Management
David Karandish (co-founder)
Chief Executive Officer
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.
Rich Dredge
Chief Revenue Officer
Rich oversees Announce Media's revenue strategy, sales, partnerships, and analytics. Rich joined Announce Media in early 2007 and served as COO until 2011. Prior to joining Announce, he served as Chief Architect for Intercontinental Hotels Group's $6 billion global sales channels, managing technology and operations for IHG's e-commerce, call centers, and B2B platforms. Rich served on industry boards Open Travel Alliance and Hotel Technology Next Generation, and served on the Akamai Technologies advisory board. Prior to joining IHG in 2000, Rich launched numerous Internet-based companies including an enterprise hosting firm, and has been deeply involved in Internet commerce since 1995.
Chris Sims (co-founder)
Chief Marketing Officer
Chris co-founded Announce Media in 2006 and serves as Chief Marketing Officer, overseeing traffic acquisition strategy and management. Prior to joining Announce, he was the CIO of Expo Group, an online resource in the consumer mortgage industry. He was the first full-time employee at MonsterCommerce (acquired by Network Solutions in 2006), where he served in sales and software development roles. Chris earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis, graduating Cum Laude.
Jim Yang
Vice President, Product Management
Jim joined Announce Media in early 2009 and serves as Vice President of Product Management, responsible for product strategy and management, user experience, and site monetization. Jim has over 12 years of product leadership and management experience in the consumer web and software industries. Prior to joining Announce, he led product management for Shopping.com (acquired by eBay) and Linden Lab (creators of Second Life), and he has also held senior product leadership roles at Yahoo! and Netscape. Jim earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees with honors in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from UC Berkeley and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Jon Pomranz
Chief Financial Officer
Jon joined Announce Media in 2007 and serves as CFO, responsible for all financial functions of the company including accounting, financial planning and analysis, and legal. He has extensive experience in finance, operations, and M&A, including 13 years with The May Department Stores Company. He also served as VP of Business Development for United Industries, a $500M consumer products company. Jon earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Business Administration from Bradley.
Jinlin Wang, Ph.D.
CTO & VP of Engineering
Jinlin joined Announce Media in early 2011 and serves as CTO & VP of Engineering, responsible for technology direction, implementation and deployment, and operational management to assure the successful execution of the company’s business mission. Jinlin has over 13 years of engineering management experience in building both consumer internet monetization engines and enterprise applications, and has held senior leadership roles at Microsoft, Yahoo, Oracle, and PeopleSoft. Jinlin earned his Ph.D. In Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut, and his bachelor and master degrees from Tsinghua University, Beijing.