Board of Directors
David Karandish (co-founder)
David co-founded Announce Media in 2006 and has served as CEO since its inception. David is responsible for setting corporate strategy and driving revenue partnerships. Prior to joining Announce, David was the CEO of Expo Group, an online resource in the consumer mortgage industry. He has also served as a consultant at MonsterCommerce, where he built their paid advertising management system. David is a member of the Lewis & Clark chapter of the Young President’s Organization. David earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis, graduating Cum Laude.
Rob Goldman
Rob Goldman is a serial Internet entrepreneur and e-commerce pioneer. He has helped start and grow several companies over the course of his 17 year career, most notably Shopping.com. He served in various executive roles at Shopping.com from its early days through its IPO and subsequent acquisition by eBay. From 2005 to 2007, Rob was the General Manager of all U.S. business divisions. Rob is currently the founder and CEO of Threadsy, a startup that is pioneering the integration of email with the social web. Rob also currently serves on the boards of Teracent, ThisNext and Geodelic. Rob earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Bill Harris
Bill Harris is an accomplished leader in the technology industry with an extensive track record of building category-defining global businesses. He is the former CEO of Intuit, the makers of Quicken, QuickBooks, and TurboTax, and former CEO of PayPal, the global leader in online payment products. He is currently a board member of multiple private companies, and formerly a board member of Business.com, Visual Sciences, NexTag, LowerMyBills, RSA Security, and Macromedia. Bill earned a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Tom Hillman
Tom Hillman is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of FTL Capital Partners LLC, a merchant bank and strategic management consulting firm. He has invested in and helped build a variety of private business enterprises. He served on the Board of Directors of Hoover’s Inc., which sold to Dun and Bradstreet in 2003, and currently serves on the advisory board of HealthPoint Capital LP. Tom also serves on the Board of Innovate St Louis and the Barnes Jewish Hospital Foundation Board. Tom is a member of the Young President Organization and is a past Chairman of the St Louis Chapter. Tom earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis.
Jim McCarthy
Jim McCarthy has extensive senior operating experience with high growth Internet companies. Jim is currently the Director of Optimization Analytics within Yahoo!’s display ad network. He has worked both domestically and internationally in product management, marketing, business development, analytics, sales, and sales operations for Yahoo!, NexTag, and BlueLithium. He also has telecom experience at McKinsey & Co. and AT&T. Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Iowa, was a Fulbright Scholar in Germany, and holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Summit Partners
Summit Partners provides private equity and venture capital for rapidly growing companies with outstanding management teams. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $11 billion in capital and has provided equity, recapitalization, and management buyout financing to more than 300 companies across a range of industries and geographies. These companies have completed nearly 125 public offerings and more than 115 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Notable investments include McAfee, Hyperion Solutions, E-Tek Dynamics, optionsXpress, Jamba!, Postini, and Vente-Privee.com.