Sept. 08--LinkedIn has launched a quarterly list series highlighting professionals who are transforming their industries. The first list, announced Tuesday, spotlights 150 people aged 35 and under whom it considers "the next generation of business luminaries" -- and a sole Chicagoan made the cut.
Anna Stork, 29, co-founder of Chicago-based LuminAID, is in LinkedIn's inaugural class of "Next Wave" professionals, selected from the professional networking site's membership through a combination of opinion and algorithms.
LuminAID, a clean energy startup founded in 2011, designs inflatable solar lights that it sells to humanitarian relief agencies as well as consumers for camping, hiking and emergency preparedness. Through a buy one, give one program, it has donated about 12,000 lights, which can last up to 30 hours after being charged in direct sun, across 50 countries.
Co-founders Stork and Andrea Sreshta, who designed the lights for an architecture school project that challenged them to assist post-earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, pitched their product on "Shark Tank" and closed a deal for $200,000 with Mark Cuban. They have been used after superstorm Sandy and the earthquakes in Nepal, the company said.
Stork is the only Chicago-based professional to make the Next Wave list, which highlights people across 15 industries including entertainment, health care, energy, retail and consumer technology. Nearly 90 percent of the 150 honorees live on the coasts, with San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Boston the top four locations represented.
LinkedIn chose the honorees based on recommendations from about 500 of its "influencers" (people who write and share a lot on LinkedIn), editor insights and site data, including profiles most viewed by industry peers and the frequency of media appearances.
"Our goal is to make the world's professionally relevant news and knowledge accessible through LinkedIn," Executive Editor Dan Roth said in a statement announcing the launch of the lists. "One of the ways we do that is by finding the people and companies who are making news and spreading knowledge."
Other factoids about the honorees: More than 80 percent didn't go to an Ivy League university; only 15 percent earned an MBA; and they are 25 percent more likely than the average LinkedIn member to be active in charities, boards and adviser roles.
Other Next Wavers include Laura Ridlehoover, who is helping create Amazon's Dash button; John Bunch, the adviser behind Zappos' boss-free management system; and Whitney Wolfe, founder and CEO of dating app Bumble, where women have to make the first move.
aelejalderuiz@tribpub.com
