Full Name
Phyllis Newhouse
Company
Founder and CEO of Xtreme Solutions and of ShoulderUp
Speaker Bio
Phyllis Newhouse is a serial entrepreneur and investor, retired military senior officer, and mentor. She is the founder and CEO of ShoulderUp Technology Acquisition, founder and CEO of Xtreme Solutions (XSI), CEO of Athena Technology Acquisition, and founder of ShoulderUp, a 501c3.
In 2021, she founded ShoulderUp Technology Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by industry veterans seeking to merge with businesses in the technology and cybersecurity space.
In 2020, she also co-founded Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. Athena closed a $250 million IPO in March 2021, making it the only SPAC listed on the NYSE with an African American female CEO. The company announced in July 2021 that it was taking concentrated solar power company Heliogen public in a $2 billion merger.
Newhouse is also the founder of ShoulderUp, a nonprofit she founded alongside Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis, dedicated to connecting and supporting women on their entrepreneurial journeys.
As a pioneer in cybersecurity and business, Newhouse is the first woman to win an Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the Year award in the technology category. She was admitted into the 2013 class of EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women, and in 2019 was inducted into the Enterprising Women Hall of Fame. Additionally, XSI made the Inc. 5000 list in 2013 and 2014, and has been recognized as one of Women’s Presidents’ Organization’s (WPO) 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned Companies in the U.S. for the past seven years.
Passionate about women-led businesses, Newhouse teaches aspiring entrepreneurs to recognize and capitalize on their leadership skills and empowers others to operate in greatness. She has been featured on the Today show and CNBC, in such publications as Entrepreneur, Inc., and Forbes, and on sites including Yahoo Finance, Cheddar News, and Bloomberg. She received her degree from John F. Kennedy University and currently resides in Atlanta. For more information, please visit phyllisnewhouse.com.
In 2021, she founded ShoulderUp Technology Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by industry veterans seeking to merge with businesses in the technology and cybersecurity space.
In 2020, she also co-founded Athena Technology Acquisition Corp. Athena closed a $250 million IPO in March 2021, making it the only SPAC listed on the NYSE with an African American female CEO. The company announced in July 2021 that it was taking concentrated solar power company Heliogen public in a $2 billion merger.
Newhouse is also the founder of ShoulderUp, a nonprofit she founded alongside Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis, dedicated to connecting and supporting women on their entrepreneurial journeys.
As a pioneer in cybersecurity and business, Newhouse is the first woman to win an Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the Year award in the technology category. She was admitted into the 2013 class of EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women, and in 2019 was inducted into the Enterprising Women Hall of Fame. Additionally, XSI made the Inc. 5000 list in 2013 and 2014, and has been recognized as one of Women’s Presidents’ Organization’s (WPO) 50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned Companies in the U.S. for the past seven years.
Passionate about women-led businesses, Newhouse teaches aspiring entrepreneurs to recognize and capitalize on their leadership skills and empowers others to operate in greatness. She has been featured on the Today show and CNBC, in such publications as Entrepreneur, Inc., and Forbes, and on sites including Yahoo Finance, Cheddar News, and Bloomberg. She received her degree from John F. Kennedy University and currently resides in Atlanta. For more information, please visit phyllisnewhouse.com.
