Benjamin Chen
Chairman & Chief Technology Officer
Benjamin Chen is a 20-year veteran of high tech startups. Prior to Mochila, Mr. Chen was a founder of AppGenesys, a leading managed services web hosting provider for Fortune 500 clients, partnered with Intel, Softbank, JP Morgan, where he was Chairman, CEO and CTO.
Previously, Mr. Chen was the CIO and CTO at iXL, a strategic e-business consulting firm. At iXL, he helped grow the company from 100 to 3,000 employees worldwide and from $2M to $120M revenue per quarter. During Mr. Chen's tenure, iXL was known for delivering innovative technology solutions to the F500, included a $50M contract with Delta Airlines and $100M contract with General Electric. Other key customers included AT&T, CheapTickets.com, FEDEX, Sony (AiBO Launch), Tickets.com, and WebMD. Mr. Chen was part of the executive management team that helped take iXL public in 1999.
Prior to iXL, Mr. Chen worked at CBS Studio Center, as a technologist working on some of the first convergence of prime time television content and the internet. Mr. Chen also produced the 1996 Emmy Awards Cybercast, demonstrating the world’s largest number of internet video streams that year. Mr. Chen has also served on the advisory/boards of Teralytics and Exodus/Digital Island, a Cable and Wireless Company. He received a B.S. in international finance from the University of Southern California and is an avid martial artist with a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do.
Jerry Colonna
Director
A writer, investor, and consultant, Jerry Colonna is a recognized expert in organizational development and entrepreneurialism.
In 2003, along with his partner Sarah Holloway, Mr. Colonna launched Hudson Heights Partners (www.hudsonheightspartners.com) HHP helps non-profit and other community-based organizations generate new revenue streams, exploring ways to become less dependent on foundation and corporate funding by setting up social enterprises or other creative, entrepreneurial revenue-generating models.
In 2002, Mr. Colonna became a partner with J.P. Morgan Partners (JPMP), the private-equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase. He joined JPMP from Flatiron Partners. With his partner, Fred Wilson, Mr. Colonna launched Flatiron in August 1996. Flatiron became one of the most successful, early stage investment programs. Colonna joined his first venture firm, CMG@Ventures L.P. ("@Ventures"), in February 1995 as a founding partner. Prior to joining @Ventures, he worked for ten years for CMP Media Inc. From 1985 to 1993, he served in a variety of roles at InformationWeek, including a three-year stint as its Editor.
Mr. Colonna currently serves on the boards of directors of PlanetOut Inc. (NASDAQ: LGBT), Gurunet Corp. (NASDAQ: ANSW) and Mochila, Inc. Mr. Colonna also serves as a director of a number of non-profit organizations including Pencil, NPowerNY Inc. (which he helped found in 2000), The Queens College Foundation, Exploring the Arts Inc., Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the Berkshires, and Shambhala Mountain Center.
A graduate of Queens College, Mr. Colonna lives in Port Washington, New York with his wife, Barbara Chang, and their three children: Sam, Emma, and Michael.
Danny Greenspun
Director
Daniel A. Greenspun is Chairman of Greenspun Media Group (GMG) and Vice Chairman of the Greenspun Corporation.
The Greenspun Media Group produces a number of newspapers and magazines including Vegas Magazine, Las Vegas Magazine, Showbiz Weekly, Las Vegas Life, Vegas Golfer, In Business Las Vegas, Las Vegas Weekly, the Henderson Home News, the Boulder City News, the Green Valley News, the South Valley News and the Ralston Report. GMG is the largest magazine publisher in the state. Greenspun is also the founder of Las Vegas’ premier travel company, Vegas.com. With the recent addition of LasVegas.com, the Greenspuns now control four of the strongest tourism brands in the world – Vegas Magazine, Las Vegas Magazine, Vegas.com and LasVegas.com.
Mr. Greenspun is also Vice President of the Las Vegas SUN, the daily newspaper owned by the Greenspun family. He sits on numerous family and corporate boards, most notably Las Vegas ONE, a 24-hour cable news channel, and KTUD, the UPN affiliate in Las Vegas.
With his wife, Robin, Mr. Greenspun owns the world renowned CineVegas Film Festival and is a partner in Stone Village Pictures, a television and film production company. Stone Village is Executive Producer of the NBC hit series Las Vegas.
Keith McAllister
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. McAllister is an award-winning media executive whose career accomplishments range from investigative journalism to overseeing the largest electronic newsgathering organization in the United States. Until late 2003, Mr. McAllister had spent almost 18 years at CNN. In his last role, he was CNN's executive vice president and managing editor of national newsgathering, a $100 million operating unit with 500 staff that provided news coverage, programming, and other content to CNN's many TV, radio, web, and wireless outlets. Mr. McAllister directed all news coverage, as well as nine bureaus, five beats (Political, Medical, Science, Travel, and Entertainment), and newsgathering relationships with CNN's 700 affiliated local stations and networks. In the period between CNN and Mochila, Mr. McAllister consulted clients on media and branding strategy, crisis management, and content development strategies.
During Mr. McAllister's tenure in charge of domestic newsgathering, CNN US's ratings improved and the network solidified its lead in total audience among news networks. CNN also enhanced its status as the industry's leader in breaking and quality news coverage as shown by the many awards won by Mr. McAllister's division and its various units. Those include the following: Emmy Award, National Headliner Award, Edward R. Murrow Award, Peabody Award, Overseas Press Club Award, and Royal Television Society Award.
Prior to becoming a senior executive, Mr. McAllister's other roles at CNN included vice president and New York bureau chief, New York managing editor, field producer, assignment editor, writer, and production assistant. Mr. McAllister received a B.A. from Amherst College and is married with three sons.
Leo Spiegel
Director
Mr. Spiegel is a Managing Director of Mission Ventures.
Prior to joining Mission Ventures, Mr. Spiegel was President of Digital Island, Inc., a leading provider of global e-business network and content delivery services. He joined Digital Island as a result of a merger with Sandpiper Networks, Inc., the world's first content delivery service provider for the Internet, where he was the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.
Prior to the Internet's phenomenal impact on business, Mr. Spiegel served as Senior Vice President and CTO of Donnelley Enterprise Solutions Incorporated, an information management firm specializing in systems integration, outsourcing and software development. He was the co-founder, EVP and CTO of LANSystems, a network utilities software developer and international systems integration firm which was sold to Intel Corporation and R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company.
Mr. Spiegel is a member of the Board of Directors for Akonix Systems, Greenplum, Proquo, Slacker, Rotohog, and Mochila. Mr. Spiegel is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego with a B.A. in Management Sciences. Mr. Spiegel is a member of the Dean's Advisory Council at the Rady School of Management at UCSD and Past President and current Board Member of the San Diego Jewish Academy.
Austin Westerling
Director
Austin joined Charles River Ventures in early 2000 and focuses on making investments in consumer and enterprise software & services. He is currently a Director of Secure Software, EnterpriseDB, Aveksa and Trusted Network Technologies. Prior to joining CRV, Austin advised a variety of technology companies on strategic, operational and financial issues at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Austin also has experience with Analysis Group Economics/Integral, Inc. and the New England Consulting Group. Austin holds a double BA with distinction in Psychology and Economics from Yale University.
