AGA NLT 2026

Gabe Karp
Renowned Productive Conflict Expert & Bestselling Author



Gabe Karp, bestselling author of Don’t Get Mad at Penguins: And Other Ways to Detox the Conflict in Your Life and Business, is a world-renowned expert on productive conflict. His proprietary system to effectively manage conflict for meaningful business outcomes was forged from three decades of research and practical experience. He is an Operating Partner at Detroit Venture Partners, a Detroit-based venture capital firm that backs early-stage technology companies. He is also a Venture Partner at Lightbank, a Chicago-based venture capital firm, and serves on several boards of companies in the DVP and Lightbank portfolios. Previously, Gabe was the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of ePrize, Inc. (now Merkle), an interactive promotions company representing 75 of the top 100 brands in the world. Gabe was instrumental in growing the company from a small startup to the world's leading digital promotions company. He has built and led successful teams, negotiated business and finance deals in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and frequently speaks on embracing healthy conflict. Crain’s Business named Gabe as General Counsel of the Year for the state of Michigan in 2011 (for privately held companies valued under $1B). Gabe spent the first decade of his professional life as a trial lawyer/litigator. He was a partner and shareholder of Hurwitz, Karp, Wallach & Gantz, P.C., where his practice included complex commercial litigation, class-action litigation, and legal malpractice (suing other lawyers for screwing up)—talk about conflict! Gabe and his wife Rachel have three wonderful daughters, and he is an avid heli-skier (Yep, that's skiing from a helicopter).

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