Bio
George Appling
Author & Entrepreneur
George Appling is an author and entrepreneur whose extensive career spans across countries, industries, and sectors. In 2009, he dedicated his professional life to building businesses he is passionate about, including a mead-making company, a medieval festival, a summer camp, and a non-profit equine program for first responders and veterans.
George is also a Vistage Chair who helps CEOs and business owners experience the joy of doing what they love and succeeding. But perhaps his most significant qualification as a mentor is the fact that he loves his life, and he intentionally created it for himself.
George holds 2 Masters degrees from Harvard and 2 Bachelors degrees from Texas A&M. He was a junior partner at McKinsey & Co and a lead partner at Booz & Co. He served as president of a business unit at Siemens, the COO of Brightstar, and the CEO of a $1B cellphone distribution company.
Experience
Visage Worldwide, Inc.
Chair | Coach
2020 - Present
Austin, Texas Metropolitan Area
World’s largest organization dedicated to coaching and peer advisory of SMB CEOs. George Chairs a group of 12 leaders including himself.
Knights of the Grail
Chairman of the Board
September 2018 - Present
Bastrop County, Texas
KotG is a 501c3 charity conducting equine therapy for military veterans and first responders.
Sherwood Forest Faire LLC
Passionpreneur
September 2009 - Present
Austin, Texas
Sherwood Forest Faire, a medieval theme park, entertains well over 100,000 patrons on weekends in March & April.
Sherwood Forest Summer Camp
Passionpreneur
September 2009 - Present
Austin, Texas
SFSC provides a week of lifelong memories to over 500 kids; aged 8-16 each July.
BoomCloud 360
Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer
June 2018 - March 2019
Houston, Texas
Co-Founder, President
October 2014 - June 2018
Houston, Austin, San Diego
A privately held audio software company with over 100 patents.
Personal Communication Devices (PCD)
Chairman and CEO
September 2012 - October 2013
Hauppauge, NY
PCD: $1 billion cellphone distribution company (sold in 2013).
Booz & Company
Partner
April 2008 - August 2012
Founded in 1914, Booz & Company was a leading strategy consulting firm. It lives on inside of PricewatershouseCoopers.
Brightstar
COO, President Device Management Solutions, Board Member
2006 - 2008
Largest cellphone distribution company in the world.
Siemens Mobile Phones
President, Xelibri Business Unit
2001-2004
Munich, Germany
Founded in 1847, Siemens is an $85 billion German conglomerate.
McKinsey & Co.
Associate Principal
1992 - 2001
Houston, Moscow, Munich
Founded in 1926, McKinsey & Co is the world’s leading strategy consulting firm.
Education
Harvard Business School
Master of Business Administration (MBA), Business Administration and Management, General
1995-1998
Harvard Kennedy School
Master of Public Administration (MPA), Business & Government
1995-1998
Texas A&M University
Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting
1987-1992
Graduated with a 4.0 and #1 from College of Business in 1992.
Texas A&M University
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Political Science and Government
1987-1992
Graduated with a 4.0 and #1 from College of Liberal Arts in 1992.
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