David Risher

David Risher is the co-founder and CEO of Worldreader, a non-profit organization founded in 2010 that gives children in the developing world access to digital books, and has been at the forefront of education and technology for more than two decades. As the co-founder of Worldreader, he has utilized his expertise in business and technology to share the importance of reading with children in developing worlds. Being a lifelong reader himself, he knows that books have the power to change lives, just as they have changed his.

This knowledge came from his time as a general manager at Microsoft where he oversaw the development and launch of Microsoft's first desktop database, Access, and Microsoft Investor, Microsoft's first internet property for personal finance. He has since been acknowledged by being named a Microsoft Alumni Foundation Integral Fellow and for his work with the Worldreader program. After his time at Microsoft he oversaw the marketing and general management of retail operations as the Senior Vice President for Retail and Marketing atAmazon.com. Under his leadership, the company grew from $16 million in 1997 to $4 billion in sales.

He has also been recognized a Draper Richards Kaplan Social Entrepreneur and has his comparative literature degree from Princeton University and a MBA from the Harvard Business School.