Pieter Nel is a technology executive, entrepreneur and mobile internet expert. He has a deep understanding of emerging market internet dynamics through various C-level roles at leading mobile platforms. He was CTO of mobile instant messenger Mxit that pioneered mobile instant messaging, in-app purchases and chatbots in 2006. As CEO and co-founder of Kuza Mobile he aimed to empower emerging market entrepreneurs through a mobile trading platform. Most recently he served as EVP Operations at YouNow, a New York-based mobile video streaming company attracting in excess of 100 million sessions a month from users in the Middle East, South and North America. He has advised a range of mobile technology companies including Tencent WeChat and NTT DoCoMo.
Pieter holds a Masters degree in electronics engineering from the University of Stellenbosch, where he specialized in machine learning and artificial intelligence as applied to speech recognition. As a Sloan Fellow, he gained an MBA from MIT, pursuing his interest in mobile technology and emerging markets with funding from the Legatum Center and Mastercard Foundation. Pieter is a Senior Member of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
He spends his free time as a pilot, yacht skipper, scuba diver, kitesurfer and mountain rescue volunteer.
To maintain and advance civil liberties, including, without limitation, the freedoms of association, press, religion, and speech, and the rights to the franchise, to due process of law, and to equal protection of the laws for all people throughout the United States and its jurisdictions.