About Rod D. Martin
Praise for Rod D. Martin
Book Rod to Speak
Politics & Economics
Technology & Markets
Faith & Culture
Hannibal Courier-Post
April 21, 2015
Hannibal-LaGrange University will hold commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 9, in the Mabee Sports Complex. Approximately 220 graduate candidates are scheduled to receive degrees.
Hannibal-LaGrange University will hold commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 9, in the Mabee Sports Complex. Approximately 220 graduate candidates are scheduled to receive degrees.
This year’s commencement speaker will be Dr. Rod D. Martin, an HLGU trustee and distinguished visiting professor. Martin, founder and CEO of The Martin Organization, is a technology entrepreneur, futurist, fund manager and author from Destin, Fla.
Fox Business News calls him a “tech guru,” Britain’s Guardian labels him a “philosopher-capitalist,” while Gawker has described him as a “brilliant nonconformist.” He has addressed audiences on four continents, and has written extensively for publications such as Forbes, Human Events, and FoxNews.com.
With ventures in the Internet, biotech, aerospace, and energy sectors, Martin is especially noted for his role as a member of the pre-IPO startup team at Silicon Valley legend PayPal — the so-called “PayPal Mafia” — where he served as a senior advisor to founder and CEO Peter Thiel. Launched during the worst of the dot-com bust by a team whose average age was just 23, PayPal amassed more than 25 million customers in just over two years, drove giant competitors such as Western Union, AOL, and Citibank out of its market, and conducted the first successful post-bust tech IPO.
Martin is founder and executive chairman of Advanced Search Laboratories, which is developing an entire new generation of internet search tools; founder and managing partner of 10 X Capital Management; founder and executive chairman of Global PET Imaging, which is systematically upgrading patient access to state-of-the-art diagnostics; and vice chairman of Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT), whose liver fibrosis drug has been granted fast track status by the FDA.
Martin previously served as policy director to Gov. Mike Huckabee. He is a member of the board of governors of the elite Council for National Policy and a three-time past president of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies.
Martin studied political and economic thought at Cambridge University in Great Britain and is an award-winning civil rights scholar. He was elected student body president at Baylor Law School, where he was also named “Outstanding Oral Advocate.” He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution (General Joseph Martin Chapter, named for his fifth great grandfather), is deeply involved in charitable work aimed at alleviating global poverty, has raised significant sums for scholarships for disadvantaged children, and serves on the order of business committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, America’s largest Protestant denomination.
Martin is married to Sherri, and father of Dolly, Archer, and Haley, and grandfather of Annabelle.
During the graduation ceremony, the Parkway Distinguished Professor will be announced. This award is given by Parkway Baptist Church in St. Louis. Selection for the award is based on professional and personal outstanding contributions to Christian education.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
The future of technology is the future of America. Rod Martin sees that future clearly, and also sees how to shape it for the betterment of all. He is firmly rooted in the traditions of faith and patriotism that have made America great. That’s why he has made, and will make, so many outstanding contributions in so many areas.
