Board of Directors

In addition to our executives, our Board of Directors reflects industry leaders who are directly tied to our success.

 

Neeraj Agrawal

Neeraj is General Partner of the Boston office of Battery Ventures. He joined Battery in 2000 and invests in enterprise software, technology-enabled services and Internet companies. He was a founding investor in BladeLogic (NASDAQ: BLOG) and helped the founders launch the company with the acquisition of NetworkShell. In addition to BladeLogic, Neeraj's investments include Consona (take-private, formerly Made2Manage), Guidewire Software, LifeMed Media and Real Networks, an operating executive at SkyTV, and a management consultant with Booz-Allen. Neeraj holds an Engineering degree in Computer Science from Cornell University as well as an MBA with honors from the Harvard Business School. He is a Charter Member of TiE, and an active advisor to several local entrepreneurs.

Brett Hurt

Brett is the Founder and CEO of Bazaarvoice, where he is responsible for guiding the company's strategy and overseeing day-to-day operations. Brett is a seasoned executive widely recognized throughout the online industry for turning groundbreaking ideas into leading businesses.

Brett serves on the Board of Directors of Shop.org, the leading non-profit industry association for retailers online and a division of the National Retail Federation, the largest trade organization for retailers. This is his second term on the Shop.org board, where he previously served for two years. He also serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Wharton School and served as a Board of Advisors member to the non-profit Web Analytics Association. Brett actively advises several early-stage technology companies. He is an inventor (US Patent #7,050,989) and a regular speaker at various industry events and universities.

Dev Ittycheria

Dev most recently served as president of the Enterprise Service Management division of BMC Software, where he was responsible for a business with $1.2 billion in annual revenue and approximately 4,100 employees. During his tenure at BMC the company completely restructured its sales organization and sales methodology to dramatically increase sales productivity, demonstrably improved its product advantage through organic investments and multiple acquisitions, and clearly positioned itself as the leader in systems management by far outperforming all relevant competiton. As the co-founder, president and CEO of BladeLogic, Dev built BladeLogic into one of the fastest growing enterprise software companies of the past decade culminating with a successful IPO in 2007. BladeLogic was sold to BMC for approximately $900M in 2008, which was also the highest multiple paid for any public software company in that year. Dev brings unparalleled leadership ability and deep experience in building high-growth technology businesses that excel at acquiring customers, delivering outstanding financial results, and creating long-term sustainable value.

Dev was recognized by Ernst & Young as an Entrepreneur of the Year for his leadership at BladeLogic, and has been publicly recognized as one of the pioneers of the SaaS business model. He received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University.

Ed Keller

Ed Keller has worked for more than 25 years in marketing and media research, consulting with clients in the corporate, media, agency and not-for-profit sectors. Ed previously served as CEO of renowned market research firm, RoperASW (and its successor companies), and prior to that, served as the company’s president and COO.

The publication of Keller's book, The Influentials, co-authored by Jon Berry, has been called the "seminal moment in the development of word of mouth." Offering a ground-breaking look at the 10% of consumers who, by word of mouth recommendations, profoundly impact how the other 90% vote, make purchases, invest their money and choose their lifestyles, the book has been featured in leading publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Fortune, Fast Company, Smart Money, Ad Age, Adweek and BrandWeek. According to The Washington Post, "The Influentials...deserves a place on the shelf of anyone in business or politics." The Influentials was selected as one of five finalists for the 2004 Berry-AMA Book Prize for Best Book in Marketing, an honor that recognizes books "whose innovative ideas have had significant impact on marketing and related fields."

Known as "one of the most recognized names in word of mouth," Ed lectures at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication and speaks frequently to business audiences on word of mouth marketing. He is a board member of the Advertising Research Foundation, serves as president of the Market Research Council, and is president and director of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA).

Thomas J. Meredith

Tom is a co-founder and general partner of Meritage Capital, L.P., an investment management firm specializing in multi-manager hedge funds. He is also chief executive officer of MFI Capital, the Meredith family’s private investment arm. He has served as Acting Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Motorola, Inc., and he was managing director of Dell Ventures and senior vice president of business development and strategy of Dell Inc., from 2000 to 2001, and senior vice president and chief financial officer of Dell from 1992 to 2000. Prior to joining Dell, Mr. Meredith served as a vice president and treasurer at Sun Microsystems, Inc. he currently serves on the board of directors of Motorola and Brightstar Corp.

Tom is a member of the board of directors of The Nature Conservancy and The EastWest Institute. He and his wife Lynn have received numerous accolades and awards for their generous support throughout the years including the Torch of Liberty Award given by the Anti-Defamation League in 2006; Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year given by the Association of Professional Fundraisers in 2004; and an Honorary Alumni Award given by Leadership Austin in 2003.

Tom is an adjunct professor at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas and serves on the advisory boards of both the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the LBJ School at the University of Texas.

Chris Pacitti

Chris Pacitti, General Partner, joined Austin Ventures in 1999 and focuses on software investing. Previously, Chris was with TL Ventures, where he was a vice president. Prior to TL Ventures, Chris was a co-founder and chief operating officer of a technology start-up company that pioneered several industrial applications for a novel oxidizing chemistry.

Chris received his BA in economics from Johns Hopkins University. He is a member of the Microsoft Venture Capital Advisory Board and the Entrepreneur's Foundation Board.

Chris has worked with such Austin Ventures portfolio companies as Bazaarvoice, Between Markets, Credant Technologies, FameCast, FiveRuns, Hire.com, On Networks, Permeo Technologies, Pluck, Powered, Troux Technologies, Vovici and Worksoft.

 

Bazaarvoice Advisors

Bazaarvoice takes great pride in our advisory group. Their insights and recommendations help Bazaarvoice continue to experience growth and success.

 

Tamara Adlin

Tamara Adlin is the founder and principal of adlin, inc., a customer experience consulting company, and the co-author of The Persona Lifecycle: Keeping People in Mind Throughout Product Design (with John Pruitt, Microsoft). Tamara has over thirteen years’ experience developing user-centered design and user interface design methods. She has worked with Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Zillow, DietTelevision, PetSmart, and WetPaint, among others.

Thomas Ball

Thomas Ball, Partner, joined Austin Ventures in 2005 and focuses on software investing. Most recently, Tom was CEO and co-founder of Openfield Technologies which merged with Razorgator Interactive Group. While there, he played a key role in securing partnership deals including Yahoo, MSN, eBay, and Knight Ridder. Prior to Openfield, Tom was the Chairman, CEO and Founder of eCoupons (acquired by Lifeminders, NASDAQ: LFMN). Tom also has experience in private equity investing and strategy consulting from his time as a Principal at Discovery Capital and as an Engagement Manager at Mitchell Madison Group. Tom works with AV portfolios companies such as Jigsaw, Convio, and NileGuide. Tom received an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a BS in Finance with honors from the University of Florida.

 

Julie Constantin

Julie Constantin is co-founder of Constantin Partners, an angel investment partnership focused primarily on seed-stage software and internet infrastructure companies. Julie brings more than nineteen years of venture experience to her portfolio companies, which include Bazaarvoice, Tripwire Security Systems, EzRez, Coremetrics, Experience Project, and Samba. She is the co-founder of The V Foundation Wine Celebration – a charity wine auction – which has raised over $33 million to fund ground-breaking cancer research. She holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a BS in Entrepreneurial and Strategic Management, also from The Wharton School.

 

Jamie Crouthamel

Jamie is the Principal of Old Town Capital, LLC, where he is an operating investor in early-stage interactive marketing service and technology companies. He also founded Performics Inc., a leading provider of affiliate and search marketing services, and served as the company’s chief executive officer from its inception in 1998 through its acquisition by Doubleclick, Inc. in 2004. Jamie was awarded Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Information Technology in Illinois in 2004. He currently serves on the board of ValueClick, Inc. (Nasdaq:VCLK).

Mr. Crouthamel earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, a Master's of Engineering Management from Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and completed his BS in Mechanical Engineering at Drexel University.

Jeffrey A. Dachis

Jeff’s leadership and vision helped establish the digital services industry more than a decade ago, and he brings to his current company, Bond Art and Science, an unmatched mix of experience, passion and skill. In the last several years, Jeff’s recent work has been focused on running Studio Holdings, which manages a range of investments and online entertainment properties.

As Founder, CEO, President and Chairman of Razorfish, he grew the company from 2 to 2,500 employees with offices in nine countries; increased revenue 54,000% during 23 consecutive quarters of profitable growth; and introduced an IPO which raised $55 million and 25 mergers/acquisitions/buyouts in less than two years for over $ 2 billion, catapulting Razorfish's valuation to over $ 5 billion. The company won numerous performance, professional services and design awards, and, as part of Aquantive, was sold to Microsoft for $6 billion in cash, Microsoft's largest acquisition. Perhaps most impressive of all, Jeff helped build a culture of passion and professionalism that made Razorfish the leading brand in the marketplace, and one of the strongest remaining brands in that space today.

Jeff also created Razorfish Studios, a diverse entertainment company that created motion pictures (including Being John Malkovich), television programs, magazines, books, music, merchandise and internet-based online content through the award-winning RSUB. Jeff Also founded Razorfish Ventures, a $30m investment fund where he served as Managing Partner and Principal.

Kirk A. Dando

Kirk Dando is Founder and CEO of Dando Advisors (www.DandoAdvisors.com). He has built a national reputation for helping business owners and entrepreneurs move their companies to the next level. Kirk combines more than 20 years of experience and research on ways to improve leadership and managerial decision-making, enabling him to offer fresh perspective on solving complex business problems. He is a leading expert on profitable business growth. Kirk helped pioneer the Business Life Cycle, a model that enables business leaders to identify the level of performance at which a business is operating and to determine exactly what needs to be done to move that business to the next level. Because all successful businesses eventually grow themselves into similar and predictable problems, business leaders across every industry have asked Kirk for his insight and expertise.

Kirk is known for his tremendous energy, clear vision and useful knowledge about growing a business profitably. (Twitter.com/kirkdando) He is highly sought after as a business coach and public speaker and has presented his work nationwide. Kirk has published several scholarly and popular articles. He is currently writing a book on the Overly Obvious and Embarrassingly Simple Warning Signs of Success.

Prior to founding Dando Advisors, Kirk worked with Arthur Andersen. He then became the COO/CFO for Moore and Company where he played an integral role in successfully scaling that company’s operations over a two-year period to achieve annual revenues of $1 billion. Kirk is now offering that business knowledge and experience to other executives. He is a graduate of the Colorado State University College of Business and a former defensive corner back for the CSU Rams.

Mike Dodd

Mike Dodd, Venture Partner, joined Austin Ventures in 2008 and focuses on early and expansion-stage software and web-enabled business and consumer services. Most recently, Mike was SVP of Corporate Development with Omniture, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMTR), a publicly traded analytics and online business optimization software company. While there Mike led the identification, acquisition, and integration efforts around Omniture’s acquisition of two domestic and two international companies which totaled approximately $500 million in consideration. Prior to Omniture, Mike was Senior Vice President and General Manager at MyFamily.com , a consumer online content subscription business. He was also a Partner with Europatweb, a venture capital firm where he worked with companies such as Liquidity Services Inc (NASDAQ: LQDT) and MyFamily.com, and a technology investment banker with Robertson Stephens in San Francisco. Mike received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in finance from Syracuse University.

Bryan Eisenberg

Bryan Eisenberg is the co-author of the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, USA Today and New York Times bestselling books “Call to Action”, “Waiting For Your Cat to Bark?” and “Always Be Testing”. Bryan has been the keynote speaker for Search Engine Strategies, Shop.org, Direct Marketing Association, MarketingSherpa, E-consultancy, Webcom, SEM Konferansen Norway and the Canadian Marketing Association. He is also the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Web Analytics Association.

Bryan is the recognized authority and pioneer in online marketing, improving online conversion rates, Persuasion Architecture, and persona marketing. Bryan was recently recognized by eConsultancy members as one of the top 10 User Experience Gurus and and he was selected as one of the inaugural iMedia Top 25 Marketers.

Peter Fader

Peter S. Fader is the Frances and Pei-Yuan Chia Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His expertise centers around the analysis of behavioral data to understand and forecast customer shopping/purchasing activities. Professor Fader believes that marketing should not be viewed as a “soft” discipline, and he frequently works with different companies and industry associations to improve managerial perspectives in this regard. His work has been published in (and he serves on the editorial boards of) a number of leading journals in marketing, statistics, and the management sciences. He has won many awards for his teaching and research accomplishments. He was recently named as the winner of the 2007 Robert B. Clarke Outstanding Educator Award, given by the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation to honor an academic’s overall achievement in direct/interactive marketing.

Alan D. Feld, P.C.

Alan is one of four senior executive partners at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Alan has more than 40 years of experience in corporate finance and securities law and a variety of other business transactions. He was appointed by the governor to the Texas State Securities Board in 1985 and served as the board's chairman through 1991. In 1998 he was honored by the Southern Methodist University School of Law with the establishment of the Alan D. Feld Professorship.

He has served on the American Bar Association Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in its Profession and is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the District of Columbia Bar, the Texas Bar Foundation and the Dallas Bar Association. Additionally, Alan has been a lecturer at the Southwestern Medical School and Practicing Law Institute and was a member of the board of directors of the Dallas Citizens Council. Alan received his B.A. from Southern Methodist University, attended Columbia Law School and received his LL.B. from the Southern Methodist University School of Law, where he presently is chairman of the law school's executive board.

Dwight Foster

Dwight Foster has a long history of highly aggressive, ROI-based sales in technology. Dwight is currently VP of Strategic Account Sales for Registria, which offers an innovative SaaS application for Customer Lifecycle Management. Prior to Registria, Dwight held various successful strategic sales roles at companies such as ServiceSource, Reliance Infocom, LivePerson, NetPerceptions, and Careerbuilder. In addition, Dwight has consulted and/or provided seed funding for Jigsaw (acquired by Salesforce), Coremetrics (acquired by IBM), and Dialpad (acquired by Yahoo).

Dwight received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado, and has an advanced degree from the School of Hard Knocks.

Ze Frank

Ze Frank (pronounced "Zay") brings an entertaining and insightful look at how technology and creativity intersect, especially in web design, marketing and new forms of media. He has become a staple at such annual technology events as Pop!Tech and the TED Conference. Ze has unique experience doing new media design and marketing for important customers, helping them understand viral marketing and the contagious media in which it takes place, and to think about creative development in general. He spent two months in 2004 as Artist in Residence at MSN, helping them develop strategies for creating online community spaces — his specialty.

 

Mitchell Green

Mitchell Green is an investor at Eastern Advisors, a fund affiliated with Tiger Management and seeded by Julian Robertson. Mitchell primarily invests in the internet, software, consumer and retail sectors around the world. Eastern is a long tenured investor in public markets in Asia, and the fund will occasionally invest in rapidly growing, private late-stage companies in the US where the fund's relationships and knowledge can help with Asian expansion. In addition to Bazaarvoice, Mitchell is an investor in private companies such as LinkedIn, Yelp, Millennial Media, Intego, Yodle, Pure Networks (Acquired by Cisco), Broadsoft, and Endeca. Prior to joining Eastern Advisors in 2008, Mitchell was an investor at Bessemer Venture Partners where he sourced the firm's investment in Diapers.com. Before Bessemer, Mitchell worked at UBS Investment Bank in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group. Mitchell graduated from Williams College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, and from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

John Hamlin

John Hamlin is President and Managing Partner of Bozeman Limited Partnership, an Austin-based private equity firm. He is a corporate board member of Safeco Insurance, Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) and Spiceworks. He serves on the advisory boards of Bazaarvoice and IMVU. Prior to Bozeman, Hamlin was an Executive Officer and Senior Vice President at Dell Inc. From 2005-2007 he was the Senior Vice President responsible for Dell’s global online business as well as Dell’s worldwide brand and advertising strategy. Hamlin previously served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Dell's US consumer business, and was named Brandweek's Grand Marketer of the Year for the “Dude You’re Getting a Dell” campaign. Hamlin also served as Vice President of Dell's Home and Small Business division in Japan, and held marketing and operations positions in the US Home and Small Business division before moving to Japan. Prior to joining Dell, Hamlin worked in the venture capital field for three years and served as a strategic consultant at Bain & Company for six years. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dartmouth College and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Mike Herring

A technology industry veteran, Mike Herring served as CFO of Omniture, Inc. and currently serves as vice president of operations at Adobe Systems Incorporated. He brings deep domain expertise and executive-level leadership building global technology businesses from the ground up and steering software companies to sustainable long-term profitability and revenue growth. As CFO of Omniture for five years, he helped grow annual revenues during his tenure from $20 million to over $350 million through aggressive organic expansion and five acquisitions in the on-demand marketing services industry. Earlier in his career, Herring served as CFO of MyFamily.com (now Ancestry.com); vice president of finance at ThirdAge Media, and controller of Anergen. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Carole Irgang

Carole Irgang is an experienced marketing consultant and professional. Currently head of Red Shoes Marketing, Carole spent several years as the SVP of Integrated Marketing Communications at Kraft Foods, where she oversaw leading-edge advertising and marketing efforts for Kraft’s brand portfolio. Prior to Kraft, Carol helped develop compelling, holistic marketing programs for Global Fortune 500 companies as an Executive Vice President at Grey Worldwide. She was named one of AdAge’s Women to Watch in 2007, and has continued to be a recognized industry leader in marketing. Carol holds a BS in Communications from Ithaca College.

Josh Kopelman

Josh Kopelman is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has been an active leader in the Internet industry since its commercialization. He currently serves as Managing Director of First Round Capital, a seed-stage venture fund and was named as one of “8 Rising VC Stars” by Fortune Magazine. In 1992, while he was a student at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Josh co-founded Infonautics Corporation, taking it public in 1996. In 1999, Josh founded Half.com and led it to become one of the largest sellers of used books, movies and music in the world. Half.com was acquired by eBay in July 2000. In early 2004 Josh helped to found TurnTide, an anti-spam company that created the world's first anti-spam router. TurnTide was acquired by Symantec just six months later. Read Josh’s blog at: http://redeye.firstround.com

Kurtis Krake

Kurtis Krake is the founder of Search-Werks, a niche internet marketing consulting practice specializing in search engine marketing, web analytics, and outsourced eCommerce management for the middle and smaller market. With large brand eCommerce marketing leadership positions at Sara Lee Direct (now known as Hanesbrands Inc.) and PetSmart, he brings extensive online retail experience and comprehensive knowledge of multiple online marketing channels including SEM/SEO marketing, affiliate marketing, CRM acquisition and retention, as well as an extensive background in web analytics. Kurt is a Coopers & Lybrand/PriceWaterhouseCoopers alumni where he began his career in public accounting and developed the strategic and financial background that drives his entrepreneurial focus today. Kurt earned an MBA from the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University and also holds a BS in Accounting from Wake Forest.

Ralph Mack

Ralph is the Principal of Mack Capital, LLC where he invests in public stocks, real estate, distressed investments, and, his passion – new venture opportunities. Ralph has participated in the seed round for more than thirty start-up companies over the past twenty years. As an active angel investor, Ralph is often instrumental in helping his portfolio companies’ management teams with sales, marketing and operational strategies. He typically invests in the first round, subsequent financing rounds, and he proactively assists in raising additional seed capital to get his portfolio companies funded. Some of his investments have included Bazaarvoice, MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS), Coremetrics, LifeMed Media/dLife, iVillage (bought by GE), Socialware, Horny Toad, and OneSpot. As the portfolio companies begin to grow, Ralph uses his extensive network of contacts to introduce them to new potential customers, partners, and, where appropriate, investment bankers.

Prior to founding Mack Capital, Ralph worked on Wall Street for 25 years where he brought companies public, raised debt capital, sold corporate bonds, and invested in distressed debt. Ralph received a BS in Economics with majors in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He later completed his MBA in Finance from the Stern School of Business, New York University.

Mike Maples, Jr.

Mike Maples, Jr. is the managing partner of FLOODGATE, and was named as one of “8 Rising VC Stars” by Fortune Magazine for his investments in business and consumer technology companies. Before becoming a full-time investor, Mike was an entrepreneur and operating executive who worked in a variety of senior management roles in high-growth companies. He co-founded Motive, Inc., the world's leading broadband software company in 1997, and played key roles in its growth from raw start-up through sales of more than $75 million. Motive was one of the only successful technology IPOs in 2004, and the most successful infrastructure software IPO for the prior three years. At Motive, Mike was General Manager of Motive's Corporate Business Unit, as well as Chief Marketing and Strategy officer.

Prior to Motive, Mike was responsible for worldwide product marketing at Tivoli Systems, where he managed the company's product portfolio from its early-stage development through its 1995 IPO and growth to a $750M line of business within the IBM Software Group.

Brian O'Malley

Brian is a Principal in the Silicon Valley offices of Battery Ventures, where he focuses on investments in the eCommerce, application software and consumer internet markets. He is on the board of J. Hilburn, Serena & Lily and TradeKing. Brian is actively involved with Bazaarvoice, Coupa, and World Golf Tour, and worked with Insitu prior to its acquisition by Boeing. Prior to Battery, Brian was an Associate with Pequot Ventures and spent several years at Bowstreet, Inc. (acquired by NYSE: IBM). Brian mentors students in UC Berkeley’s Center for Entrepreneurship Studies, and is a judge in Wharton's and Stanford’s Business Plan Competitions. He graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics.

Satya Patel

Satya is a Principal in the Silicon Valley offices of Battery Ventures, where he focuses on the software, consumer internet and digital media markets. He is on the boards of BlueKai, ChoiceVendor, Freewheel Media and Lotame and is a board observer for Angie's List, Bazaarvoice and Adisn. Satya’s prior experience spans more than a decade in online media and software, both in operating and investing roles. Before joining Battery, Satya spent several years at AdSense. Beginning in 2003, he helped to build the AdSense business through various partner development and product management activities. Visit Satya's blog at http://www.venturegeneratedcontent.com/.

Erik Qualman

Erik Qualman is the author of best-selling Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, and one of the leading thought leaders in business today. He gained a mass following with his breakthrough Social Media Revolution video which has garnered more than two million views on YouTube as one of 2010’s most viral videos. For almost two decades, Erik has helped grow the online marketing and eBusiness capabilities of leading companies including Cadillac, EarthLink, EF Education, Yahoo, Travelzoo, and AT&T.

Erik runs the www.socialnomics.com website, and has been quoted on social media in BusinessWeek, The New York Times, CNET, San Francisco Chronicle, Mashable, USA Today, Forbes, CBS Nightly News, The Huffington Post and many more.

Ken Saunders

As Bazaarvoice’s former Chief Financial Officer, Ken Saunders successfully managed strategic financial concerns during a critical time in the company’s growth. He has spent the bulk of his professional career in technology in California, first as CFO of start-up Risk Data Corporation, which was later acquired by HNC Software (NASDAQ) where, as CFO, he led the merger with Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE) and remained on as CFO of the combined organizations. He subsequently became part of the turnaround team of Peregrine Systems (NASDAQ) in San Diego, helping to orchestrate the sale to Hewlett Packard. Just prior to joining Bazaarvoice, he was CFO of Open Solutions, an enterprise software company, where he helped them double in size before taking the company private. He has global experience in mergers and acquisitions as well as significant experience with international accounting and finance, capital markets, and high tech growth companies.

Andy Sernovitz

CEO of GasPedal and author of Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, Andy is a 16-year veteran of the interactive marketing business, helping companies learn how to do better marketing. Andy teaches word of mouth marketing at Northwestern University, taught Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School of Business, ran a business incubator, and started half a dozen companies. GasPedal, his consulting company, advises great brands like TiVo, Dell, Ralph Lauren, Sprint, and Kimberly-Clark. He created the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) around the latest revolutions in blogs, buzz, and word of mouth. Before that, in the dot com days, he ran the Association for Interactive Marketing. Check out his blog at http://www.damniwish.com/.

Ted Strauss

Ted Strauss served on the Board of BBVA Compass Bank until recently. Just prior to this position he served as Chairman of the Advisory Board, Dallas Region for Texas State Bank, beginning in March of 2005 until Texas State Bank's merger with Compass Bank in early 2008.

Ted was previously a Senior Managing Director at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. from 1985 - 2005. Other previous positions include Founder and Chairman of Susan Crane Packaging Company; Chairman of the Board of Strauss Broadcasting; Chairman of the Board of Fortune Petroleum; member of the Board of Directors of National Bank of Commerce in Dallas; Chairman of the Board of United National Bank of Dallas; and Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of First City Bank of Dallas. He also served as a member of the Executive Committee and of the Board of Directors of First City Bancorporation. Mr. Strauss is also one of the founders of Texas Capital Bank. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Clear Channel Communications, Inc., Hollywood Casino corporation and Sizeler Property Investors, Inc. Mr. Strauss is a graduate of the University of Texas in Austin.

Paul Tobias

Paul Tobias is the founding partner of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Austin office, where his practice focuses on helping technology and growth companies form and operate businesses, raise capital through private and public offerings, and buy and sell companies.

In addition to his work with growth companies, Paul has represented investors in many venture capital financings. He also has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, representing acquirers and targets. His experience includes numerous public offerings on behalf of issuers and underwriters.