About

Anita is a Northern Virginia-based entrepreneur and has led businesses in the area for over three decades. She has been recognized as a Forbes 50 Over 50 Entrepreneur in 2022. Anita’s passion for the entrepreneurial dream has led to her involvement as a speaker and judge at various conferences and events, including Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Cannes NEXT at the Marché du Film (Cannes Film Festival), the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs (SOPE), FICCI’s Big Data and Analytics Conclave, and KiwiTech’s Female Founder Demo Day. She has also been featured in Marietta College’s alumni magazine, Trailblazer.

Anita is part of a sibling entrepreneurial team that founded Aptara in 1988. Aptara grew to be the world’s largest publishing services company with over 5000 employees and was acquired in 2012. In 2009, Anita co-founded KiwiTech, an ecosystem for entrepreneurs that supports their technology venture with collaborative development and investment efforts. At KiwiTech, Anita has driven startup as well as enterprise sales and marketing. Today, KiwiTech is the largest tech for equity platform, with over 700 startups participating in this program, with a significant focus in emerging technologies, such as AI and blockchain.

A native of Marietta, Ohio, Anita has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Marietta College and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

More about the companies:

• KiwiTech — In 2009, Anita co-founded KiwiTech, which started as a technology services company and has evolved into a top-tier startup accelerator and innovation platform. KiwiTech leverages technology and a proven entrepreneurial team to provide cutting-edge solutions to startups and enterprises.

• Aptara — In 1988, Anita co-founded Aptara, which became the world’s largest publishing services company. By 2011, Aptara had over 5000 employees in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany and India. Aptara was on the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies list in 2000, 2001 and 2002. In February 2012, Aptara was sold to a strategic investor for $144 million.

And the community organizations:

• Community Foundation for Northern Virginia — As one of the top community foundations in the country, CFNOVA fosters giving through donor-advised funds to transform a gift of charitable dollars into real impact.

• TiE-DC — TiE-DC is a non-profit organization focused on fostering entrepreneurship in the DC area.

• The Leadership Foundry — Anita volunteered with this organization in 2017-2018. This program helps women develop the core competencies needed to successfully serve on a corporate board.

• Map Collective Foundation — Anita works with this foundation to help support efforts to reduce carbon emissions worldwide.

• Community Foundation USA — This organization provides monetary and advisory assistance to tech companies and AI-driven platforms that can uplift underserved communities across the US and in other geographic regions, such as Africa and India, with support from major health institutions and organizations such Consumer Technology Association (CTA), and Meharry Medical College.