George Arison
George Arison (born Irakly Areshidze in 1977) is a Georgian-born American businessman and investor. He is the founder and co-CEO of Shift, an online, peer-to-peer marketplace for buying and selling used cars. Prior to Shift, in 2007, he co-founded Taxi Magic, known today as Curb (RideCharge, Inc.). As a political scholar and activist, he is considered for strong pro-democracy views for Georgia in its post-Soviet transition. Early life and education Arison was born Irakly Areshidze in Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia in 1977. He moved to the United States at the age of 14. He claims to be the "first student from the Soviet Union allowed to attend a private U.S. high school without a government sponsorship". In 2000, he graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont, with a bachelor's degree in political science, having studied under political scientist Murray Dry. Career Early career After graduating from Middlebury, between 2000 and 2004, Arison moved to Washington D.C. to pursue a career in politics, founding a think tank focused on building democracy in his home country of Georgia. He went to Tbilisi to help manage an election campaign there. He also worked briefly for Boston Consulting Group (BCG) alongside his fellow