Gisel

From 2003 to 2012, Gisel Kordestani led New Business Development teams for Google, across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia with a focus on social platforms and new advertising. At Google, she played an early role in developing the company’s global financial and commercial systems, strategies and partnerships.

In an interview several years ago, Gisel noted "At AUP, I studied international affairs, politics and economics and I thought I wanted to save the world. I wanted to become an international lawyer and work for the UN.  But in time I realized that saving the world is not easy, but making smaller changes for the general good is entirely possible.”

Gisel’s current groundbreaking work is heavily centered on just such change for the good. She is one of three co-founders of Crowdpac, a tech start-up that is creating a new political marketplace, using data science to make politics more accessible and politicians more accountable. Crowdpac makes it easier for people to find and support political candidates that match their passions and beliefs. In their mission statement, they say, “In the process, we hope to end the stranglehold of big money donors and special interests on the political system, making it more open and responsive to the will of the people.”

Crowdpac's data model calculates objective scores for political candidates (federal, state and, in time, local), showing their overall political position and, where possible, their position on specific issues. Scores are based on campaign contributions, voting records, and what candidates say, analyzed by a specialized data model, created by one of the co-founders from Stanford University. 

Because Gisel is expert in global business development from her time with Google, her role as one of the co-founders will be to launch Crowdpac in the global arena. Gisel mentions that her focus on the business sector after AUP was strategic, because business leaders have the knowledge and understanding of what drives the world, and have the financial resources to make change happen.

Learn more about Gisel Kordestani and Crowdpac at www.crowdpac.com.