Osman Rashid | |
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![]() Rashid in 2019 (or earlier) | |
Born | 1970 (age 54–55) London, UK |
Alma mater | University of Minnesota |
Known for | SOAR, Chegg, Convo |
Osman Rashid (born 1970) is a Pakistani-American entrepreneur and businessman based in Silicon Valley, California. He is known for founding and leading multiple ventures in education, enterprise software, and consumer technology.
Rashid was the co-founder and CEO of Chegg, an online textbook rental and student hub, from its inception in 2005 until early 2010. [1] He later co-founded and was CEO of Kno, Inc, a digital education platform company, which was acquired by Intel in 2013. [2] [3] He subsequently founded Galxyz Inc., [4] in 2014, an educational software company focused on language arts and science programs for primary and middle school students. [5]
He is currently the CEO of Convo Corp, [6] an enterprise collaboration software company, and the co-founder & chairman of SOAR Education, an initiative aimed at expanding access to affordable STEM education in Pakistan. [7] [8] Rashid is also the co-founder and CEO of Khoj Resorts, a hospitality company developing eco-conscious resorts in Pakistan, [9] chairman of Khan Academy Pakistan, the local initiative of the U.S.-based nonprofit education platform, [10] and chairman of Jaglot Gathering, a strategic forum focused on technology, education, and policy innovation in Pakistan.
Rashid was born in London, [11] did his early schooling in Ghana and finished middle and high school from Islamabad, Pakistan. He later moved to the United States where he received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from University of Minnesota in 1993. [12]
Before founding Galxyz, Chegg and Kno, Rashid also started Gravitywell, an ASP based customer service company, and worked at Venturian, a subsidiary of ATIO Corporation, where Osman was VP of Business Development and Marketing. Between start-ups, Osman was Director of Business Development at Chordiant Software, Inc. [13]
He was awarded Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award in 2009 for Consumer Products in Northern CA. [14]
He has also been recognized as Forbes Impact 15 for 2012 [15] and in Inc.’s Immigrant Edge: 9 Wildly Successful Entrepreneurs. [16]
Osman helped spearhead Chegg for Good program which plants a tree for every rental made, and to date has helped plant over 6 million trees. At Kno he developed a partnership with DonorsChoose.org to donate $1 of every sale made to help classrooms get school supplies. Osman is actively involved as a board member at ChildLife Foundation Pakistan which is bringing critical care and prevention of diseases to millions of young and needy children in Pakistan through a network of Urgent Care Clinics. [17]
He plans to set up an Endowment Fund to provide quality education to the financially disadvantaged, of which the platform is SOAR STEM Schools. [18]