Moderator: Jay Molloy,
Katten
Muchin Rosenman LLP
About the Speakers:
Jeff
Anderson of Mellon
Ventures
Jeff Anderson is a Managing Director
of Mellon Ventures in Los Angeles and manages its Technology
practice group. He brings over 13 years of venture capital
experience and currently focuses on software infrastructure
(Ario Data Networks, SOA Software, Inovis) as well as
communications (AccessLine Communications, Nomadix) and
Internet applications for consumers and the enterprise
(Cooking.com, HireRight, MarketRange). He has led or sponsored
Mellon's investments into a number of successful technology
companies, including Exult (EXLT), Lexar Media (LEXR),
Multex (acquired by Reuters), Netscaler (acquired by Citrix)
and Snap Appliance (acquired by Adaptec).
Prior
to joining Mellon Ventures in 1997, Jeff was with BA Venture
Partners, a venture capital partnership sponsored by BankAmerica
Corporation, where he focused on information technology
software and services opportunities. Jeff has also worked
as a Vice President in Bank of America's Corporate Banking
office in San Francisco and in product development at
The Charles Schwab Corporation.
Chuck
Davis of Fandango,
Inc.
(former CEO of Shopzilla)
Chuck Davis is the Chairman and CEO of Fandango, Inc.,
one of the Web’s top movie destinations, with nearly
5 million unique visitors per month (Nielsen//NetRatings,
June 2006), and the nation’s largest online, phone
and mobile movie ticketing service, exclusively selling
tickets to 14,000 screens across the country. Prior to
joining Fandango, Davis was the President & CEO of
Shopzilla, Inc., formerly BizRate.com, leading the company
from its infancy in 1999, before it had material revenues,
to its acquisition by the E.W. Scripps Company for $569
million in June 2005, and its current status as the largest,
most profitable, and fastest growing comparison shopping
site online.
Prior to Shopzilla, Davis was President of e-Commerce
for The Walt Disney Company Internet Group where he launched
disneystore.com, disneytravel.com, and several other properties,
in addition to heading the unit’s advertising and
marketing efforts. Previous to his work at Disney, Davis
served as senior vice president of consumer marketing
and circulation at News Corporation’s TV Guide, where
he was the last executive to increase the subscription
net paid circulation, and as a marketing and finance executive
at Time Inc.’s Sports Illustrated, Time, and Life
Magazine properties. Currently, Davis serves as a Director
on the Boards of Business.com, LeadPoint, Inc., Loyalty
Lab and the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO),
Los Angeles Chapter.
Scott
S. Ingraham, Founder of Rent.com
Mr. Ingraham is an investor and consultant
currently acting as an advisor to eBay with respect to
eBay Real Estate and Rent.com, an Internet company he
co-founded and led as Chairman and CEO before the Company
was sold to eBay for $433 million in February, 2005. Rent.com
is the largest apartment leasing service in the nation
and is the 3rd largest real estate web site as measured
by visitor traffic.
Before
founding Rent.com, Mr. Ingraham was the CEO, President
and co-founder of Oasis Residential, a NYSE-traded apartment
REIT that was sold to Camden Property Trust (CPT) for
$1 billion in April, 1998 with Mr. Ingraham serving on
Camden's board since the merger was consummated. Mr. Ingraham
also serves as a director on several other boards including
LoopNet (LOOP), the nation's largest commercial real estate
listing web site, LeadPoint, the world's first online
marketplace that facilitates the buying and selling of
business leads and Golfnow.com, a prominent booker of
tee times across the country.
Mr.
Ingraham has devoted his entire career to real estate-related
businesses and has started up three successful companies
since becoming an entrepreneur in January of 1982. Prior
to starting his first company Mr. Ingraham worked for
six years as an institutional investor and financier in
commercial real estate after receiving his BBA in Finance
from the University of Texas at Austin.
Steve
Jillings, (former CEO of Frontbridge)
Steve
joined FrontBridge Technologies and President & CEO
in March 2002 and was responsible for taking the company
from a startup to a global leader in managed messaging
services. Tasked with driving the company's strategic
direction and growth, Steve built a world class management
team focused on execution. Raising $28M in three rounds
of funding allowed the team to build a broad portfolio
of services combined with at the largest global distribution
footprint in the managed messaging space. The growth and
accomplishments in that timeframe led to the successful
sale of the company to Microsoft in August 2005. Steve
brought more than 20 years of business building experience
to FrontBridge, specifically in the areas of corporate
finance, sales, marketing, and technology. Prior to FrontBridge,
Steve was a co-founder and Executive Vice President of
Voyus, a recurring revenue IT services company based in
Vancouver, Canada. Founded in March, 1998, Voyus grew
to more than 225 employees and $22 million in service
revenues within 24 months. Prior to that, Steve was President
of the CRI Group of Companies, comprising four National
Services firms that were sold to a Texas-based public
company in 1997. Steve has been responsible for seven
start ups throughout his career, taking them from inception
to commercialization and eventual liquidity.
Jamie
Somes of Alexander
Dunham Capital
Jamie Somes has been active in the media, IT (with
software emphasis) telecommunications, consumer and
related technology areas as a financial advisor and
principal. He has been on various boards including,
most recently, Liquid Audio, Inc. (formerly NASDNM:
LQID) where was Chairman and Chair of the Special Committee
(and served on the Compensation and Audit Committees)
as well as Publishing Systems Inc. and System Integrators
Inc. (pre-print software systems for the newspaper industry)
At Liquid Audio (a northern California-based software
company providing digital distribution of media and
music over the internet), he was appointed as a Director
(August 2002), Chairman of the Special Committee and
was named Chairman of the Company on November 18, 2002.
Other
transaction experience in media, consumer and the technology/telecom
areas have included:
7Up/RC Cola Bottling (largest independent beverage bottling
company); Advanced Gaming Technology (electronic gaming);
Hand Gear (wireless mobile data /PDA); Liquid Audio (digital
music content/ rights payment management software); Long
Distance International (international telecom); Digital
Video Systems (DVD player manufacturer); System Integrators
(newspaper publishing systems software).
Jamie
is also a founder and Senior Managing Director of Alexander
Dunham Capital, a boutique merchant bank (including a
broker/dealer subsidiary) advising growth-stage to middle
market western states companies on capital formation (public
and private companies), acquisitions, mergers, and general
corporate finance issues. Previously, he helped establish
Security Pacific's west coast mezzanine fund. In addition,
he was a Vice President at Citicorp's Leveraged Capital
Group in Los Angeles and at Citicorp's Asian Merchant
Bank in Hong Kong. Also, he was a Managing Director and
Founder of Ambient Capital Group, a middle market Investment
Bank. He began his finance career at J.P. Morgan. He has
originated, structured and placed over 75 leveraged transactions,
acquisitions, private equity and mezzanine transactions
amounting to over $6 Billion over the past 20 years. He
has founded 6 companies and served as a director in 8
companies. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MBA
from Columbia University (and MS in Urban and Regional
Planning under the Joint Masters Program at Columbia).
