Zachary Bookman

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Zachary Bookman (born 1980) is an American businessperson. He is co-founder and CEO of OpenGov, a company that sells cloud software to local governments and state agencies.

Contents

Early life and education

Bookman grew up in Cabin John, Maryland outside of Washington, D.C. [1] Bookman holds a BA from the University of Maryland, [1] a JD from the Yale Law School, and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. [2] In 2007-2008, Bookman received a Fulbright Fellowship to study transparency and corruption in Mexico. [3]

Career

Bookman served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sandra S. Ikuta on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, later working as a trial litigator at Keker, Van Nest & Peters in San Francisco. [4] He then worked as an advisor on the Anti-Corruption Task Force at the International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. [5] [6]

Bookman co-founded OpenGov in 2012 with Joe Lonsdale. [7] OpenGov received investments from Thrive Capital starting in 2013, and in 2017 Bookman participated in a White House summit organized by Jared Kushner, the brother of Thrive Capital's founder. [8] In 2021 Bookman took a cross-country bike ride from the San Francisco Bay to the Chesapeake Bay to visit with local government leaders. [9]

Personal life

In September 2019, Bookman joined an expedition with mountain guide Garrett Madison to attempt a late season ascent of Mount Everest. [10] The guide called off the attempt while the group was in base camp, which Madison described as a decision based on dangerous conditions. [11] In March 2020, Bookman filed a lawsuit seeking damages over the non-refundable expedition fee, [10] alleging the guide had canceled the trip for reasons unrelated to safety. [12] In December 2021, the case was settled with Bookman agreeing through a stipulated judgment that he is not entitled to a refund for the trip. [11]

References

  1. 1 2 Ravindranath, Mohana (2015-02-01). "Can government transparency be big business?". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  2. Garofoli, Joe (2015-02-02). "OpenGov co-founder Zac Bookman lets taxpayers see where cash goes". SFGATE. Archived from the original on 2022-05-04. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  3. Bookman, Zachary (22 April 2008). "Shine a light in Mexico". LA Times. LA Times. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  4. "Zac Bookman, GVPT '02". University of Maryland College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. University of Maryland. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  5. "Zachary Bookman MPA 2007 is powering more effective and accountable government". Harvard Kennedy School. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  6. Bookman, Zachary (2012-06-04). "Settling Afghan Disputes, Where Custom Holds Sway". New York Times. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  7. Bloomberg, Sara (February 27, 2024). "San Francisco government software startup acquired for $1.8 billion". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  8. Eaglesham, Jean; Schwartz, Lisa (July 14, 2017). "Startup That Got a Seat at White House Roundtable Is Part-Owned by Kushner Family". WSJ. Retrieved 2023-02-18.
  9. Quigley, Dryden (November 2, 2021). "CEO biking across America stops in Charlottesville". NBC 29. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  10. 1 2 Schlosser, Curt (5 October 2020). "Seattle mountaineering guide in legal battle with tech CEO seeking refund for failed Everest climb". GeekWire. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  11. 1 2 Reimers, Frederick (2021-12-30). "An Everest Guide Just Won a Legal Battle over a Canceled Summit Attempt". Outside Online. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  12. Reimers, Frederick (2020-10-11). "The Tech CEO, the Guide, and a Case That Could Upend Everest Travel". Outside Online. Retrieved 2023-03-15.