Alan Spoon is a member of HealthCentral’s Board of Directors and a general partner in Polaris’s Boston office. He joined Polaris in the spring of 2000 and has been part of the team since 1995 as an early advisor and initial investor. Alan focuses on investments in information technology, with emphasis on revenue-stage companies, digital media and e-commerce. Alan brings more than 20 years of operating executive and investment experience to Polaris. He came to the firm from The Washington Post Company, where he worked for 18 years. During his career with The Post Company, he served as President, Chief Operating Officer, board member, Chief Financial Officer, President of Newsweek, head of newspaper marketing and head of corporate business development. The Post Company has significant activities in newspapers, magazines, television, cable and educational markets (Kaplan). At The Post Company, Alan also was responsible for early stage technology investments in cellular (Cellular One and digital PCS), distance learning and educational software and information services (including Washingtonpost.com, BrassRing, Classified Ventures, WebTV and Exchange.com). Prior to The Washington Post, Alan was an officer at The Boston Consulting Group, an international management consulting firm specializing in corporate strategy.
Alan represents Polaris as a director of Art.com, Focus Financial Partners, Ice.com, LegalZoom, Paratek Adaptive RF, and Phreesia. He led Polaris’ investment in Internet Brands (Hellman Friedman), TechTarget, Inc., LRN, and Earth Networks (Weatherbug). He also led Polaris’ investment in Matrics, Inc. (RFID) which was sold to Symbol Technologies, and Cushcraft Corporation (wireless antennae), which was sold to Laird Technologies.
Current outside Board seats include Danaher Corporation, and IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI). In his not-for-profit activities, Alan is Vice Chairman of the Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents, a trustee on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Corporation, and is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations and Committee for Economic Development (CED).
Alan’s prior business board service included Getty Images, Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI), International Data Group (IDG) and American Management Systems, Inc. Prior not-for-profit board service included WETA (Washington, DC public television and radio) and the Norwood School (Bethesda, MD), where Alan served as chairman.
Alan earned his S.B. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an S.M. at M.I.T.’s Sloan School of Management, and a J.D., with honors, from Harvard Law School.
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