Ben Nelson is founder, chairman, and CEO of Minerva Project and Founder of Minerva University. Ben founded Minerva in 2011 with the goal of nurturing critical wisdom for the sake of the world through a systematic and evidence-based approach to learning. Nelson has, since, built Minerva University, ranked as the most innovative university in the world, and has developed a business to share Minerva's unique approach with other like-minded institutions, corporations and governments.

Prior to Minerva, Nelson spent 10 years at Snapfish, where he helped build the company from startup to the world’s largest personal publishing service. Serving as CEO from 2005 through 2010, Nelson began his tenure at Snapfish by leading the company’s sale to Hewlett Packard for $300 million.

Nelson holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he created a blueprint for curricular reform in his first year, the principles from which he drew to frame Minerva.