Management Team and Board Members
Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer - Board Member
As co-founder and CEO of Central Desktop, Isaac oversees business strategy and sales for the company. Isaac has a proven record in both early-stage technology companies and enterprise sales & marketing. As a founding partner at Upgradebase, Isaac served as Vice President of Sales & Marketing where he oversaw all business development and sales for the company. During his three-year tenure at CNET, Isaac served as a Director of North America Enterprise Sales for CNET Channel. As Director, he was responsible for the acquisition, sales and management of global partnerships with Microsoft, Google, eBay, Yahoo and Best Buy. Isaac led and managed CNET's global partnership with Microsoft to launch the Windows Marketplace campaign in 14 countries, Microsoft's largest sales and marketing campaign at the time. Isaac received a BA in English from Ambassador University and attended the University of Northern Colorado Graduate School where he studied English Literature for a Master of Arts.
Co-founder, Chief Technology Officer - Board Member
As co-founder and CTO of Central Desktop, Arnulf oversees all architecture and product development for the company. Arnulf combines agile technology experience with a business background that spans early-stage start-ups to acquisition. As the original founder of Upgradebase, Arnulf served as President and Chief Technology Officer where he oversaw product development and operations in the US, Pakistan and India. During his 3 year tenure at CNET, Arnulf served as Director of Global Product Marketing where he managed all aspects of new product marketing and development for CNET Channel. Arnulf worked closely with customers, sales teams and the executive committee to oversee the planning, development and launch of new products. Arnulf attended the Electrical Engineering school at the University of California, Irvine.
Chief Operating Officer
As COO, Mark is responsible for leading the company's daily operations and business strategy to drive its next phase of growth. Mark brings more than 20 years of experience in the high-tech and finance industries. Most recently, Mark was the COO and CFO at IT analytics pioneer Integrien, where his actions and leadership were key to software giant VMware acquiring the company for over $100 million last year. Prior to Integrien, he was COO and CFO of data-driven sourcing advisor, RampRate, and was instrumental in the rapid adoption of the company's proprietary ratings index by major corporations. Previously, Mark was responsible for the managed services unit of McLeodUSA, a facilities-based telecommunications provider, and was instrumental in the successful sale of that division along with several other strategic merger and acquisition deals. He also served as COO and CFO of managed services provider, Devise Associates, which he subsequently merged with VPN pioneer, Intelispan, later to be acquired by McLeodUSA. Smialowicz also serves as an active angel investor and advisor to several early-stage and venture-backed companies. He received a BS in Finance from Loyola Maryland, an MBA with a concentration in Finance from Loyola's Sellinger School of Business and a Masters in Finance from New York University.
Vice President of Sales
Laurence is the Vice President of Sales at Central Desktop, responsible for the company's sales strategy and execution. Laurence brings nearly 20 years of experience selling enterprise solutions, taking new products to market and leading high-performing sales organizations. He started his career in management consulting and worked at both Deloitte Consulting and Accenture. Later he led the sales organizations of three venture-backed software companies. Most recently, Laurence was the Vice President of Sales at the Los Angeles Times Media Group, where he ran a 200-person sales team that produced more than $200M in revenue. Throughout his career, Laurence managed key client relationships with companies such as Wal-Mart, Nordstrom, Toshiba, Costco and Kaiser Permanente. Laurence holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and in Inorganic Chemistry from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California.
Vice President of Engineering
Dhruba heads Central Desktop's engineering team. He brings more than 20 years of experience and a wealth of knowledge in technology and engineering management, most recently through his role as chief technology officer at FoodLink — a large SaaS-based service provider for the food industry. Prior to FoodLink, Kalita was the founder, chief operating officer and chief technology officer for NetInfo, Inc., a software-consulting company that developed internet-based applications for Fortune 1,000 companies. Before NetInfo, Kalita served as chief architect at Xerox. He serves as an adviser to several startup companies in the areas of technology, strategy and operations, and currently sits on the board of directors for an India-based software and services company.
Vice President of Products
Kristy is the Vice President of Products at Central Desktop, responsible for the company's product strategy. Kristy has introduced and managed high-tech and software products for more than 20 years. She began her career at Arthur Andersen before becoming Director of Product Management for Intuit, where she led the professional products division and managed end-to-end customer experience, strategy and execution. After almost 10 years at Intuit, Kristy served as Vice President of Product Management and Strategy at Match.com. Most recently, Kristy was the Vice President of Product Management at Telecommunications Systems, which acquired Networks in Motion. In that position, Kristy oversaw location-based wireless products worldwide, supporting 38 countries and 10 languages, and global customers including Verizon, MetroPCS, Virgin, Cricket, Telus, Hutchison/3, Sony Ericsson, Hyundai and Daimler. She holds a bachelor's of science in management from Tulane University.
Associate Vice President of Marketing
Linda is the Associate Vice President of Marketing at Central Desktop, overseeing all strategic marketing efforts for the company. Linda has 13 years of experience in technology marketing, globalization program management, and implementation of scalable, repeatable global product and marketing strategies and processes. Previously, Linda served as Director of Strategic Marketing at Everbridge where she led the company's integrated marketing communication, lead-generation and product marketing activities. Linda also worked at Ariba (formerly FreeMarkets) where she spearheaded localization of the company's software products and the launch of global sites in support of worldwide sales and marketing efforts. Souza received a Master's degree in Global Marketing Communication and Advertising from Emerson College in Brussels, Belgium.
Director of Finance & Operations
Steve is responsible for all financial, legal and operational functions at Central Desktop, and is a key contributor to the development and execution of the company's strategy. He brings over 15 years of experience in finance and accounting in industries such as SaaS software, e-commerce, retail, professional sports and public accounting. Most recently, Steve was Controller for the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he was responsible for Major League Baseball financial reporting, budgeting and compliance, as well as the management of accounting processes, procedures and policies. Prior to that, he served as Controller at Shopzilla, Inc., which was acquired by E.W. Scripps Co. in July 2005. He began his career in public accounting and also spent three years as a Sr. Financial Analyst at Gap Inc., where he was a member of the Real Estate Finance Group. Steve received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from Santa Clara University, cum laude, and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of California (inactive).
Director of Client Services
Mark is the Director of Client Services and Support at Central Desktop, overseeing all customer experience efforts for the company. Mark has 12 years of experience in strategic client and product management as well as software implementation leadership. Previously, Mark served as Director of Implementation Services at NEOGOV where he led the company's fledgling customer experience efforts from infancy into a thriving enterprise of scalable and profitable service delivery. Mark also worked at Advantage Sales and Marketing where he oversaw the expansion of the Client Services and Operations team to a $100M enterprise. Mark holds a Bachelor's degree in Education from Biola University near Los Angeles, CA.
Director of Information Technology
As Director of Information Technology for Central Desktop, Alan is tasked with ensuring that Central Desktop develops and maintains a stable technology infrastructure for its industry leading SaaS product. Alan architected the Central Desktop platform stack since the company's inception, scaling it from an idea on a single server to the multiple data centers that it resides in today. Prior to Central Desktop, Alan served as Systems Administrator for Upgradebase and Vendorbase, developing a solid technical foundation leading up to the acquisition of Upgradebase by CNET Networks, Inc. Additionally, he ran a successful technical consulting business architecting and building out web infrastructure for clients. Alan received a BS in Computer Science from the University of California, San Diego.
Director of Engineering
As Director of Engineering, Trey is the responsible for all software engineering activities at Central Desktop, from architecture and quality assurance to day-to-day management. He brings over 12 years of professional development experience, the majority of which in B2B and SaaS software. Prior Central Desktop, Trey was a Software Engineering Manager at CNET Networks (now CBS Interactive). Trey studied Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Certified Scrum Master.
Venture Partner, OpenView Venture Partners - Board Member
Firas Raouf is a Venture Partner at OpenView.
Prior to joining OpenView, Firas was a Venture Partner at Insight Venture Partners. Before Insight, Firas was the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of eEye Digital Security - an Insight portfolio company. As a member of the senior executive team and board member, Firas focused on eEye's sales and marketing operations driving 100% revenue growth year after year.
Prior to eEye, Firas was a senior consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton from 1995 to 2000, in the Computing, Media and Telecommunication Group and the Operations Management Group. Prior to Booz Allen, Firas spent three years in the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Group at Eli Lilly & Co. in Indianapolis where he was responsible for the research, development and deployment of new process technologies.
Firas holds a BS in Computer Engineering from Northeastern University and a Masters of Engineering Management from the Thayer School at Dartmouth College. Firas is also a Certified ScrumMaster.
Board Member
John has held a number of senior executive positions with successful startups during the past fifteen years. At Computer Motion (RBOT), he was the CFO and VP of Business Development. At Citrix Online (CTXS - formerly Expertcity), John served as CFO and SVP of Strategic Development. At CallWave (CALL), he served as the SVP of Sales & Business Development. In his capacities at Computer Motion and Citrix, John spearheaded transactions which generated more than $350 million of shareholder value, including Computer Motion's initial public offering and the sale of Expertcity to Citrix for over $230M.
John is a CPA and holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School. He is a member of the University of California at Santa Barbara's Technology Management Faculty where he teaches courses on New Venture Creation and Entrepreneurial Leadership. He is also the author of an entrepreneurial advice blog: infochachkie.com.