Peter Barth, CEO, The Iron Yard
Peter Barth is founder and CEO of The Iron Yard, which operates the world’s largest in-person code school with full-time immersive courses in 25 cities. The Iron Yard is headquartered in Greenville, S.C.
Barth started his career on Wall Street after studying Computer Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He spent time with Duke & Company and Morgan Stanley, then realized he wanted to get involved with building a tech company. So, he joined SinglePoint in Indianapolis. There, he built one of the first fully-integrated human capital management platforms on the internet.
In 2006, Barth moved his family to Greenville, S.C. where he got involved with building NEXT, an economic development initiative to support the growing tech ecosystem. In 2009, he co-chaired the project to build the NEXT Innovation Center, a 60,000 sq. ft. building to house startups, the Upstate Carolina Angel Network, and the NEXT initiative.
In 2011, Barth launched The Iron Yard as the first startup accelerator of its kind in the southeast and one of the original members of the Global Accelerator Network. In 2012, The Iron Yard launched free kids’ programming and electronics classes, and Grok and Cowork Greenville became part of The Iron Yard family. In 2013, The Iron Yard launched its intensive code school as well as expanded the accelerator and coworking solutions to Spartanburg, SC. In 2014, the code school expanded throughout the Southeast and both the accelerator and coworking were spun out as Iron Yard Ventures and CoWork Greenville. In 2015, The Iron Yard continued to add locations across the country, and opened its first global campus location in London.
Barth serves as a Board Member for Iron Yard Ventures, Global Accelerator Network, NEXT, and several startups. In 2013, Barth became a Liberty Fellow, a South Carolina leadership initiative that is part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Barth is a member of the 2016 class of Braddock Scholars, a program designed to support members of the Aspen Global Leadership Network that are leading innovative organizations that have the potential to make a transformative impact on society. He is a recipient of the Upstate Business Journal’s “Who’s Who: The Entrepreneur” Award, and he was named as one of 2016 Greenville News Emerging Leaders.
