Lawrence Kaplan
Strategic Advisor
Lawrence (Larry) Kaplan is Chief Executive Officer of Eudora Global, LLC, and previously held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of NAVTEQ Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nokia, since 2009.
Eudora Global is a uniquely organized business creation and investment firm focused on accelerating the development of high potential enterprises primarily in the areas of healthcare services, online gaming and services, and green technologies, including expansion into emerging markets.
Kaplan joined NAVTEQ in 1995, and was selected CEO to manage NAVTEQ following Nokia’s $8.1 billion acquisition. Prior to his departure at the end of 2012, Kaplan spearheaded Nokia’s strategy to combine NAVTEQ with other Nokia groups to form Nokia’s new Location & Commerce business. Kaplan was previously Executive Vice President, General Counsel of NAVTEQ and Secretary of NAVTEQ Corporation while it was a public company. Kaplan initially joined NAVTEQ as chief intellectual property counsel.
Kaplan earned his Juris Doctor from University of Illinois College of Law, where he was on Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif. Kaplan has a B.S. in General Engineering with highest honors, also from the University of Illinois.
Kaplan is a named investor on 29 issued U.S. patents and additional pending U.S. patent applications. He sits on the Advisory Board of Blue Water Satellite, Inc., and the Board of Directors of Friends of the Chicago River, is a mentor in The Junto Institute of Entrepreneurial Leadership and member of Chicago-based venture capital group FireStarter Fund, and actively participates in supporting the Chicago startup community through organizations such as Build in Chicago, Excelerate Labs, Clean Energy Trust and 1871.