines high-tech expertise and tech sector experience with foreign policy and national security sectors to ensure that advanced technologies are used to advance freedom.
CRITICAL TECHNOLOGIES
The Institute’s primary focus is on technologies that are critical to American foreign policy, such as 5G, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, energy, digital health, digital currency, cybersecurity, autonomy, and global supply chains.
DEMOCRATIC VALUES
The Institute collaborates with like-minded nations and with private sector companies and organizations to promote engagement with trusted partners and advocate for a global tech agenda that reflects freedom, democracy, and human rights in multilateral organizations.
Under Secretary of State
CONFIRMATION
In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Krach stated that as head of economic diplomacy, his focus would be on harnessing 3 powerful areas of US competitive advantage: strengthening our partnerships with friends and allies, leveraging the innovation and resources of the private sector, and amplifying the moral high ground of democratic values to advance peace and prosperity for the world.
CLEAN NETWORK
As the nation’s top economic diplomat, Krach led the development of the bipartisan Global Economic Security Strategy; built the Clean Network Alliance of Democracies to defeat the CCP’s masterplan to control 5G communications; spearheaded the largest onshoring in US history to secure the semiconductor supply chain; drove divestment in CCP companies to protect investors from unknowingly financing Chinese military; championed the human rights by mobilizing action against CCP’s genocide in Xinjiang.
COVID RESPONSE
Krach also directed the repatriation of 100,000 United States citizens during the 2020 global pandemic and expedited the delivery of 1 billion pieces of PPE in Operation Airbridge.
LEGISLATION
As Under Secretary, Krach also served as a catalyst for $100B Endless Frontiers Act and $50B CHIPS for America Act.
TAIWAN
Krach also strengthened ties with Taiwan by orchestrating the Lee Economic Prosperity Partnership and becoming the highest-ranking State Department official to visit in 41 years. As a result of these national security initiatives, Krach and his family were sanctioned by the CCP.
Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO, Ariba
GLOBAL COMMERCE NETWORK
In 1996, Krach co-founded Ariba and served as Chairman and CEO, creating the world’s largest B2B e-commerce network. After taking it public, Ariba achieved a market value of $40 billion and today, $3.7 trillion / year is transacted through the Ariba network.
TRANSFORMATIVE INNOVATION
Krach is recognized as the pioneer of B2B e-Commerce and was honored for his transformative innovation with the esteemed Ernst & Young “2000 National Entrepreneur of the Year” Award, “2000 International Technology Pioneer” Award at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and Red Herring 1998 Top Entrepreneur of the Year.
COO, Rasna
CATEGORY KING
In 1988, Krach co-founded and served as COO Rasna Corporation, creating the category of Mechanical Design Synthesis software, which ranked #3 on the Inc. 5000 list and sold in it to PTC in 1995 for $500 million.
ENTREPRENEUR AT LARGE
He also was the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Benchmark Capital a premier venture capital firm. And served as Board Chairman for Angie’s List and was instrumental in taking the company public as the nation’s leading provider of consumer reviews for home services.
Youngest VP in General Motors History
TESTED AS A LEADER
Seeing Krach’s potential, GM funded his education with scholarships at Purdue University and Harvard Business School. He spent his summers learning some tough lessons in leadership while managing workers on the the Cadillac Assembly plant on Clark Street in Detroit.
GMF ROBOTICS
Krach continued his career at General Motors when at the age 26 he was named GM’s youngest-ever Vice President. He led the formation of the company’s first Japanese joint venture, GMF Robotics which gave rise to today’s largest robotics companies.
He is recognized as a pioneer in the robotics industry and for fostering US-Japanese technology relations.
Board of Trustees Chairman, Purdue University
RECRUITING MITCH DANIELS
Krach served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Purdue University (2007–2013) where he recruited sitting Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, to be the 12th President of the University and credited with initiating and guiding a new model for STEM education that drove unprecedented progress in student affordability, online learning, global reach, and retraining the workforce.
KRACH LEADERSHIP CENTER
In 2014, Purdue dedicated the 81,500 square foot “Krach Leadership Center“ in recognition of his commitment to business, philanthropy, leadership and student success.
Grand Consul, Sigma Chi Fraternity
FOCUS ON BUILDING LEADERS
Krach served as International President of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, where he transformed Sigma Chi’s mission to be focused on the development of values-based transformational leaders, committed to the betterment of character, campus and community for over 244 university chapters and 400,000 lifetime members.
KRACH TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS WORKSHOP
In 2018, Krach formally unveiled the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop (KTLW), which replaced the previously-pioneering Balfour LTW event as the largest leadership training event in the Greek-letter fraternal world in 2019.
Philanthropy
DOCUSIGN IMPACT FOUNDATION
Krach Krach’s philanthropic endeavors echo the theme of transformation that pervades his life and work. While at DocuSign, Krach established the $30 Million DocuSign IMPACT Foundation which uses DocuSign technology to streamline operations and make them more efficient.
CITY YEAR; SIGMA CHI
A generous donor to many transformational causes, in 2018, Krach gave a $1 million gift to City Year for the organization’s San Jose and Silicon Valley branch. In August 2018, Krach made an endowment-level gift to the Sigma Chi Foundation that established the Krach Transformational Leaders Workshop, the largest leadership training event in the Greek-letter fraternal world.
KRACH FAMILY FOUNDATION
Through the Krach Family Foundation, Krach funds the Keith Krach leadership scholarship at Purdue University. It has been awarded to five students each year since 2009. In 2014, Purdue dedicated the Krach Leadership Center to him.
OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL
A million dollar endowment from the Krach Family Foundation also funds a partnership between Opportunity International and the Krach Instutute for Tech Diplomacy. The Trusted Tech Microfinance Partnership is devoted to closing the digital divide in low-income countries through the adoption of trusted technology.
Early Years and Family
SMALL TOWN ROOTS
Krach grew up in Rocky River, Ohio and at the age of 12, Krach worked as a welder in his father’s 5-person machine shop, an experience which inspired him to earn a B.S. Degree in Engineering from Purdue University in 1979, and MBA from Harvard Business School in 1981, receiving a full scholarship from GM for both schools.
In 2018, he received an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Purdue University. He currently lives with his wife Metta and 5 children in San Francisco.
Honors and Awards
