About Our Team
Mary Furlong
President & CEO – Mary Furlong & Associates
Mary Furlong, Ed.D., CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates (MFA), is a leading authority on the longevity marketplace. Successful social and serial entrepreneur, (SeniorNet (1986), ThirdAge Media (1996), and MFA (2002)), Mary has secured over $170 million in venture financing and corporate sponsorships for companies with products and services to serve the needs of the boomer/senior marketplace. Next Avenue named Mary one of its “2016 Influencers in Aging,” she is also a past winner of the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s “Top 100 Women of Influence” award.
Mary produces the industry-leading What’s Next Longevity Business Summit, the What’s Next Longevity Venture Summit and Business Plan Competition, the What’s Next Longevity Innovation Summit, and co-produces the What’s Next Boomer Business Canada Summit. She has appeared on NBC, CBS, and NPR and is an advisor to the Ziegler Link•age Longevity Fund, L.P., the Thrive Center, and the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation.
MFA’s private client practice comprise many of the leading startups and corporations in the longevity marketplace. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the Leavey School of Business in Santa Clara, CA, focusing on entrepreneurship and women in leadership.
Speakers
“In my years attending the What’s Next events, sponsoring the event and participating as a judge for the $10K Business Plan Competition, I have discovered multiple companies that we have been able to add to the portfolio of the Ziegler Link•Age Funds, and we have learned a lot about the longevity market. I look forward to this year’s challenge and many more to come.”
— John Hopper, Chief Investment Officer of the Ziegler Link-Age Funds and a 2020 What’s Next Business Plan Competition judge