Board of Directors
(complete bios below)
- Coppy Holzman / Founder and CEO
- Peter Borish
- Jon Melzer
- Brad Reisner / Chief Technology Officer, Co-Founder
- Serena Chew / Chief Design Officer, Co-Founder
Advisory Board
(in formation)
Management Team
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Boardmember, CEO and Co-Founder S. Coppy Holzman has over twenty-five years of experience as a senior level Internet and consumer products executive. He also is credited with developing the upscale cause marketing fundraising niche that is now gaining such momentum. Mr. Holzman was one of the founding members of webvan.com, where he defined the brand, helped raise capital and wrote and executed the business plan that ultimately resulted in the largest e-commerce launch in United States history. Under his leadership, following its initial IPO, webvan had a market cap exceeding 7 billion and had raised in excess of 750 million dollars to finance its expansion plans. Mr. Holzman's responsibilities included all merchandising, buying and marketing activities including supervision of content management and all website publishing. He also spent many years in senior level corporate retail positions serving as Senior Vice President for Federated Department Stores responsible for Global Sourcing and Production. Mr. Holzman has a B.S. in Economics and International Business from the Wharton School of Business.
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Board Member Peter Borish
Three decades of experience in the financial futures and derivatives markets has provided Mr. Borish with an in depth understanding of global markets and their complexities. He brings a valuable perspective as an asset manager, seasoned investor, and corporate adviser to critical financial discussions.
Mr. Borish currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Computer Trading Corporation, an actively managed fund focused on macroeconomic investing. He created the trade and risk management models his company uses to manage assets in the derivatives markets.
Identifying opportunities that enhance financial market efficiencies drives many of Mr. Borish's other endeavors. This includes Quadriserv, Inc. a technology driven securities lending platform, which emphasizes price transparency and process efficiency. He currently serves as an investor in and Board Member of the company. He has also served as CEO of Twinfields Capital Management, a global macro hedge fund focused on the fixed income sector, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of OneChicago, LLC.
For ten years he was a founding partner and Director of Research for Tudor Investment Corporation. Mr. Borish's career began at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York where he monitored foreign exchange futures and options.
Previously, Mr. Borish served as a Board Member of the Futures Industry Association (FIA), a Special Advisor to the Board of Directors of the Chicago Board of Trade, and as a staff member of the Presidential Task Force on Market Mechanisms (Brady Commission) to study the stock market decline of October 1987.
Additionally, Mr. Borish now serves as Chairman of the Institute for Financial Markets, a nonprofit dedicated to participating in the development of standards and fostering best practices initiatives in the financial services industry. He is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Robin Hood Foundation, which funds New York City educational projects for disadvantaged children. He is a mayoral appointee to the Youth Board of the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development and a Board Member of the Math for America Foundation.
He earned his Masters of Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and BA in Economics from the same university.
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Board Member Jon Melzer has been a financial professional for over thirty years. Mr. Melzer served as interim President and Chief Operating Officer of The Company for a period of approximately six months in 2007 to help with the planned reorganization for future rapid growth. In this capacity, Mr. Melzer converting the Company from an LLC to a C Corporation, assisted in the recruiting and hiring of key associates and enhanced the Company's cash management and financial reporting procedures. He is currently the Vice Chairman and Senior Managing Director of Trenwith Group, LLC. Prior to joining Trenwith, he was co-head of Mergers and Acquisitions and Managing Director at Houlihan Lokey. Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey in 2001, Mr. Melzer was co-head of the middle market M&A group at First Boston, head of M&A at Rodman & Renshaw and head of the Consumer and Industrial Products Investment Banking Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers Securities. For over twenty years, Mr. Melzer provided M&A advice to companies in industries as diverse as consumer products, basic manufacturing, healthcare, automotive, leisure, chemicals, energy, financial, services and business services and has overseen the completion of over one hundred and fifty M&A transactions. Mr. Melzer holds a B.A. with distinction, from Stanford University and an M.B.A from New York University (Stern School).
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Advisory Board Member Jayni Chase is the founder of the Center for Environmental Education a respected environmentalist for over 20 years. Jayni created The Center in order to provide K-12 teachers and students with the resources and materials necessary to build strong environmental education in our nation's schools. The Center has grown into one of the strongest and most vital outreach programs for educators world-wide. Ms. Chase's, Blueprint for a Green School (Scholastic, 1995), is a compilation of over 7,500 sources of environmental information, resources and ideas for schools that want to 'Go Green.' Ms. Chase has served on numerous boards, including, Friends of the Earth, the Antioch New England Institute, Mothers & Others for a Livable Planet, Global Green USA, Californians Against Waste and The Coalition for Clean Air. She served a two-year term in 2002-2003 as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Friends of the Earth and in 2004 she was awarded an honorary degree in Environmental Studies from Antioch New England Graduate School for her work in the field of environmental education. Her extensive awards include the Celebrity Fight Night Humanitarian Award of 2005 which she shared with her husband, Chevy Chase. In 2004 and 2005 Jayni received the Audubon Women in Conservation Award and the Thorne Ecological Institutes Environmental Award respectively. Mrs. Chase will be very involved with future growth plans for the Company.
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Jonah Goodhart is a pioneer in the online marketing industry as well as an experienced entrepreneur. He has spent the last 10 years starting, running, and investing in internet companies. Jonah was the Co-CEO of the Smarter Ad Group, an advertising agency, as well as a Founder of Point Ventures Group and WGI Group, both early stage investment companies. Jonah was also the first investor and Board member in Right Media, the first and largest exchange marketplace for buyers and sellers of digital advertising. Jonah supports several charitable organizations including Echoing Green, Anthony Robbins Foundation, and DoSomething.org. Jonah holds a B.A. degree from Cornell University.
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Advisory Board Member Kerry Kennedy started working in the field of human rights in 1981 when she investigated abuses committed by U.S. immigration officials against refugees from El Salvador. Since then, her life has been devoted to the pursuit of justice, to the promotion and protection of basic rights, and to the preservation of the rule of law. She established the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights in 1988. She has led over 40 human rights delegations across the globe. Kennedy is the author of Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World. Speak Truth, a global education initiative, includes her book, the play, the photographic exhibition by Pulitzer Prize-winner Eddie Adams, the PBS documentary film, the education packet, five public service announcements, the award-winning website, and federal legislation which increased federal funding for the protection of defenders.
Ms. Kennedy is Chair of the Amnesty International USA Leadership Council and serves on the boards of directors of Human Rights First and Inter Press Service. Ms. Kennedy received high honors from President Lech Walesa of Poland for aiding the Solidarity movement. Ms. Kennedy has served in numerous political campaigns, and she is a member of the Massachusetts and District of Columbia bars. Her upcoming book, Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans talk about Change in the Church and the Quest for Meaning will be published by Crown Books/ Random House in September 2008. Kerry Kennedy is also the mother of three daughters, Cara, Mariah and Michaela.
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Advisory Board Member Stuart A. Sundlun has served as Managing Director of BMB Advisors Ltd, a company providing financial advisory services to the BMB Group SPC since 2007. Prior to BMB Advisors, Mr. Sundlun was a managing director of Global Emerging Markets, a New York City based investment fund that acquires and invests in both public and privately owned businesses. From 1998 to the present, Mr. Sundlun has been actively involved in structuring and negotiating equity investments in emerging growth companies including Digital River, Inc., Star Scientific, Inc and Intercontinental Fuels, LLC. From 2001 to the present, Mr. Sundlun has also been an advisor to Triago SA. In addition, he has structured a variety of private equity investments in Russia including South Oil Corporation, where he serves on the board, and Helios Petroleum Holdings, AG. Mr. Sundlun has also served on the Board and investment committee of the Dignity Fund LLC. From 1986 to 1994, Mr. Sundlun was a Managing Director of Grosvenor Equities, Inc. and participated in the raising of equity for a variety of private companies including early stage venture capital, growth stage and leveraged management buyouts. Early in his career, Mr. Sundlun was an associate in the Corporate Finance department of Lehman Brothers. Mr. Sundlun graduated cum laude from Harvard University (John F. Kennedy School of Government) with a B.A. and received his M.B.A. in finance from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.
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Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder Brad Reisner has over 15 years of technology experience, with a specialization in database technologies and is responsible for the architecture, development and infrastructure behind the charitybuzz platform. Mr. Reisner is also a co-founding partner of Igicom, a web development and applications firm. He has managed engagements for Time Warner, Bertelsmann, Tommy Hilfiger, Jones Apparel Group, AIG, DDB Worldwide, Advance Magazine Group (CNP), Nike, and others. Prior to his work with charitybuzz, Mr. Reisner was a Vice President for Electronic Commerce Technologies (CTO) for the Book-of-the-Month Club and Time Life Books, both divisions of Time Warner.
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Chief Design Officer and Co-Founder Serena Chew is responsible for the creative direction and design vision of charitybuzz. She leads the design team in branding and auction experiences for our non-profit organizations at live events and social media. Her dedication to the multitude of causes supported by charitybuzz, ranging from breast cancer awareness and cancer research to literacy projects and music education to preserving the environment helps Ms. Chew guide the company's vision and direction as a leader in cause marketing and philanthropy. With over 15 years experience in online media, Ms. Chew is a pioneer in user experience and application interface design. Ms. Chew is also co-founding partner of Igicom, a web development and applications firm and has led products and engagements for Time Inc., DoubleClick, Unilever, Bertelsmann, Goldman Sachs, Cablevision, Intuit, WNYC, People Magazine, Real Simple, Rodale Press, Berlitz, Fortune Live Media, NYSE, Conde Nast Publications, and Lifetime Television. Prior to founding Igicom, Ms. Chew was on the original design team at Time Warner's Pathfinder.com, and spearheaded design initiatives for Fortune Magazine, CNN Money, NY1, and Zagat Guide. Earlier in her career, Ms. Chew designed interfaces and product packages for software at Reuters.

