Shawn Mills

Last updated

Shawn Mills
Born
Fort Worth, Texas, United States
OccupationEntrepreneur
SpouseAmy Mills

Shawn Mills is an American technology entrepreneur and the co-founder and former president of Green House Data, rebranded as Lunavi. [1] Mills started his career with the founding of a VoIP company that was acquired during the internet boom of the late 1990s.

Contents

Education

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Mills graduated from Southwest High School where he played baseball. He later attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in Finance. [2]

Career

In 1998, Mills co-founded and raised $4.25 million in venture capital [3] for an early free PC-to-Phone VoIP service, Televant, Inc. Under Televant, Mills and his partner also operated the website Callrewards.com, an online rewards and loyalty program. The properties were acquired in 2000 by PhoneFree.com for undisclosed financial terms. [4] PhoneFree.com subsequently merged with iDial Networks, [5] where Mills stayed on as the Senior Vice President of Product Development and Product Marketing. [6]

After relocating to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Mills worked in other early-stage companies until founding Green House Data in Cheyenne in 2007. He served as CEO until Mills, the largest shareholder, and the Board of Directors hired Board chairman Sam Galeotos to take the chief executive role. [7] He currently serves as president. Under Mills leadership, the company had undergone rapid expansion, acquiring seven companies in six years, [8] opening data centers in Wyoming, [9] Oregon, [10] New Jersey, [11] New York, [12] and in Washington state. [13]

Sustainability

"As Google and other industry giants invest in renewables, they're lighting the way for sustainable business on a larger scale," said Mills in the Christian Science Monitor. [14] In 2016 Green House Data ranked on the EPA's Top 30 Tech & Telecom Green Power Partnership list, purchasing 15,675,000 kWh of renewable energy credits annually. [15]

During Mills's tenure, Green House Data became the first B Corp in Wyoming. [16]

Leadership and awards

In 2013, Mills received the Spirit of Wyoming Award from the Small Business Administration. [17] He frequently spoke at industry events, like the Association for Data Center Management Professionals (AFCOM). [18] [19] [20] Mills is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization a global network of young chief executives with approximately 22,000 members in more than 125 countries. In 2017, Mills was awarded the Colorado Technology Association's CEO of the Year award. [21] He was honored again in 2021 with the Colorado Entrepreneur Excellence Award. [22]

Political activism

During the 2018 Wyoming Legislative session, Mills worked with advocacy groups to pass Wyoming State Senate Enrolled Act 0048, which adds computer science and computational thinking to the state educational program. [23]

Controversy

Under Mills' leadership, the company he founded found itself aligned with Sam Galeotos, who was named to the company's board in 2016 [24] and ran in the 2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election. [25] As a pro-Trump candidate, [26] Galeotos launched a wildly unsuccessful bid for governor of the state, earning just 12% of the vote. [27] Despite their business ties, Mills had endorsed Galeotos. [28]

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References

  1. ↑ "Green House Data Rebrands as Lunavi". www.businesswire.com. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  2. ↑ Petty, Raven. "Green House Data: Q&A with Shawn Mills, President and CEO". Business Climate. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  3. ↑ "EVentures Group Quarterly Report to SEC". www.sec.gov. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  4. ↑ "IP Telephony News Wrap-up for Sep, 21 2000". IP Telephony. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  5. ↑ "IP Telephony" . Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  6. ↑ "7x24 Exchange". 24/7 Exchange. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Lunavi Announces Sam E. Galeotos as Chief Executive Officer". www.lunavi.com. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Green House Data Unites Acquired Companies Under Lunavi Brand". www.channelfutures.com. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  9. ↑ Woods, Annie (August 21, 2013). "Local Data Center to Break Ground on Expansion". Cheyenne LEADS. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  10. ↑ Lee, Justin. "Green House Data Expands Cloud Hosting to West Coast with Oregon Data Center". article. the WHIR. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  11. ↑ Miller, Rich (December 13, 2012). "Green House Data Expands to New Jersey". Data Center Knowledge. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Green House Data to Launch New Data Center at 1547's 1 Ramland Road location in New York". Hosting Journalist. September 7, 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Green House Data Acquires FiberCloud". Nasdaq GlobeNewswire (Press release). April 6, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  14. ↑ Silverstein, Ken (April 28, 2014). "Google's 'green' energy plan: Build, learn, expand". Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Green Power Partnership Top 30 Tech & Telecom". Green Power Partnership. EPA. February 25, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Green House Data Becomes First Certified B-Corp in Wyoming | Green House Data". Green House Data. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  17. ↑ Nichols, Sharon. "Green House Data to Receive SBA Small Business Week Award". www.sba.gov. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Green House Data to Present Virtual Tour at Data Center World in October 2009". www.greenhousedata.com.
  19. ↑ "Shawn Mills of Green House Data to Speak At AFCOM Data Center World". www.greenhousedata.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Shawn Mills of Green House Data to Speak At AFCOM Data Center World". www.greenhousedata.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  21. ↑ "17th annual APEX award finalists announced". Innovation News. APEX. October 27, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  22. ↑ "WINNER: Shawn Mills, Lunavi". Denver Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  23. ↑ Kari, Eakins (April 2, 2018). "Boot Up Wyoming 2022 Aims to Implement Computer Science". edu.wyoming.gov. Wyoming Department of Education.
  24. ↑ "Green House Data Expands Role of Sam E. Galeotos to Executive Chairman". Lunavi.com. Lunavi. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  25. ↑ "Green House Data Expands Role of Sam E. Galeotos to Executive Chairman". Lunavi. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  26. ↑ Huguelet, Austin (July 26, 2018). "Galeotos ties himself to Trump in controversial mailer". Wyomingnews.com. Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Conservative Wyoming Businessman Sam E. Galeotos Announces Run for Governor". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  28. ↑ Staff Report. "Conservative Wyoming Businessman Sam E. Galeotos Announces Run for Governor". KFBC. CBS Sports Radio. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
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