Board of Directors

  • Claudio Pinkus

    Claudio Pinkus is an investor and consultant to the Internet industry, assisting companies such as Univision Communications, TransCosmos, Inc. and Ask Jeeves. Until June, 2004, Claudio was Chief Strategy Officer for Ask Jeeves, Inc. where he was responsible for planning and executing the acquisition of Interactive Search Holdings, which doubled the company's market share in Search, and doubled the market capitalization.

    From December, 2000 to June, 2002 Claudio served as president of Ask Jeeves Business Solutions, the enterprise software division of Ask Jeeves, Inc. During this period, the division introduced a new software product, Jeeves One, increased gross margins, and more than doubled the average selling price.

    From June, 1999 to December, 2000, Claudio was Chief Operating Officer of Ask Jeeves International, where he was responsible for establishing several joint ventures in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

    From 1996 to 1999, Claudio was Chief Executive Officer of Bowne Global Solutions, Inc., the world's largest provider of globalization consulting services. Under his leadership, the company grew its revenues four fold and laid the foundation for further consolidation through operational excellence.

    From 1985 to 1996, Claudio was founder and CEO of IDOC, Inc., the market leader in the provision of globalization services to the software industry. Mr. Pinkus attended UCLA, where he studied chemistry and computer sciences.


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  • George S. Lichter

    An accomplished veteran of the Internet, software and entertainment industries, Mr. Lichter previously served concurrently both as President of Ask Jeeves International and as the Chief Executive Officer of Ask Jeeves UK and Ireland, where he was a member of the senior management team that led Ask Jeeves from start-up through IPO and beyond.

    During Mr. Lichter's tenure, Ask Jeeves UK grew to become the #5 web site in Great Britain and Ask Jeeves International became the first division within the company to achieve sustained profitability. After Ask Jeeves, Mr. Lichter co-founded and served as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Whole Body /Yoga Works, a national family of Yoga and alternative health and fitness centers.

    Mr. Lichter continues to serve there as a Board Member and is actively involved in guiding Yoga Works' strategic direction, expansion and financing. Before Ask Jeeves, Mr. Lichter was the Senior Vice President of New Business Development at Vivendi Interactive/Havas Interactive, which, prior to its acquisition by Vivendi, was Cendant Software and included game developers Blizzard Entertainment, Sierra On-Line, as well as several leading educational software companies. Mr. Lichter was promoted into that role following the successful sale of Knowledge Adventure to Cendant.

    At Knowledge Adventure Mr. Lichter was VP of Business Development and part of the senior team that led the company's dramatic turnaround and made their JumpStart Learning software series into the #1 educational software brand in units & dollars.

    Prior to that, Mr. Lichter was an entertainment attorney in the Beverly Hills law firm of Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman. Mr. Lichter graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree from UCLA and received a JD from the Stanford Law School.


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  • John LaValle

    John has over 20 years of experience with high-growth technology companies during which time he has helped raise more than $700 million in funding through venture capitalists, bank and lease financing, and public offerings. He has completed three successful IPOs and one of the largest secondary offerings ever done by any Internet company.

    Prior to TelASIC, John was CFO of Lightcross, Inc. a manufacturer of integrated, silicon-based optical products for telecommunications equipment. Prior to that, he was CFO and Executive Vice President of Operations of Stamps.com (IPO in 1999), CFO of Comcore Semiconductor, a high-performance DSP company (acquired by National Semiconductor in 1998), and CFO of Trikon Technologies (IPO in 1995), a chemical vapor deposition and plasma etch semiconductor equipment manufacturer.

    John also served as CFO of Superconductor Technologies (IPO in 1992), a manufacturer of high temperature thin film superconductors used in cellular base station applications, and as CFO of PS Medical, a manufacturer of implantable neurosurgery products.

    Early in his career, he held senior financial analyst positions with Chevron Corporation and Andersen Consulting. John received his undergraduate degree with Summa Cum Laude honors from Boston College, and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School where he was awarded multiple Fellowships.


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