Mary is a serial entrepreneur with more than 20 years of success, who is known for creating and capitalizing on business opportunities while fostering growth for the community and philanthropy. To name a few, she co-founded: Pinnacle Performance Group, established in 1992 to deliver organizational development and educational multi-media services to corporations, public agencies and non-profits; Civil War History Consortium, now 63 institutional members strong, with public events that generate revenue to Philadelphia’s $4 billion heritage tourism industry; and one of the nation’s premier celebrations, the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Festival, which helped draw more than 1 million visitors to Philadelphia over a weekend in 2009.
Mary co-founded cWyze in 2010 after identifying a compelling opportunity in interactive online and mobile video as a solution for educators, trainers and marketers. As a successful leader with a specialty in creating and executing fast-growth endeavors that demand highly-skilled, creative and technical teams, Mary’s expertise includes creating, producing and distributing video and content in the online media, news, documentary and educational fields.
Mary combines her passion for continuous learning with a relentless commitment to delivering game-changing opportunities for clients. She was inspired to build the cWyze platform after creating and executive producing Now Debate This in 2008-2009, a national online, video-based competition that awarded $250,000 in scholarships to young people now attending Harvard, UPenn, Georgetown, Holy Cross, and UCBerkeley, among other universities. With that success, she created a SaaS software platform to deliver the power of interactive new media to educators and marketers in business, government and non-profit.
Before cWyze, she served as co-founder of Pinnacle Performance Group. Her work in new media—interactive video, internet, social media and virtual teams—as well as traditional methods such as television, radio and print, have been the drivers of success with projects at Fortune 500 companies such as Blue Cross, Black and Veatch Corporation and PSEG, as well as agencies such as NASA, US Space Warfare Command, Naval Air Systems Command and Maritime Services Command. Mary is a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving as a broadcast journalist for the American Forces Network and as a civilian public affairs executive in Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm (1990-1991). She earned her BA from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
Pam brings more than 23 years of success in the financial services industry, with specialized expertise in managing and advising Equity Funds. Pam joined TL Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm with $1.5 billion under management, in 1997. During her tenure, she assisted TL in raising more than $1.1 billion of capital and oversaw the investment of more than $1.3 billion in early-stage companies, distributing greater than $1.5 billion to TL’s partners. She is a confidant and trusted resource for all accounting, finance and administration with TL’s portfolio companies and has represented TL on portfolio company boards.
While at TL she also served for eight years as the CFO of EnerTech Capital Partners, a venture fund focused on energy-related businesses. In the late 90s, she provided accounting, financial and strategic support to several fledging funds and companies, including Safeguard International Fund, Eastern Technology Council and Internet Capital Group, Inc.
Before joining TL, Pam was the Controller/Acting Chief Financial Officer for the clearing and depository subsidiaries of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Previously, she worked at MBNA America as a Finance Officer in its newly formed external-reporting department after the Maryland National Bank’s credit card division began publicly trading. Pam began her career at BancOne Corporation where she assisted in the evaluation and eventual consolidation of several acquired banks into the BancOne family.
Fred has made a career of transforming technology operations, improving business performance and facilitating revenue growth by architecting and implementing IT systems and infrastructure. He has a successful track record of developing technology organizations, providing the technical strategy and building new product and service offerings while lowering costs. He is a decisive, experienced leader who builds organizations, implements processes and deploys technology in high growth, fast-paced environments.
Prior to joining cWyze, Fred was the Vice President of Applications at PHH Mortgage, where for over 9 years he built the technology organization and implemented the systems that enabled PHH to offer new consumer lending outsourcing services and technology to fortune 500 companies. This led to an increase of annual originations from $8B to over $80B. After PHH, Fred was the Chief Information Officer at Wilmington Finance, Inc., a division of American General Finance, where he led the development of the technology and systems to support business growth while increasing the performance and uptime of the their core platform. Most recently, Fred was an Executive Consultant to TD Bank, where he was responsible for leading the successful technology integration of 3 financial institutions onto the TD Bank platform.
Over the course of Fred’s career, he has been drawn to companies that were in the early stages of their technical development. In this setting he has thrived on the opportunity to mature the organizations, turn their systems and infrastructure into strategic operations, and deliver mission-critical applications that had a direct result on the company’s bottom line.
Fred earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Glassboro State College.
Deborah brings more than 20 years of success in the C-Suites of some of the most influential brands in the world, including the Pew Charitable Trusts, Oprah Winfrey, Harpo Productions and MTV Networks, as well as the political sphere of Capitol Hill in Washington DC.
Before joining cWyze, Deborah served for nine years as Managing Director of Communications for the $5 billion Pew Charitable Trusts, where she led the internal and external branding and marketing of one of the world’s most prominent global philanthropies. Her leadership during the transition of Pew from a private foundation to a public charity enabled the organization to successfully communicate its 21stCentury mission to serve greater audiences than ever before. After the conversion, Pew’s assets increased from $4 to $5 billion.
Deborah’s experience in the corporate sector is founded in the entertainment industry, where she served as Senior Vice President and chief spokesperson for MTV Networks. Her success there led to five years as Director of Media and Corporate Relations for Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Productions, including responsibility for Ms. Winfrey’s personal media relations. Her achievements in branding, public positioning and abilities to capitalize on market opportunities, helped drive market share in the multi-billion dollar organizations.
Deborah was President of the Media Strategies Division at New York-based Westhill Partners, where she led client engagements of Fortune 500 companies such as HBO and Columbia Tri-Star, and national non-profits such as St. Jude’s Hospital. She also headed marketing for the entire agency.
Public service is a hallmark of Deborah’s professional achievements. As Senior Advisor and Press Secretary for U.S. Representative Richard A. Gephardt, Deborah managed media and public communications strategies on many national and international issues during the Congressman’s tenure as House Majority Leader, and throughout his Presidential campaign.
Deborah’s community service includes Board Director and Chair of the Development and Communications Committee for the Monell Chemical Senses Center, where ground-breaking multidisciplinary research on taste, smell and chemosensory irritation has a direct impact on health and disease and increases fundamental knowledge about chemical senses.
Laura comes to cWyze with a demonstrated track record for finding the right software product fit for any client, and ensuring that the customer experience is a positive one. Laura's five years with Kaplan's higher education programs and professional training, together with a successful tenure at GlobalSubmit in B2B software sales and implementation, gives her the perfect background and expertise for cWyze. As a Communications graduate from the University of Pittsburgh, her client needs-based approach has successfully fulfilled hundreds of major software acquisitions with comprehensive customer service and feedback channels for product development. Laura also serves as the Treasurer for the Elfreth's Alley Association and as a member of the Philadelphia Tour Guide Association, so when she's not serving cWyze clients, you may find her giving school group tours in Historic Philadelphia.
Before Rick became a cWyze Angel investor, he and his team at SemperCon developed and engineered the core technology. Along the way, Rick saw the company's value and market potential, and enthusiastically joined the team. Rick knows a great product when he sees one: he and his team have built and launched more than 50 successful web and mobile internet applications. One of Rick's key assets to cWyze is years of experience in working with technology start-ups, including capitalization, product development and market launch. Before he founded SemperCon, where he currently serves as President, Rick was Vice President of Product Marketing at iBiquity Digital Corp; founder/president/CEO of Airput, Inc., Vice President of Sales and Business Development at PCvoice, Inc., and IBM Account Manager for OKI Semiconductor, where he grew his business line from $100,000 to $100 million in sales.A veteran of digital products in both the domestic and international marketplaces, Rick earned his Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He earned his official title of Veteran from the U.S. Marine Corps. Semper fi.
Joanna brings cWyze years of marketing experience in advertising, corporate and client communications, public relations and sales. Her background includes online advertising, social media marketing and email campaigns for consumer products and services, as well as manufacturing and healthcare. Her creative ability has delivered success in matching brands with consumers to drive sales and online conversions, as well as lifting brand awareness through website design, newsletters, press releases and product copy. Joanna earned her BA from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.
Currently President of SRNutritionals, Jodie's professional background offers the right blend of experience, skills and achievements to cWyze. After a six-year tenure as President of SPI Polyols, Inc., a manufacturer of specialty food and pharmaceutical ingredients, where she turned a $4 million EBIT deficit into an annual profit of $8 million EBIT on over $100 million in revenues before leading its successful sale, Jodie turned one of her favorite pastimes, wine appreciation, into a thriving retail business in New York City. She is a highly accomplished business leader who, for three years, ran a think tank of CEOs of more than 20 companies with annual revenues ranging from $3 million to $300 million. She comes to cWyze with a depth of knowledge as an entrepreneur, C-level coach and business consultant, and seasoned chief executive with experience in raising capital; proprietary product development, launch and marketing to major brands; global marketing and operations (EU, Asia and South America); and mergers and acquisitions. She is a Director of Pinova, Inc., a specialty chemical company owned by the private equity fund, Torquest Partners. Jodie earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Delaware and her MBA from West Chester University.
Now the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Albemarle Corporation, with $2 billion in revenues and 4,000 employees worldwide, Karen brings a unique mix of executive leadership in large corporations combined with successes in emerging enterprises, including start-ups. Her achievements in public companies with revenues of over $1 billion, will enable cWyze to build the structure and governance to position the company effectively with national and international financial and strategic partners. Karen is a seasoned financial pro with achievements in developing capital structures, including capital raises (debt and equity) in excess of $2 billion.While serving as General Counsel and primary SEC interface for Symmetry Holdings, Inc., Karen led a capital raise of $150 million through an initial public offering. As Vice President, General Counsel, Human Resources and Secretary at GrafTech International Ltd., Karen's leadership was a key contribution that successfully turned around a highly-leveraged, publicly traded, global, industrial company, with sales exceeding $1 billion and major manufacturing facilities on 4 continents. Karen earned her BA in Political Science from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, and her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford.
Adam brings exceptional experience in successfully building e-commerce and new media companies. He sits on several boards and is an active advisor to founders and other entrepreneurs.
Adam served as the first President and CFO of Shutterstock.com, the largest subscription-based image library in the world, from December 2005 to September 2010. The company has customers in nearly every country and over 15 million images in its library.
Prior to Shutterstock, Adam was a professional proprietary derivatives trader for nine years. Prior to trading, Adam did econometric research at the NERA division of Marsh & McLennan. He graduated from Reed College in 1995.
Maureen has been a key advisor to cWyze since its earliest stages. In addition to her support as an Angel investor, Maureen brings a wealth of executive leadership experience, including 23 years in Silicon Valley.
Maureen is CEO of Strategic Forge, a financial and enterprise risk management consulting practice based in the Philadelphia region. Past positions include: Chief Financial Officer of Towers Perrin; Vice President and General Auditor of CIGNA Corporation; Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Inovant, LLC, which was created by VISA to develop and operate payment and transactions systems globally; Audit Partner, Arthur Andersen; Transamerica Corporation positions in San Francisco, including Vice President and General Auditor; Vice President of Control and Services; and President of Transamerica Business Technologies Corp.
Maureen currently serves as a Director for Cognizant Business Solutions and Technologies and theFederal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, and has served as a Director of ING Direct. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Stetson University, a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School and a Master of Liberal Arts degree from Stanford University.
Maureen's talents go far beyond the Board room. She has earned a certification from the Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris. She is a noted wildlife photographer, and has completed expeditions to Alaska to shoot grizzly bears, and to Antarctica, where her camera captured penguins at birth and killer whales at play.
Suzanne joins cWyze as the expert for finding and recruiting superstar talent, and developing an organization built for success. With more than 20 successful years delivering hundreds of top performers in information technology, finance and business development for Fortune 500 companies and fast-growth entrepreneurial companies, Suzanne's award-winning background as Founder and President of ProSearch brings cWyze a competitive edge. An industry veteran who has been interviewed on CBS and CNN as well as in numerous newspapers, magazines and journals, Suzanne is a national leader in the executive recruiting industry. Having cut her chops at IBM, Tandem and Sun Oil before founding ProSearch in 1988, Suzanne has earned leadership roles and keynote speaking engagements, including North American Regional Director of IRC Global Executive Search Partners, Society of Information Management (SIM), Board Director, International Association of Corporate and Professional Recruitment, CIO Advisory Board member, NPower, and others. Named one of Pennsylvania's Best 50 Women in Business, Suzanne and ProSearch have been consistently listed in the Philadelphia Business Journal's Top 20 Recruiting Firms for 20 years. While her passion and profession is hunting talent, she also loves opera, and serves as a Director of the Board of the Opera Company of Philadelphia.
Steve, who serves as Partner, Business and Finance Practice at Morgan Lewis Bockius, is an early and enthusiastic supporter of cWyze. Now he's our attorney as well as our mentor. Steve's practice, focused on corporate finance and acquisitions, is dedicated to fostering emerging growth companies through direct work with clients and active involvement in the emerging growth community. As strategic counsel to startups in the technology and life sciences sectors, Mr. Goodman identifies companies with potential and then takes them from conception through product development, growth and beyond. Some of the companies he has nurtured include CDnow, VerticalNet, ICG Commerce, AirClic, ExcelleRx, and AANet.com.
Consistently recognized by Chambers USA, an annual independent ranking of top lawyers, as an influential authority for his work with emerging growth companies, Mr. Goodman is co-chair of the firm's Global Emerging Technology and Life Sciences Practice. He also is founder of the firm's "Connect at Morgan Lewis" program, which brings together investors and entrepreneurs and guides clients through the process of refining their investor presentations through individual coaching sessions. Mr. Goodman is the longest-tenured member of the advisory board for the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Entrepreneurship Program. He also teaches "Legal Aspects of Entrepreneurship" at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Law.