Nate Morris
Nathaniel Ryan Morris (born October 16, 1980) is an American businessman. He is the founder of Lexington, Kentucky-based conglomerate Morris Industries, founder and CEO of the software company Rubicon and founder of the Morris Foundation. Early life. Originally from Lexington, Morris grew up in Louisville, Kentucky with his single mother, Miranda Morris, and maternal grandparents. He was close to his grandfather, Lewis Sexton, who was a former president of the Ford plant United Auto Workers union in Louisville. While attending Eastern High School, Morris reportedly developed political aspirations after multiple spinal fractures derailed his hopes of a  football career in the fall of 1996. At 17, Morris was high school senior class president, captain of the debate team, and one of 96 high school students nationwide selected to represent their states for Boys Nation that year, where he met incumbent President Bill Clinton. In 1999, Morris went to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he studied international affairs and political science. After graduating in 2003, he spent time in China teaching business management and working for Kentucky's Cabinet for Economic Development before pursuing graduate studies at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. At  Princeton, he studied under former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, former United States Representative Jim Leach, and was named a fellow at the Center for the Study of Presidency. Early career and politics. Morris was raised in a family of Reagan Democrats and worked in several government offices including the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the White House. Morris is a Republican and has been described as a "wunderkind" political fundraiser by "The New York Times". Aged 23, Morris raised money for President George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign and was  recognized as one of its "Mavericks", having raised over $50,000. He has worked in internships and fundraising roles for several Kentucky Republicans, including Congresswoman Anne Northup, Gov. Ernie Fletcher, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao (McConnell's wife), and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. Morris had worked for Northup and McConnell and at the White House's Homeland Security Office while at George Washington University. Morris is a friend and supporter of Sen. Rand Paul. He traveled with Paul to Israel in 2013 and raised money for his Senate and presidential campaigns, becoming one of his  top fund-raisers. Paul wrote about Morris and Rubicon in his book, "Taking a Stand: Moving Beyond Partisan Politics to Unite America". In 2014, Morris received the Leadership Institute's Conservative Leader Award and Maverick PAC Future 40 Award. Business. Morris was included in "Fortune" list of "40 Under 40" in 2014. Morris started Rubicon Technologies, a software company focused on waste and recycling, after collaborating with a high school friend, Marc Spiegel. He used personal credit cards to fund an early website and legal work, founding the company in 2008. Key investors that Morris engaged for Rubicon early on  included John Ashcroft, the former U.S. Attorney General in the George W. Bush administration, and others. Rubicon works to improve inefficiencies in the waste management industry by analyzing data and pairing multinational clients with local waste companies. In addition to Rubicon, Morris is also the founder and chairman of Morris Industries, based in Lexington, Kentucky. Memberships and awards. Morris was named Outstanding Young Kentuckian by the Kentucky Junior Chamber of Commerce in 2007, later being named an "Outstanding Young American" honored by the United States Junior Chamber in 2013 for his founding of Rubicon Technologies. He was also named in  the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders class of 2014. He was inducted into the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in Louisville in November 2014. , Morris is a member of the Trilateral Commission. He is also a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Business Executives for National Security. Personal life. Morris married Jane Mosbacher on New Year's Eve 2011. She is the daughter of Robert Mosbacher Jr., the head of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation under George W. Bush, and granddaughter of George H. W. Bush's commerce secretary Robert Mosbacher Sr.