The pathway to our success is paved by the vision of our executive leadership.
Tim Vanderhook
CEO
Myspace
As CEO of Myspace, Tim sets the overall business direction and strategic vision for the company. A highly successful technologist who started his first company at 18, Tim has always felt that he was destined to drive change in the media business. With a thriving advertising company and the 2011 purchase of Myspace from News Corporation, Tim is uniquely qualified to create the leading social entertainment destination for consumers, content owners and brands.
Tim also serves as the president and CEO of Specific Media. Co-founding the interactive advertising company with his brothers, Chris and Russell, Tim led Specific Media’s growth from a small family business to an industry-leading multinational corporation. His vision positioned Specific Media as an industry first-mover that led in developing the behavioral targeting technology that established interest-based advertising. Under Tim’s leadership, Specific Media has experienced continued growth and profitability since 1999.
Chris Vanderhook
COO
Myspace
As COO of Myspace, Chris Vanderhook manages the company’s day-to-day operations. A detailed-oriented leader who is responsible for both setting and realizing corporate vision, Chris navigates potential roadblocks and analytically executes strategies to move the company forward. Today, Chris is deeply involved in transforming Myspace into the leading social entertainment destination for consumers, content owners and brands.
Chris also serves as COO of Specific Media. Having co-founded the advertising company in July 1999 with his brothers, Tim and Russell Vanderhook, Chris directs all aspects of Specific Media’s business operations. Managing the organization’s executive team, Chris oversees Specific Media’s sales, business development and media operations, driving consistent financial growth and profitability throughout a 13-year period. Under Chris’ leadership, Specific Media has grown into an industry-leading multinational corporation with operations in eight countries.
Chris received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the USC Marshall School of Business.
Russel Vanderhook
Co-Founder, Senior Vice President
Russell oversees the implementation of new products for Specific Media and plays a key role in maintaining the company's technological edge.
Prior assuming his current title in January 2003, he served as Chief Operating Officer of predecessor, Advertisement Banners.com, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations.
Roy E. Luna
Chief Financial Officer
Roy Luna became our Chief Financial Officer in June 2002. Prior to joining Specific Media, Roy was Chief Financial Officer of SSP Solutions/Litronic, a publicly traded company that provides software and hardware solutions for computer network security using Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology. There, he was responsible for finance and administration including the preparation of all Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Before joining SSP Solutions/Litronic, Roy was Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of CareLine, Inc., a publicly traded company he co-founded, specializing in emergency medical transportation. He was responsible for raising over $125 million in venture capital, mezzanine financing and convertible debt, spearheading a $55 million IPO, and obtaining $125 million in syndicated bank debt.
Prior to starting his own company, Roy was with Ernst & Young, where he gained extensive experience in accounting and financial management. He received a BA in Business Administration from California State University, Fullerton. An active CPA, Roy is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the California Society of CPAs.
Fabrizio Blanco
Chief Technology Officer
Fabrizio joined Specific Media in January 2011 as Chief Technology Officer. Fabrizio previously served as Senior Vice President of Engineering and Chief Architect of the Fox Audience Network (FAN), News Corp.'s online advertising unit and the primary monetization arm of MySpace. At FAN, Fabrizio architected and built the world's largest display ad serving and optimization technology, serving, at peak, over 7 billion impressions a day and yield optimizing hundreds of thousands of campaigns across more than 2,000 publishers. FAN was acquired by the Rubicon Project in October 2010.
Fabrizio came to FAN through the acquisition of Strategic Data Corp (SDC) by News Corp for $150 million, where he served as Chief Technology Officer. SDC built the first performance optimized ad-serving system in 2000, which was utilized by several of the top ten ad networks including Specific Media. Previously, Fabrizio held different consulting roles for several Fortune 500 companies. He co-authored several pending patents, including Real Time Bidding (RTB) with Jason Knapp in 2006, which they launched into production at FAN in 2007. Fabrizio holds a BS and MS degree in Computer Science from University of Catania, Italy.
Colin Petrie-Norris
Managing Director – International
Colin Petrie-Norris joined Specific Media in 2008 as Managing Director – International. Petrie-Norris' responsibilities include managing Specific Media's portfolio of international business and overseeing European growth and expansion into new territories. As Specific Media continues its strategic growth in Europe and builds on its current market share, Petrie-Norris will spearhead the development of the company's rapidly growing client base across the region.
Prior to Specific Media, Petrie-Norris served as Chief Operating Officer of Advertising.com's International Division, where he oversaw the company's operations in UK, France, Germany, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland and Denmark. Petrie-Norris developed and executed a successful realignment business strategy for Advertising.com Europe through the centralisation and restructuring of operations, process re-engineering, creation of client services, the formation of advanced analytical teams and pioneering numerous technology advancements.
Before joining Advertising.com, Petrie-Norris was Business Manager at Capital One in Johannesburg and in Nottingham, UK where he piloted the first credit card in the South African market specifically targeting the underserved segment and launched a secured-credit card product for the UK market respectively.
Petrie-Norris received a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Cape Town in South Africa and is an accredited professional engineer.
Jon Schulz
Executive Vice President
Jon Schulz joined Specific Media in 2008 as Senior Vice President of Global Category Development. In his current role as Executive Vice President, Jon is a key contributor to overall company strategy and direction, and continues to lead company efforts developing strategic relationships within global categories throughout the United States and Europe.
Jon joins Specific Media from Ford Motor Company, where he worked for more than 12 years in a variety of functions, including brand management, marketing communications, field sales, regional marketing, website development, direct marketing, incentives planning, field operations and dealer relations. Most recently, Jon headed Digital and Direct Marketing for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands where he was responsible for online and emerging media, dealer digital integration, brand websites and direct marketing. Prior to that, Jon was Brand Manager for Mercury car lines where he was responsible for marketing communications, pricing and packaging. Before joining Ford, Jon held several Information Technology positions at Eli Lilly and Company.
Jon has an MBA in Marketing from Indiana University and a BS in Management Information Systems from Central Michigan University.
Matt Wasserlauf
Executive Vice President, Video Platform and Services
Matt Wasserlauf became Specific Media’s Executive Vice President, Video Platform and Services following the company’s acquisition of Broadband Enterprises (BBE) in October 2010. Matt brings 20 years of media and advertising experience to Specific Media’s executive team.
Prior to joining Specific Media, Matt established BBE, a premier online video provider, in April 2004. Under his leadership, BBE emerged as one of the few full-service broadband companies offering online video advertising, original programming, and a video advertising technology platform known as VINDICO™.
Before forming BBE, Matt spent four years in television as Vice President of Sales at The Feed Room, now a division of Kit Digital. There, he helped lay the foundation for today’s streaming video advertising industry and generated millions of dollars in revenue.
Previously, Matt served as Director of Sales for CBS.com, where he delivered more than $10 million annually in revenue. He also spearheaded corresponding website ad sales for CBS network programs, including Survivor and The Late Show with David Letterman.
Matt earned an MBA degree from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in Marketing from Indiana University.
Jason Knapp
Executive Vice President, Product
Jason is Specific Media’s Executive Vice President of Product. Prior to joining the company, Jason served as Vice President of Monetization Products at the Fox Audience Network (FAN), News Corp.'s online advertising unit. There he led a number of critical initiatives including product managing the creation of News Corp.'s ad serving and optimization system, one of the world's largest such systems used globally by both FAN and MySpace. Jason joined FAN from Strategic Data Corporation (SDC), which was acquired by News Corp in 2007 to launch News Corp's advertising technology efforts. Jason was part of the founding team and led product management, sales, and support of SDC's ad serving and optimization platform, utilized by many of the top online advertising companies including Specific Media.
Prior to helping launch SDC in 1999, Jason consulted to top technology companies including Intel, HP and Microsoft, helping them accomplish major strategic initiatives. He also has several pending patents, including Real Time Bidding, and serves as an advisory board member to a number of Internet start-ups. Jason earned his MBA at the Anderson School at UCLA.
Drew Bordages
Senior Vice President, General Counsel
Drew Bordages is Specific Media’s Senior Vice President, General Counsel. In this role, Drew oversees the company’s global legal affairs and spearheads the company’s data protection and privacy efforts.
Drew joined Specific Media from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP where he served as corporate counsel to a variety of public and private companies, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, securities offerings and general corporate advice.
Prior to earning his law degree Drew was active in politics, serving as a grass roots campaign staffer on both local and national political campaigns.
Drew holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Southern California and earned his law degree magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law.
Tim Vanderhook
CEO
Myspace
As CEO of Myspace, Tim sets the overall business direction and strategic vision for the company. A highly successful technologist who started his first company at 18, Tim has always felt that he was destined to drive change in the media business. With a thriving advertising company and the 2011 purchase of Myspace from News Corporation, Tim is uniquely qualified to create the leading social entertainment destination for consumers, content owners and brands.
Tim also serves as the president and CEO of Specific Media. Co-founding the interactive advertising company with his brothers, Chris and Russell, Tim led Specific Media’s growth from a small family business to an industry-leading multinational corporation. His vision positioned Specific Media as an industry first-mover that led in developing the behavioral targeting technology that established interest-based advertising. Under Tim’s leadership, Specific Media has experienced continued growth and profitability since 1999.
Chris Vanderhook
COO
Myspace
As COO of Myspace, Chris Vanderhook manages the company’s day-to-day operations. A detailed-oriented leader who is responsible for both setting and realizing corporate vision, Chris navigates potential roadblocks and analytically executes strategies to move the company forward. Today, Chris is deeply involved in transforming Myspace into the leading social entertainment destination for consumers, content owners and brands.
Chris also serves as COO of Specific Media. Having co-founded the advertising company in July 1999 with his brothers, Tim and Russell Vanderhook, Chris directs all aspects of Specific Media’s business operations. Managing the organization’s executive team, Chris oversees Specific Media’s sales, business development and media operations, driving consistent financial growth and profitability throughout a 13-year period. Under Chris’ leadership, Specific Media has grown into an industry-leading multinational corporation with operations in eight countries.
Chris received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the USC Marshall School of Business.
Neil Garfinkel
Neil Garfinkel is a Founding Partner of Francisco Partners and focuses primarily on investments in the software and services sectors. Garfinkel serves on the board of directors of Cybit, Dextrys, Discrete Wireless, Emailvision, FrontRange Solutions, Mincom, Quadramed, Specific Media and WebTrends. He is a former director of AKQA (General Atlantic), Ex Libris (Leeds), Lynx Medical Systems (Picis), Office Tiger (RR Donnelley), Xcellenet (Sybase), IMPAC Medical Systems (Elekta), Card Capture Services (eTrade) and HMT Technology (Komag). Prior to founding Francisco Partners in August 1999, Garfinkel was a Managing Director of Friedman Fleischer & Lowe, a leading San Francisco private equity firm. Earlier in his career, he was a Vice President with Summit Partners. Garfinkel started his career as an attorney with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati in Palo Alto and with Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York.
Garfinkel received his J.D. from Columbia Law School where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and an A.B. from Harvard College.
Carl Eibl
Carl Eibl is a Managing Director at Enterprise Partners. At Enterprise, Eibl serves as an investment partner and leads investments in Internet 2.0, web and software based businesses, as well as restructurings, business buyouts and combinations. In addition to Specific Media, Eibl serves on the boards of numerous Enterprise portfolio companies - BMS, Enviance, IdenTrust, NEXX Systems, NP Photonics, Pivotal Systems, ReliOn and The Retail Equation. He also serves on the board of CONNECT and is a former Chairman of The Sanford Burnham Institute for Medical Research.
Prior to joining Enterprise, Eibl was the CEO of several high-profile technology and life science companies in San Diego. As CEO of publicly-held Maxwell Technologies (MXWL), Eibl led the recreation of Maxwell from an engineering and physics service organization for the U.S. military to a high-tech business catering various markets. Before joining Maxwell, Eibl served as President of Stratagene Corporation (STGN). Stratagene was later acquired by Agilent Corporation in 2007 for $250 million. Eibl also served as CEO for Mycogen Corporation, a publicly-held agricultural biotechnology company.
Eibl holds a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law in Boston, MA and a B.A. from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.
Parker S. Kennedy
Parker S. Kennedy is executive chairman of First American Financial Corporation. He also serves as executive chairman of CoreLogic, Inc., which was launched from The First American Corporation in June 2010. Prior to the launch, he served as chairman and CEO of the combined entity, and held various titles within the organization since joining First American in 1977.
Kennedy serves on the boards of directors of various charitable organizations, including the Fletcher Jones Foundation. He is a past chairman of the board of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, the Bowers Museum, and the Orange County Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Kennedy is also a past president of the American Land Title Association.
In 2010, Kennedy received a Semper Fidelis Award from the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation in recognition of his lifetime of community and philanthropic leadership. In May 2003, Kennedy was recognized as one of America's top chief executives on Forbes Magazine's prestigious list of "Best-Performing Bosses."
A member of the California Bar Association, Kennedy practiced law for four years with Levinson & Lieberman in Beverly Hills, CA.
Kennedy holds an A.B. in Economics from University of Southern California, and a law degree from Hastings College of the Law.
Larry Goodman
Larry Goodman is an expert in all forms of media both traditional and digital. Goodman cultivated his media skills throughout a twenty-year career at Turner Broadcasting, including eight years in which he held the concurrent titles of president CNN Sales and marketing and president operations Turner Broadcasting Sales Inc. The recipient of numerous industry awards and accolades, Goodman was previously named as a “Media Maven” by Advertising Age.
Bill Burke
Bill Burke, co-author of Ted Turner’s 2008 best-seller autobiography, “Call Me Ted,” has extensive leadership experience in cable television and Internet business. Previously, Burke served as president and CEO of The Weather Channel Companies where he oversaw all operations. Prior, Burke spent eight years at Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner, where he held senior positions including highly notable roles as president of TBS and general manager of Turner Classic Movies.
Ed McCarrick
Ed McCarrick built a long and distinguished 35-year career at Time News Group that concluded with serving as President and Worldwide Publisher of the organization. Under his leadership, McCarrick helped lead Time to be named the number one brand in publishing by Advertising Age. McCarrick is presently the executive vice president of account management & media partnerships at ICON International.
