Chief Executive Officer ? Reunion Technologies ? Princeton, N.J. ? Age: 37
John F. Weaver Jr. was bitten by the technology bug when he received his first Atari video game system at the age of 12. Since then, the CEO and co-founder of Reunion Tech-nologies, a Princeton, N.J., firm that provides software to colleges and universities, has been at the forefront of the technology revolution.
Technology afforded Weaver the opportunity to work on another passion ? music. In 1996, he was hired by the Elektra Entertainment Group, a division of Time Warner, as director of information technology, making him instrumental in setting the technology direction for all of the Warner Music Groups companies. By the time he left Elektra in 2000, he had been promoted to vice president. ?Working at Elektra was a blessing which gave me the opportunity to work at the cutting edge of technology,? Weaver says. ?I saw technology changing the music industry, and how it was going to be a force in any media-driven industry.?
Weaver earned a degree in cultural anthropology from Princeton University, and a master?s in business administration, with a concentration on entrepreneurial management, from the University of Pennsylvania?s Wharton School of Business. ?I want to be remembered as someone who had a sense of social justice, who is interested in building our community by highlighting positive images of African-Americans through my Web site, StriversRow .com, in addition to being an entrepreneur,? says Weaver.
He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. ?Pledging taught me about brotherhood and perseverance, and truly understanding that you can?t do anything without a team,? he says. His personal team includes his mother, Irma Weaver; his wife, Karen; and their children, John and Adia. Weaver wants to see more African-Americans become business owners. ?The more of us who are entrepreneurs, the more opportunities for job creation and social justice for the community,? he says.
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