Keith Krach – Doctor of Industrial Engineering

Keith Krach
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Keith Krach is a Silicon Valley veteran, known for being a transformational leader, innovative entrepreneur, predictor of technological paradigm shifts, passionate mentor and builder of high- performance companies, leading them to successful public offerings, and driving sustained shareholder value. He led the creation of the categories of Business-to-Business (B2B) Electronic Commerce, Mechanical Design Synthesis, eSignature and Digital Transaction Management (DTM), and is recognized as an early pioneer in the robotics industry.

Krach served as Chairman, CEO & President of DocuSign until 2017 and currently serves as chairman of the board. Krach spearheaded its transformation from a startup to the category leader and global powerhouse it is today. Under his leadership, DocuSign became a verb and built the DocuSign Global Trust Network, which comprises more than 320,000 companies and 300 million users in 188 countries. Recognized with numerous honors: 2016 E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award; 2015 Bay Area’s Most Admired CEO; #3 on Forbes World's Best 100 Cloud Companies; Glassdoor's Best Places to Work.

Krach grew up in Rocky River, Ohio, and worked beside his dad in a 4-person machine shop learning Midwestern values and work ethic that remain at his core as a leader today. General Motors awarded Krach with full scholarships to pursue his industrial engineering degree from Purdue and his MBA from Harvard. That generosity and opportunity imprinted a deep desire to give back, expect the best, and appreciate the value and potential of every individual.

Krach began his career at General Motors, becoming the youngest-ever vice president at the age of 26. He led the formation of the company’s first Japanese joint-venture, GMF Robotics, an alliance between GM and Fanuc Robotics, which gave rise to what remains as the largest robotics company in the world today. After his 10 years with GM, he joined the founding team of Rasna Corporation in Silicon Valley, which created a new methodology for optimizing mechanical designs. Under his leadership, Rasna rose to the rank of #3 on the INC. 5000 list of fastest growing companies until being acquired by Parametric Technologies in 1995.

In 1996, Krach co-founded Ariba serving as Chairman & CEO. Krach took Ariba public in 2000, ultimately achieving a market capitalization of $40 billion and building one of the fastest-growing software companies in history. In honor of his accomplishment of creating the category of B2B Electronic Commerce, Ernst & Young named Krach the 2000 National Entrepreneur of the Year, and the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland honored Krach with the Technology Pioneer Award. Today, $1.3 trillion of commerce is transacted annually through the Ariba network, which is more than Amazon, eBay and Alibaba combined.

Krach later went on to become chairman of the board for Angie’s List and was instrumental in taking the company public as the nation’s leading provider of consumer reviews for home services. He has served as the International President of Sigma Chi Fraternity, transforming the mission to the development of values-based leaders, committed to the betterment of character, campus and community. Krach also, serves as the Chairman for the DocuSign Impact Foundation with mission of transforming people’s lives by transforming noble causes.

In 2007, Krach had the extreme honor of being appointed to the Purdue Board of Trustees and elected by fellow Board members to serve as Chairman from 2009-2013. In 2012, he and the Board appointed Mitch Daniels, the sitting Governor of Indiana, to be the 12th President of the University, a decision he believes will prove to be one of the boldest and most impactful moves made in the history of higher education.

Krach and his wife, Metta Krach (B.A. UCLA; J.D. Georgetown), have 5 children between the ages of 32 and 6, and reside in San Francisco.