Management
Management
Peter Soderling, the founder and CEO of TechSmart, has more than 12 years’ experience in developing custom enterprise IT systems for companies in a variety of sectors including media, financial services, and corporate real estate.
Prior to starting TechSmart, Peter was the acting CTO of SelectLeaders, the industry leader in online recruiting in the commercial real estate market. Under his direction, the company extended their technology platform to support an online business that grew from a single .com site into a partner network powering the career services of 14 of the largest and most highly-respected professional real estate associations.
Previously, Peter worked as a Technical Architect for Ziff Davis Media, a technology publishing company, where he designed and developed an enterprise-wide content management and online publishing platform currently used to power more than 50 Ziff Davis online properties, including pcmag.com, eweek.com and extremetech.com. Because of the significant growth of ZD’s online network (at one point greater than 100 million pageviews/month), the security of the online publishing infrastructure and applications was paramount. Peter led a team of developers in analyzing, from a security perspective, ZD’s entire suite of online applications, including their back-end publishing tools, and recommending and developing application security solutions to mitigate any potential security risks.
Before joining Ziff Davis, Peter was a technology consultant for Austin, TX-based Concero – a systems integration firm. Peter’s main project with Concero was an engagement with Foxnews.com where he designed and implemented an online publishing system used by 40+ editors, producers and other contributors to the Foxnews.com site.
He also served as a technology consultant for marchFirst, advising clients in matters related to IT systems, application development, and information security.
Peter has a BS in Information Systems Management from New York University and is an active consultant to the Professional Studies department at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
Advisory Board
Jasmine Alexander was most recently a Senior VP for Readers’ Digest Association. Previously, she was the General Manager and Sr. Executive VP for Ziff Davis Media and the VP of Operations at OpenGlobe, a leading entertainment-services and media device-technologies provider delivering home entertainment. Prior, Jasmine was the CTO at Musicplex.com and VP of Product Management for CarParts.com. She has also held management roles at Americast, Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., and ABC Radio Networks.
Jasmine has a BA in Computer Science from New York University and an MBA from UCLA.
Michael Espenshade is the CFO of Eastman Companies, a NJ-based commercial real estate management and development firm. Prior to Eastman, Michael was the COO for Equinox Partners, an executive search firm serving the real estate industry, and Director of Finance and Operations for CMS Direct, Inc., a direct mail collaborative network. He was also a co-founder of Dryden Group, LLC, comprising of a group of companies including a database management company, and has held various roles at Coca-Cola USA, PNC Bank, and Howard Financial.
Michael holds a BS in Business Administration from Bucknell University and an MBA from Emory University.
Damien McDonald is the President of Zimmer Spine, a specialty division of Zimmer, the leading pure play orthopedics company in the world. Prior to Zimmer Spine, Damien held a series of roles with Johnson & Johnson in Australia and the US, most recently as VP of WorldWide Marketing at Ethicon, a $3.5billion unit of J&J. Previously, he was a practicing pharmacist.
Damien has bachelor degrees in both Pharmacy and Economics from the University of Queenland. He also holds a Masters Degree in International Economics from the University of Wales and an MBA from IMD.
Chris Phenner is the of VP Business Development for Thumbplay, Inc. He has over 10 years’ experience in internet software and new media business development. Prior to Thumbplay, Chris was Director of Business Development at Audible, Inc., Business Development Manager at CNET Networks' Download.com and Director of Business Development at Napster (1.0). Chris was also business development manager at RollingStone.com and worked in marketing at Spyglass, Inc., the first commercial licensor of the Mosaic browser.
Chris holds a BA from Miami University and a dual MBA from UC Berkeley and Columbia University.
Helen B. Poon, a co-founding principal of Ignition Point, LLC, has over 15 years of experience providing professional advice in accounting, finance, strategy, operations and business development. Prior to Ignition Point, Helen was the CFO for a software development company and the Director of Business Development at a leading high school sports magazine.
Helen is a CPA and holds a BS from New York University and an MBA from Columbia University.
Helen is an avid sports fan, and loves to read and travel. She’s a native New Yorker and resides in Manhattan with her husband and 2-year old son.