Post by Mike on Mar 17, 2019 17:03:44 GMT -5
Rory J. Cutaia Founder, Chairman & CEORory began his career as an attorney at a major NYC law firm, representing world renowned entrepreneurs. Since then, Rory changed the landscape of the telecom industry through a tech company start-up called Telx, which became the internationally recognized leader in the data center sector and the de facto standard, even today, by which the world’s telecom carriers interconnect to one another. Following the highly lucrative sale of Telx for more than $200M, Rory became a partner and ‘Entreprenuer-in-Residence’ in a NYC based private equity fund. Now, as Founder & CEO of Hollywood-based, digital tech company nFüsz, Inc., Rory and his team have re-invented what a customer relationship management (CRM), lead-gen tool should be in today’s video-centric business and social environment. Their proprietary, next generation interactive video technology is the core of their cloud-based, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products. Their flagship product, notifiCRM, places interactive video front and center in all customer and prospect communications, automating the sales process. They offer subscription-based CRM, sales lead generation, and social engagement software on mobile and desktop platforms for sales-based organizations, consumer brands, and artists seeking greater levels of engagement and higher conversion rates. Their platform can accommodate any size campaign or sales organization, and is enterprise-class scalable to meet the needs of today’s global organizations. Rory is also actively involved in many charitable endeavors. He founded the US Chapter of Innocence in Danger, a global organization dedicated to the protection and rehabilitation of children who have been victims of trafficking. He is also a former member of the Board of Trustees of The New York Institute of Technology and a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Shakespeare Center.
Here's a very interesting audio interview by “CEO Money.” After Telx, Rory partnered with a private equity fund to use his expertise to create businesses by matching business models with management teams. Audio
Insights Success
Jeff Clayborne Chief Financial Officer
Jeff Clayborne is Chief Financial Officer at nFüsz. Mr. Clayborne is an experienced finance professional with a proven record of driving growth and profit for both Fortune 100 as well as start-up companies. He brings with him more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of strategy, finance, business development, negotiation, and accounting. Mr. Clayborne earned his MBA from the University of Southern California, with high honors and began his career as a CPA at McGladrey & Pullen, then KPMG Peat Marwick. He then moved on to senior finance positions at The Walt Disney Company, including Senior Finance Manager at Walt Disney International, where he oversaw financial planning and analysis for the organization in 37 countries. Thereafter, Mr. Clayborne accepted a position at Universal Music Group where he was Vice President, Head of Finance & Business Development for Fontana, where he managed the financial planning and analysis of the sales and marketing division and led the business development department.
VERB Appoints Kym Nelson as Chief Content Officer
A digital advertising and sales executive recognized as a subject matter expert on gaming, live streaming media, eSports and branded content, Ms. Nelson joins VERB after highly successful stints at Twitch, Maxim Magazine, Interplay Games and Fox Interactive, among others. As Vice President of West Coast Sales for Fox Interactive, IGN Entertainment and Myspace, she championed and gained approval to create Fox Interactive Media’s first vertical sales team to represent both IGN Entertainment and Myspace. Her vision paid off, achieving annual sales of $35 million and tripling Myspace gaming industry revenue from $3 million to $10 million.
In 2013, Ms. Nelson was recruited as Senior Vice President, West Coast Sales at Twitch, at the time an early-stage pre-IPO company. Kym played a critical role in positioning the company—which has become the world’s leading live streaming video platform and community for gamers with up to three million broadcasters and 100 million monthly viewers—for acquisition by Amazon. At Twitch, she built and inspired a world-class team of 20, built the sales story and methodology, and was instrumental in driving revenue growth from $2 million to $40 million.
Mr. Bledsoe joins VERB with decades of leadership under his belt, including nearly 20 years of strategic IT senior leadership experience across the high tech, financial services, advertising and retail industries. He has served as vice president at ALLDATA, Assurant, iHeartMedia and First American Corporation, leading multiple domestic and international teams through successful large-scale product development efforts, legacy modernizations, corporate applications, and the buildout and maintenance of IT infrastructure. more
Jeff Highan - VP of Engineering
Denise Butler General ManagerDenise Butler has over 12 years of experience as a business owner, manager, and consultant. After graduating from the University of Montana with degrees in chemistry and nursing, she went on to work in the healthcare field as a nurse and a hospital business consultant for patient/outpatient programs at Stanford Children’s Hospital. Simultaneously, Denise founded, grew, and operated her own businesses, coordinated events for large non-profit organizations, and managed social media and successful marketing campaigns for several music artists and corporations. She founded Hip Hop Run in 2016, an organization that brings together artists, nonprofits, and fitness lovers alike in fundraising marathons set to hip-hop music. Denise singlehandedly recruited sponsors, vendors, artists, and coordinated all marketing efforts for a national tour of Hip Hop Run, which was met with monumental success in its first year—participation of over 15,000 runners in 7 cities across the US. She brings her entrepreneurial spirit, creative vision, and knowledge of every aspect of the sales and business development process to nFusz.
Dennis McMurray VP Business Development
Dennis McMurray has over 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur, investment advisor, and finance expert. Before joining nFüsz, he served as the Founder and Senior Vice President of Investments for Bridge Wealth Management Group, a comprehensive financial services firm that helps individuals, foundations, and corporations improve their financial health. Simultaneously, he co-founded the mobile application 2Truths and a Lie, and was instrumental to its success by creating marketing initiatives, fielding brand awareness, and initiating gamification optimizations for the platform.
A Southern California native, Dennis earned his B.A. at Long Beach State University, and then attended graduate school at the University of Southern California. He began his career as a Wealth Manager at Merrill Lynch and AG Edwards & Sons. Dennis brings his strategic and innovative entrepreneurial and financial experience to nFüsz as the VP of Business Development.
Mitch Allen Production Lead
Mitch Allen is a seasoned video and television producer with over 12 years of experience creating, packaging and selling content. He launched his career after interning at CBS Sports, when he began directing and producing for boxing promoter Dan Goossen at Goossen Tutor Promotions and Showtime Sports. He was later instrumental in the development of Libertarian Ron Paul’s online news network, “The Ron Paul Channel.” He worked with a small team to develop, produce, package, and sell political firebrand and former governor of Minnesota, Jesse “the Body” Ventura’s online news series, “Jesse Ventura, Off the Grid,” which was acquired by national broadcast network RT America. He has served as an entertainment staff writer for the largest online newspaper, The Daily Mail. He has created original content for Disney’s online digital department, Amazon’s streaming service, and ABC News Network, including the country’s number one morning show, Good Morning America
Gina Maura Executive Assistant to the CEO
Gina has 20 years of administrative experience with a broad knowledge of various industries, including finance, advertising, and public relations. She started her career working as an executive assistant in the financial services industry. She worked for such companies as Bear Stearns, Drexel Burnham Lambert, and PaineWebber. In 1991 Gina secured a Series 7 & 63 license in order to effectively support her team of financial advisers in trading and client relations. In 1996 Gina was hired by Initiative, one of the world’s largest media, communications companies., as the executive assistant to the SVP, Director of Communications.
David Butler Creative Lead
As a professionally trained performer in stage/film/television acting, a hip-hop competition and battle dancer, and talent scout, David Butler has over 20 years of experience working in the entertainment industry. Prior to starting his own company, David traveled with ‘The Panther’, Prairie View A&M University’s student publication, and reported for various partnering outlets as Editor of many sections of the paper.
King David is his known alias (as it the stage name he is known for in major television productions like ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, ‘America’s Best Dance Crew’ and BET’s ‘106 and Park’) where he created his production company King David Creations.
David’s tenure in the media and entertainment business propelled his network to new heights, and as an asset to many production companies, his versatility in many skill sets has allowed him to create a large catalog of film, design, photography content and multiple awards alongside Shawn Welling (Welling Films) at yearly Worldfest Film Festivals.
Most recently, David was a keynote speaker at Festival on the Hill, a student film festival, and he now creates content for nFüsz, Inc., a Hollywood-based tech company, as the Creative Lead.
Alan Anderson Technical Sales Coordinator
Before relocating to L.A. to come work for nFusz, Alan earned his B.A. with honors from Montana State University. He cumulatively has over 4 years of experience working in sales and management across several different industries. Weighing his options when settling into a career, Alan’s entrepreneurial mindset got the better of him, driving him to become a part of the nFusz Team.
Gary Lu Controller and VP of Finance
Consummate Executive Leader with "Big 4" public accounting, Fortune 500, and private industry experience ranging from controllership, FP&A, treasury, FinOps, business process re-engineering and global SOX & IT audits. Proven track record of driving meaningful results through strategic planning, operational execution, and personnel management with over 15 years of progressive experience. Extremely passionate about achieving excellence and a continuous focus on process improvements to drive value across the business. more
Tal Golan - Advisory BoardOver the course of his more than 25-year career, Mr. Golan has developed a reputation as a respected executive, entrepreneur, technology visionary, patent holder, author, speaker, and lecturer.
As a founder, entrepreneur, investor, and technology inventor, I’ve grown businesses from the ground up. As a C-level executive, I’ve reinvigorated stalled organizations to achieve new levels of value and sustainable growth. With my experience in a wide variety of essential areas, including software design & engineering, cloud computing, product management, mobility, messaging, cryptology, and large-scale data storage and security, I’m uniquely positioned to bridge the communication gap that often exists between business and IT organizations in order to build high-performance teams that deliver exceptional bottom-line results. VERB ADDS FORMER SALESFORCE EXECUTIVE TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM
Jim DuBois Advisory Board
Jim DuBois served as Chief Information Officer at Microsoft from May 2013 through September 2017, where he was responsible for building, securing, and running Microsoft’s internal systems. During his 25-year tenure at Microsoft, Mr. DuBois also led Microsoft’s application, infrastructure, and security teams. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed book about the lessons he learned during Microsoft's transformation under CEO Satya Nadella: Six Word Lessons to Think Like a Modern-Day CIO. Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. DuBois held senior executive positions at Accenture. Mr. DuBois has degrees in Computer Science and Business from the University of Washington.
Lewis Jaffe Advisory Board
Lewis Jaffe has created over $1 billion in shareholder value during his roles as both a CEO and a board member at numerous public companies where he conceived and executed successful growth strategies. His notable roles and accomplishments include: CEO, PictureTel (PCTL), a NASDAQ-listed video-conferencing company; CEO, Oxford Media (OXMI), where Mr. Jaffe’s growth initiatives resulted in Oxford Media becoming the second largest video on-demand provider; Founder, MovieMe, the world’s first ultra-fast download service for Hollywood video content; President, Verso Technologies (VRSO); Former Lead Independent Director of Benihana (BNHN), where he led the take-private transaction; Inventor, with robust tech-related patent portfolio (mainly in telecom and content delivery) a.k.a. "The Godfather" of Videoconferencing; Clinical Professor and Entrepreneur in Residence, Loyola Marymount University, undergrad and MBA - (Professor of the Year 2016); Creator of The ONE DAY MBA®; and Managing Director at Arthur Andersen. Mr. Jaffe attended University of Pennsylvania, earned a BS degree from La Salle University, and attended Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Mory Watkins Advisory Board
Mory Watkins is a senior strategic financial executive and CFO with extensive successful experience in SaaS, high-growth, private equity-backed and venture-backed companies, as well as in the development and execution of successful roll-up strategies. His background also includes extensive M&A and corporate development work at four public companies, including new investment and portfolio company work at a private equity fund. Mr. Watkins is a graduate of Washington and Lee University, as well as Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, where he earned an MBA in finance and accounting.
Erik Nielsen Advisory Board
Erik Nielsen has more than 20 years of senior executive level strategic planning, marketing, and advertising experience. At the intersection of marketing and technology, Erik's agency career included roles with Fortune 500 companies Microsoft, Verizon, P&G, Nike, MasterCard, MSN, The Oprah Winfrey Network, XBOX, Yahoo, and eBay. He is currently Senior Director at Southwest Airlines, overseeing Marketing Strategy. Passionate about product development, Mr. Nielsen is a globally recognized game designer ("Game of the Year" nominee for LINQ™, Cannes France, 2010), and co-founder of the popular dating app, 2Truths and a Lie™. He was previously Executive Director at Trailer Park, the largest entertainment marketer in the U.S., Director of Brand Strategy at Young & Rubicam, NY, and Co-Founder of McNulty Nielsen, Inc., a Los Angeles-based production facility. Mr. Nielsen is a lifelong tech enthusiast, having started his career at Accenture as a software developer.
"I've been involved in leading-edge technology all of my professional career," stated Erik Nielsen. "It's not the technology itself that determines success and leadership status. It's how the technology is deployed. And that's what compelled me to become part of the nFusz team. They had the foresight to take a novel technology and deploy it in a way that will have a meaningful impact on numerous industries for years to come. I'm excited to be part of this forward-thinking team."
Chuckie Reddy Advisory Board
Chuckie Reddy is a senior finance professional with over 18 years of experience in capital markets, M&A, and corporate development. He is currently Managing Director at a Top 20 Fortune 500 global investment bank where he has been for the past 15 years. Mr. Reddy is also an active venture investor and is currently invested in over 15 unique private companies (seed through late-stage) across many sectors. Mr. Reddy has a B.A. in Economics with a concentration in Finance from the University of Virginia.
"Rory's growth strategy for nFusz includes an emphasis on complimentary, accretive acquisitions," stated Mr. Reddy. "I'm very excited to work with him and the other professionals on team nFusz to identify, analyze, and structure those opportunities likely to create the greatest shareholder value. It's an exciting time to be part of this amazing group of individuals. As a platform business, nFusz represents a remarkable opportunity. I have worked with many young, high-growth companies. I'm thrilled to be joining the advisory team and offer my financial and M&A expertise."
Board of Directors
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