With a Bachelor of Arts in political science and art history from Yale University, and a Master of Business Administration from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Alyssa Rapp began her career as director, founder and chief executive officer of Bottlenotes, Inc. She also founded a 501(c)(4) organization called Coalition for Consumer Rights. Later in her career, she served as managing partner at AJR Ventures and became a management lecturer at the Stanford Business School, as well as, most recently, an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Ms. Rapp also currently serves as chief executive officer of Surgical Solutions.
In her leadership position at Surgical Solutions, Ms. Rapp has hired four women executives, two of whom are over the age of 50. She also recruited a female director to the board of the health care services provider. As a leader, she is focused on expanding the company’s capabilities to provide human capital, capital equipment and disposable inventory to hospitals nationwide on a fixed-fee per procedure basis. She would also like to transform it from a traditional company to one that is more technologically innovative. As a respected voice in her field, Ms. Rapp recently published “Leadership and Life Hacks: Insights from a Mom, Wife, Entrepreneur and Executive” through ForbesBooks, which became a bestseller on Amazon. She also authored “Bottlenotes Guide to Wine: Around the World in 80 Sips.” In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she published “Hacks for the New World: How to Live and Work in the Age of Sheltering-at-Home – and Beyond.”
For her efforts in her field, Ms. Rapp was recognized among the Top 100 Healthcare Leaders by the International Forum of Healthcare Leaders. She was also named one of Crain Chicago’s Notable Women in Healthcare, as well as among Inc.com’s “30 Under 30 Coolest Entreprenuers in America.” Over the years, Ms. Rapp has attributed her professional success to her parents and the many role models who provided a great foundation. She maintains civic and professional affiliation with Chicago Spark, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the Illinois Humanities Council, the Young Presidents’ Association, the Economic Club of Chicago, the Executives’ Club of Chicago and the American Ballet Theatre.
Outside of her primary endeavors, Ms. Rapp enjoys an array of outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, running and skiing in her spare time. Additionally, she enjoys contemporary dance and art, as well as writing and traveling in her free time. Ms. Rapp attributes her success to great role models and a great foundation that her parents gave her. Among these role models were her mentors, who led successful careers as entrepreneurs. In the coming years, she would like to continue running bigger and better businesses.
