MBA Alumnus Mac Clemmens Honored with Rising Star Award

Recognized as the first recipient of the GSM Alumni Association's Rising Star Award, Mac Clemmens MBA 07 is an active, engaged philanthropist and tech entrepreneur in Sacramento, his hometown. 

The Rising Star Award honors a recipient who has contributed to their profession or to the Graduate School of Management and larger UC Davis community during the early or mid-portion of their careers. 

Clemmens is the founder and CEO of Digital Deployment, Inc., a Sacramento-based custom website design and development company for institutions, government, non-profits, and associations.

Launched in 2004 while Clemmens was completing his degree at Cal State Monterey Bay, Digital Deployment has grown into a multi-million-dollar company with nearly twenty employees. Notable clients Clemmens has worked with include CALSTRS, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Sacramento Regional Sanitation District, United Way and UC Davis, including the Graduate School of Management.

Among his civic achievements, Clemmens was one of the founders of Reason to Party—a non-profit which throws parties to raise money for local charities targeting a “new generation in philanthropy.” Reason to Party has expanded to other cities and raised over $500,000 for local causes, and featured in the media, including Forbes, The Huffington Post and CBS.

Clemmens is also a co-founder of GrogTag, a service for home-brewers to design and create their own labels, coasters and more online. Since its inception, GrogTag has shipped over one million products to more than 25 countries worldwide.

In 2014, the Sacramento Business Journal named Clemmens to their “40 Under 40” super achievers in the Capital region.

In 2019, Clemmens was named Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Capitol-to-Capitol chair. This Sacramento program brings participants from all six neighboring counties to Washington, D.C. to meet with federal representatives in Congress and Administration to advocate to foster relationships and enhance local and statewide business.

He is a leader and active member of several organizations in the Sacramento region and a generous philanthropist:

• Serving on the board of Stanford Youth Solutions, an organization that empowers youth and families to solve serious challenges that threaten their ability to stay together.
• Leading the development of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management’s website re-designs.
• Serving as an advisor for the creation of the 2019 Technology Leadership Summit.
• Named the 2019 UC Davis Cal Aggie Alumni Association's Young Alumni Award.
• Participated in a discussion about careers and motivation for prospective MBA students at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management's Destination Impact event in 2017.
• Earned the 2007 GSM Student Affairs Innovator Scholarship.