Jonathan Ortmans
2nd degree connection
President, Global Entrepreneurship Network
Arlington, Virginia, United States
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About
Jonathan Ortmans is the founder and president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), an organization with programs reaching 200 nations to support entrepreneurs and foster healthier entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Prior to GEN, Ortmans trained as an economist, worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, and served as CEO of a healthcare and trade policy thinktank. His career also includes two successful startup exits.
Ortmans oversees GEN’s grantmaking and has developed operations in research, policy, ecosystem building, and programs directly supporting entrepreneurs and investors. Ortmans also chairs the Global Entrepreneurship Congress and serves on the boards of dozens of entrepreneurial support organizations worldwide.
Learn more about Jonathan and the Global Entrepreneurship Network at https://www.linkedin.com/redir/suspicious-page?url=www%2egenglobal%2eorg%2e
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- Jonathan Ortmans reposted this
From Davos to Doha, the road to the 2026 Global Entrepreneurship Congress has begun! 🌏
At the @World Economic Forum in Switzerland, GEN President Jonathan Ortmans joined Abdulrahman bin Hesham Al-Sowaidi, CEO, Qatar Development Bank, to announce that hashtagGEC2026 will arrive in the rising entrepreneurial city of Doha, September 21-24, 2026.
3,000+ entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and ecosystem builders from every country will join us there for one of the most impactful and influential annual gatherings of entrepreneurship ecosystem players in the world.
Learn more and register to attend using code GEC26Launch (valid until Jan. 31) for 25% off your ticket: www.gec.co.
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I've got the chance to work with Mr. Ortmans through managing the Global Entrepreneurship Week Jordan, Jonathan is a very talented, creative, passionate person who is working on making a difference not only in his at the US but also through cooperating with different countries across the world. Through sharing his experience, knowledge, and advises he is able to unleash great entrepreneurial spirit among his colleagues and partners and working with him can make a great difference in the end results of the projects, he is an impact oriented person and always looking for the impact at any project he is working on.
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Philip Gaskin’s mother organized travel for him as an unaccompanied minor to Europe at age12 (ask him about that) beginning a lifetime of exposure to so many cultures and ways of thinking. His excellent listening and analytics skills makes him a smart interpreter of the geopolitical dynamics of the day, and an invaluable advisor to organizations like GEN seeking to explain the American story – chapter by chapter – in culturally mature ways. His experience with Impact Hub and his extensive travelling while being associated with GEN has only added to the depth of his experience. As a global NGO, despite having thousands of relationships across the globe built through years of earned trust, Philip has helped us see - right in front of our eyes - the extraordinary stories and lessons from our own GEN communities. Philip has not only shown us what we have sometimes missed, but suggested new ways to think and act. He knows how to build the alliances and partnerships necessary to thrive in the global community and understands economic mobility firsthand at a time when so many economies and communities across the world have to constantly re-write their pathways to a sustainable and flourishing economy. Philip’s calm and thoughtful counsel amid the noise and haste of everyday deadlines is special and something I have deeply valued ever since we first time we met all those years ago. Although at GEN we have always been about removing barriers to entrepreneurship faced by historically underrepresented communities, Philip has shown us how asking different questions and listening more carefully can reveal fresh blind spots and insights in serving the less fortunate in our society. He has helped us navigate important business decisions in a smart and thoughtful way. In fact, it was Philip who helped us shape our approach and strategy with the Kauffman Foundation for taking our flagship program with the Foundation into its next 3-year chapter. We are proud to have Philip as a GEN Ambassador and one of GEN’s most trusted international advisors.
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Walid has been a vital part of our support team. He was always there for us and willing to go the extra mile to keep us up and running as a company - even when the problem was not obvious and caused by a third party. He knows IT, is a pleasure to work with, communicates well and we trust him.
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Over the next two years, GEN and IDB Lab will be working to ensure that talent and innovation—wherever they emerge across the region—can connect to global capital, knowledge, and markets.
The region has emerged as an increasingly important source of innovation, generating globally scalable ventures and solutions to shared challenges — from climate resilience to inclusive growth. This partnership will help to accelerate this momentum by strengthening the connective infrastructure between local ecosystems and global markets.
Over the next two years, our work will include:
🌱 Training 100 ecosystem and angel network leaders
🌍 Convening regional forums connecting ecosystem leaders, investors, policymakers, and entrepreneurs
🧠 A knowledge, monitoring, and impact framework to measure ecosystem connectivity and inform policy and investment decisions
Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ewVTBv_c