Executive Leadership
and Advisory Board
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
TERRY JONES
Executive Chairman
Terry Jones was founding Chairman of Kayak.com. He was also
founder of Travelocity.com and led the company as President
and Chief Executive Officer from its founding until May 2002.
Previously, Jones served as Chief Information Officer at Sabre Inc.
In his 24 years at Sabre, Jones held various executive positions
including President of Computer Services, Vice President
of Applications Development and Vice President of Product
Development.
Prior to Sabre, Jones joined American Airlines in 1978 as Director
of Product Development when American Airlines acquired Agency
Data Systems, a Florida-based mini-computer accounting systems
company. He became president of the division when it moved to
Dallas/Fort Worth.
A graduate of Denison University in Granville, Ohio, Jones entered
the travel industry in 1971 as a travel agent with Vega Travel in
Chicago. He later served five years as a vice president of Travel
Advisors, a company specializing in business travel to Eastern
Europe and the USSR, with offices in Chicago and Moscow.
Jones is managing principal of ON, Inc. a consultancy he co-founded
to help companies in their transition to the digital economy. He is the
founding Chairman of the Board of Kayak.com, and is on the boards
of Boingo, Smart Destinations, Inc., and Luxury Link. He is a special
venture partner with General Catalyst Partners of Boston.
Personal: www.tbjones.com
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
MANOJ SAXENA
Co-Founder
Manoj Saxena is Co-Founder of WayBlazer, Chairman of Cognitive
Scale and a founding General Partner of The Entrepreneur’s Fund
(TEF) IV where he oversees investment and growth in the Cognitive
and Cloud Computing space. Saxena is a serial entrepreneur and
most recently was IBM’s General Manager for the Watson Division.
At TEF, Saxena focuses on identifying, investing, and scaling cloudcentric software companies in the Cognitive Computing space
and aligned with the IBM Watson Cloud ecosystem. Saxena is also
a Special Advisor to IBM senior leadership where he focuses on
operationalizing IBM’s $100m Watson Cloud Ecosystem Fund and
making side-by-side investments with the TEF IV fund.
Prior to joining TEF, Saxena was General Manager, IBM Watson
where his team built the world’s first cognitive systems in
Healthcare, Financial Services, and Retail. He received the IBM
Chairman’s award for Watson commercialization and helped with
the formation of Watson Business Group in January 2014 with a $1B
investment from IBM. Prior to IBM, Saxena successfully founded,
scaled, and sold two venture-backed software companies within a
five-year span. Webify, an emerging leader in industry-specific SOA
middleware, which was acquired by IBM in 2006, and Exterprise, a
business process collaboration company, purchased by Commerce
One in 2001. Saxena holds two U.S. patents for web services
technologies.
He currently serves on several boards including the Federal
Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio Branch, Communities In
Schools, and the Saxena Family Foundation. Saxena holds a
masters degree in business administration from Michigan State
University, and a masters in management sciences from the Birla
Institute of Technology & Science in Pilani, India.
Twitter: manojsaxena
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/manojsaxena
Personal: www.saxenafoundation.com
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
FELIX LABOY
Chief Executive Officer
Felix Laboy has over 25 years experience across a wide portfolio
of leadership positions in the hotel, travel and technology industry.
From 2009 to 2013, he served as president and general manager
of Sabre Hospitality Solutions, a leading Software as a Service
technology company created to provide the most comprehensive
marketing, distribution and operations tools for the hospitality
industry worldwide which generated over $12 billion in annual
revenue for its customers.
Prior to leading Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Laboy was CEO and
co-founder of E-site Marketing, the preeminent hospitality Internet
marketing service company in the world. E-site Marketing was
founded in 1999 with no outside funding or outside investors and
over the next 10 years, Laboy established strategic direction and
oversaw company performance, growth and operations. E-site
Marketing used leading technology to be disruptive to the existing
Internet offerings in the hotel marketplace and was acquired by
Sabre Holdings in 2007.
Felix has also advised other travel technology start-ups and
recently served as Executive in Residence at the School of Hotel
Administration at Cornell University. He is considered a pioneer
in the development and integration of many hospitality Internet
marketing best practices and solutions that are today replicated
and embraced industry-wide.
Prior to E-site Marketing, Laboy held numerous executive positions
at leading hotel companies including The Ritz-Carlton Hotel
Company, Westin Hotels and Resorts, ANA Hotels and The Four
Seasons Hotels and Resorts. In addition, he served as executive
vice president of the Puerto Rico Convention Bureau.
Laboy is a graduate of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell
University.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
PAT MOTOLA
Chief Operating Officer
and Chief Financial Officer
Pat Motola serves as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial
Officer for Cognitive Scale and WayBlazer. He is responsible for all
company operations including customer delivery.
Previously, Motola served as CEO of BlueSpace Federal, an Austin,
Texas based software company providing applications to the
Defense and Intelligence community that span security domains.
Prior to BlueSpace, Pat was President of Troux Technologies, a
provider of
Enterprise Architecture and IT Portfolio Management software for
Global 2000 organizations where he led the growth of revenues
from 0 to over $15m annually.
Before Troux Technologies, Pat held several executive positions for
Motive Communications, an intelligent service software company
including VP Product Development, CFO, VP of Services, and VP of
Business Development. During Pat’s tenure Motive grew from 0 to
over $80m in annual revenue.
Pat has held several executive positions. He was Senior Vice
President of Operations and CFO of PSW Technologies, a publicly
held Austin based software services firm. During his tenure at
PSW, the company grew revenues from $6m to $44m annually and
completed an IPO. He also served as Vice President of Marketing at
Software Publishing Corp. He also worked at Metaphor Computer
Systems, BI Systems Company, as its Vice President of Business
Development. Metaphor completed a $120m merger with IBM.
Pat held various positions at IBM. He earned a master’s degree in
management science from Stanford University, a master’s degree
in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin, and a
bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science
from the University of California at Berkeley. Pat holds a Top Secret
security clearance.
Twitter: pmotola
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/pat-motola/2/381/63b
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
JOHN FAITH
Chief Product and Technology Officer
John Faith serves as Chief Product and Technology Officer for
WayBlazer where he is responsible for all company product
development and technology initiatives.
Prior to joining WayBlazer, John’s most recent RetailMeNot
position was as senior vice president of external affairs, where
he was responsible for supporting business development and
strategic initiatives within the company. He also served as the
company’s chief ambassador, where he engaged with the industry
analyst community and served as a public speaker on behalf at
RetailMeNot, Inc.
Previously, John was the senior vice president of mobile at
RetailMeNot, Inc., responsible for supporting RetailMeNot.com’s
expansion onto the iOS and Android platforms. His understanding
of the mobile ecosystem and user was instrumental in the formation
and execution of WhaleShark’s initial mobile strategy. In this
role he led a matrixes team and had to champion Mobile across
initiatives in a company that at the time was web-focused. During
this role John introduced location awareness into RetailMeNot’s
applications. He also submitted 3 patents that are under review at
the US patent office during this tenure.
As RetailMeNot’s first technical hire John recruited the foundation
of the engineering team, performed technical due diligence
for M&A, oversaw infrastructure operations, managed 5 digital
properties, established an SDLC, and aligned the companies
technical initiatives with business needs.
Prior to RetailMeNot, Inc., John was the GM and vice president
of mobile for MySpace. During his tenure, the mobile properties
grew more than 400 percent. Preceding this role, he contributed
to multiple initiatives as vice president of engineering, including
the expansion of MySpace in more than 30 countries and oversaw
its mobile technical efforts from inception, worked with multiple
joint-ventures in China and Japan, and promoted MySpace’s
development platform to the international community.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University in
Geography, Art and Art History.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
PANKAJ VAISH
GM, India
Pankaj Vaish has over 28 years of IT experience across a wide
portfolio of technologies, service delivery and industry segments.
He is a high energy, result-oriented executive with a track record of
creating revenue & margin growth with deep hands-on operational
experience in global operations and delivery.
Prior to joining WayBlazer, Pankaj was the CEO at HealthFore
Technologies, a company listed in BSE, India. At HealthFore
Technologies, Pankaj led the company to become a Healthcare IT
provider of choice in delivering Integrated Healthcare Solutions
using innovative platforms enabled by ICT in the Asia-Pac and MEA
region.
Previously, Pankaj worked at Perot Systems for 14 years in a
host of executive / management positions which included the
establishment and management of the Travel Transportation &
Logistics business unit followed by running the P&L for the Telecom,
Retail, Government and Manufacturing lines of business.
Pankaj also managed global operations for the Application Division
and expanded delivery capability by setting up the Offshore
Engineering Delivery Centre at Hyderabad and Global Applications
Delivery Centre at Changsha, China. In his last assignment at Perot
Systems, Pankaj served as Sr. Vice President - Global Business
Operations.
Pankaj started his professional career in the US and worked with
Unisys for 10 years where he held various technical and managerial
roles. Pankaj is an engineering graduate from BITS Pilani and holds
an MBA.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
SANDY WEST
VP of Marketing
Sandy West serves as vice president of marketing for WayBlazer
where she is responsible for company branding; marketing
communications; media/analyst relations; digital, event and
channel marketing.
Prior to joining WayBlazer, she was vice president, corporate
affairs for Formula 1, Circuit of The Americas™ where she was
responsible for development of communications strategies and
programs, staffing, systems, strategies, practices and measurement
to ensure functional excellence in: corporate communications,
global branding, media relations, community relations, internal
communications, issues and crisis communications.
Sandy established mktginc.com in 1991 and still serves as
president and managing partner. mktginc.com is a successful
high technology marketing consulting practice specializing in
development and implementation of high-impact marketing
strategy, programs and brand campaigns for Fortune clients such
as AMD, Apple, Dell, IBM, Motorola, and Oracle as well
as numerous start up organizations.
Previously, Sandy served as vice president and director of
corporate marketing communications for Motorola. In this role she
managed global marketing communications and branding; media/
AR relations; sports, event, product and professional services
marketing, strategy and positioning – including management
of Motorola’s global web presence (motorola.com).
Sandy’s previous sales and marketing positions were witht KPMG
Peat Marwick and IBM Corporation.
Sandy graduated magna cum laude from San Jose State University,
College of Business with a Bachelor of Science and while at Motorola
was selected for the Motorola Chairman’s Institute (Kellogg School of
Business Program for the Top 200 Motorola Executives).
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
PATRICK DUNCAN
VP, Content Business Development
Patrick Duncan is Vice President, Content and Business
Development for WayBlazer where he is responsible for content
acquisition, strategy, and product, as well as strategic business
development initiatives.
Prior to joining WayBlazer, Duncan served as Director, eCommerce
Product Management at HomeAway.com. In this capacity, he led
the product line teams responsible for delivering card and bankpayment solutions to homeowners in 14 countries and 4 currencies,
as well as supporting a world-class checkout which processes >$1B
in TPV annually on behalf of millions of travelers.
As Director, eCommerce Product Marketing at HomeAway, Duncan
was instrumental in defining, launching, and driving adoption of
the ReservationManagerTM eCommerce platform. He championed
and led strategy, product requirements, global partner selection,
pricing, and overall GTM efforts. Post launch, Duncan acted as
the de-facto GM across cross-functional teams including Product,
Marketing, Customer Support, and BI.
Prior to HomeAway.com, Duncan was Director of Product
Management at Pictage where he led Los Angeles- and Buenos
Aires-based product marketing, and development teams to
overhaul and redesign consumer and photographer websites and
SaaS products to improve usability, drive conversion and increase
NPS.
Previously, Duncan held Product Management, Product Marketing,
and Business Development roles at well-known consumer brands
such as Rent.com/eBay, AAA, and OpenTable.
Duncan began his career in Investment Banking as a Financial
Analyst with the UBS Warburg Corporate Finance and Global
Technology teams in New York and San Francisco, respectively. At
UBS, Duncan managed all facets of equity offerings and advised
on numerous M&A transactions across the Communications
Equipment sector.
Duncan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from The Colorado
College in International Political Economy.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
NIJ CHAWLA
VP, Product Management
and Client Success
Nij Chawla serves as Vice President of Product Management
and Client Success for WayBlazer and is responsible for product
strategy and product management for the core product set.
Prior to joining WayBlazer, Nij held senior leadership positions
at Oracle most recently heading up the Stores and Commerce
businesses for Oracle Retail. Nij led Vision, Strategy, Product
Management, and Business Development for two suites of
enterprise solutions at Oracle. He has built from scratch, led
Engineering Groups across multiple geographic locations for 8
enterprise products at Oracle and grown teams from 0 to 105.
He was a key leader in driving early mobile products coming out
of Oracle. Nij was instrumental in driving a large complex crossorg Retail Omni-Channel development release that cut across ten
different groups.
Before Oracle, Nij founded and led a cross-org Retail Technology
and Architecture Group at 360Commerce and helped with the
transition of that company into Oracle. Prior to 360Commerce,
Nij headed up a consulting practice at Trilogy Software focused
on eCommerce B2C solutions as well as led very large complex
enterprise implementation programs.
Nij holds an Electrical and Computer Engineering degree from
the University of Texas at Austin and was a two time Engineering
Scholar.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
ADVISORY BOARD
SCOTT GOLDBERG
Director of Product
Scott came to WayBlazer by way of the NFL, where he spent almost
five years leading mobile product development, including all of the
league’s apps and mobile websites. As a member of the founding
team for NFL Mobile, he saw the group grow from $0 in revenue to
$250M+ annually. Previous to that, he worked in the mobile group
at Fox Interactive, which included development of the first apps
launched on iOS for brands such as Rotten Tomatoes, IGN and
MySpace. He eventually shifted his full focus to MySpace Mobile,
where along with WayBlazer CTO John Faith, he oversaw a product
team that grew monthly users from 0 to 35 million.
As WayBlazer’s Director of Product, Scott works internally to evolve
the company’s technology platform and externally with clients
on their cognitive computing initiatives. He also currently sits
on the Board of Advisors for Spex App and FieldTek, companies
pioneering the digitization of the insurance claims business.
Scott received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg
School of Management and his BA from Williams College. He
grew up in Colorado and is an avid traveler and outdoorsman.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
ADVISORY BOARD
BOB KAUFMAN
Founder, Alaska Channel
Bob Kaufman has 30 years of experience in the travel industry as a
successful entrepreneur and venture capital investor.
After founding Alaska Channel in 1992, Bob has built it into Alaska’s
leading travel media company, with a dominating presence and
best-of-class national products in TV, print, video, online, mobile,
and airport advertising.
Alaska Channel telecasts a visitor TV channel statewide that
consistently produces Emmy-award winning programs, publishes
a half million print guides a year, operates one of Alaska’s largest
travel websites (Alaska.org), publishes a top-ranked travel app (The
Alaska App), and was recently awarded the exclusive advertising
concession for Alaska’s largest airport. They will soon introduce
new technologies that will be the first of their kind for any US
airport.
In addition to his hands-on experience, Bob has been a principal in
two venture capital funds formed by former Bain Capital partners,
with over $500 million under management. As a professional
investor, Bob provided direct investment and management
contributions to a series of early stage start-ups, including several
well-known success stories.
Bob graduated in 1983 from Amherst College then spent the next
five years as a consultant with Bain & Company.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
ADVISORY BOARD
DENNIS HOWARD
CIO, VISA
Member, Board of Advisors
Dennis Howard is the Chief Information Officer for Visa Inc. In this
role, Howard leads the technology solutions that power the Visa
Inc. enterprise and enable its workforce across over 60 global
locations in 40 countries. He is also the site leader of Visa’s crossfunctional facility in Austin, Texas.
Howard has been with Visa for 11 years. Prior to his current role,
he was Senior Vice President of Business and Platform Solutions,
where he was responsible for transaction data and analytics,
product development for loyalty, risk and commercial card
solutions, in addition to a variety of client-facing web solutions and
corporate systems. During his tenure at Visa, he has served in a number of information
technology roles for various technology disciplines. Prior to joining Visa, Howard served as a Senior Manager of Global
Services at Commerce One, Inc., where he was responsible for
implementing technology services for large financial institutions
and Fortune 500 companies globally. Before that, he served in a variety of roles at several technology
start-ups. Previous to his career in Information Technology, Howard
served in legislative roles on Capitol Hill and in the administration
of the Texas Governor’s Office.
Howard received his bachelor’s degree from the University of
Texas at San Antonio, master’s degree from Baylor University, and
completed post-graduate research at the University of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonio.
He currently serves on the executive committee of the Austin
Technology Council, the board of directors of Austin Partners in
Education, and the advisory board of the Computer Information
Systems department of the McCoy School of Business, Texas
State University.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
ADVISORY BOARD
DESIREE GRUBER
CEO, Full Picture
Member, Board of Advisors
Desiree Gruber has parlayed lifelong interests in fashion, culture,
art, entertainment, and technology into a thriving media empire.
With her agency, Full Picture, as a foundation, Gruber embodies
the modern entrepreneurial spirit. Gruber has been instrumental
in building some of the world’s most prestigious brands and
properties, ranging from 15 years with Victoria’s Secret to the
launch of three hotels with Ian Schrager, as well as guiding the
careers of high-profile personalities including Heidi Klum and
creating the hit television show Project Runway. Establishing her own agency, Full Picture, in 1999, Gruber set out
to synergize the traditionally separate fields of public relations,
management, and production. Under her guidance, Full Picture
has become a creative force and evolved into a full-fledged
multimedia company at the crossroads of the fashion and lifestyle
industries. Its many successes include Lifetime’s Project Runway
and the trendsetting HSN shopping shows Curations with Stefani
Greenfield. Gruber also works with online portals such as MSN
and top-line brands including Kraft, Special K and Tylenol to create
award-winning branded entertainment. Gruber’s expertise in marketing and branding campaigns, for
which she has received over twenty awards, has positioned her
among the most respected figures within the media industry.
She was selected as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women
Entrepreneurs of 2010, and has received a Peabody Award and
eight Emmy nominations for executive producing Project Runway. Ms. Gruber has been awarded an official Mayor’s Proclamation
by the City of New York for her professional and civic
accomplishments. She serves on the Boards of the U.S. Fund for
UNICEF in New York and God’s Love We Deliver. She has been
profiled in such publications as O: The Oprah Magazine, Variety,
New York magazine, Gotham and PR Week.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
ADVISORY BOARD
JOSH TENENBAUM
Professor of Cognitive Science–Computation, MIT
Member, Board of Advisors
Josh Tenenbaum studies learning and reasoning in humans and
machines, with the twin goals of understanding human intelligence
in computational terms and bringing artificial intelligence closer to
human-level capacities.
He received his Ph.D. from MIT in 1999, and from 1999-2002, he
was a member of the Stanford University faculty in the Departments
of Psychology and (by courtesy) Computer Science. In 2002, he
returned to MIT, where he currently holds the Paul E. Newton
Career Development Chair in the Department of Brain and
Cognitive Sciences, and is a member of the Computer Science and
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
He has published extensively in cognitive science, machine
learning and other AI fields, and his group has received several
outstanding paper or student-paper awards at NIPS, CVPR, and
Cognitive Science.
He received the 2006 New Investigator Award from the Society for
Mathematical Psychology, and the 2007 Young Investigator Award
from the Society of Experimental Psychologists.
He serves as an associate editor of the journal Cognitive Science
and is currently co-organizing a summer school on “Probabilistic
Models of Cognition: The Mathematics of Mind” for July 2007 at
IPAM, the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics at UCLA.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
ADVISORY BOARD
MARK ROLSTON
Founder and Chief Creative, Argo Design
Member, Board of Advisors
Mark Rolston is a renowned designer with a 25-year career of
creating for the world’s largest and most innovative companies.
An early pioneer of software user experience, Mark led clients
to leverage emerging technologies and set the tone for user
interface design and mobile platforms. In 1994, he launched the
product firm frogdesign into these emergent disciplines, quickly
establishing the software design group as the largest part of frog’s
business and major force in its growth. Taking leadership as frog’s
Chief Creative Officer for eight years, he guided the transformation
of frog into a modern strategic design organization, continuing to
produce groundbreaking work for the world’s most dynamic firms –
including Disney, Ford, GE, HP, Microsoft and AT&T.
Recently, Mark has thrown his passion into argodesign, where he
continues to focus on groundbreaking user experience. Leading the
discipline into its next phase of development, he offers a perspective
on design that exists outside the visible artifact – in the realm of
behavior, the interaction between human and machine, and the
other unseen elements that make up the modern design challenge.
A veteran design leader, innovator and patent holder, Mark is an
internationally recognized expert and valued advisor on software,
experience design, emerging computing platforms, and mobile
applications. He serves on the boards of WayBlazer and Trusted
Innovators, is one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People, and
was nominated as Fast Company’s World’s Greatest Designer this
year. He lives and breathes design, craftsmanship, and building
useful and enjoyable experiences of all types.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
ADVISORY BOARD
RANDY GARFIELD
Retired, President/CEO & EVP WW Sales & Travel
Operations, Walt Disney Travel Company
Member, Board of Advisors
Randy retired as President and CEO of Walt Disney Travel Co. and
executive vice president of Worldwide Sales & Travel Operations
for Disney Destinations, a $14+ billion company.
He led one of the USA’s largest travel wholesalers as well as sales
and distribution marketing for Disneyland, Walt Disney World
Resort, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney Cruise
Line, and Disney Vacation Club.
He was also responsible for The Disney Institute & Disney Event
Group. Additionally, he managed Central Reservations & Catering
special event/group sales & Services at Disney resort destinations
along with providing strategic direction to Disney’s Sports
Enterprises.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015
ADVISORY BOARD
KATHY MISUNAS
Business Advisor, Executive, Board Director
Member, Board of Advisors
Ms. Kathleen Misunas, Kathy has been a business advisor of Tech
Data Corp. since June 2000. She also serves as Consultant of
Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd.
In 2001, she served as Chief Executive Officer of AirTreks, Inc. (a
travel arrangement business specializing in multi-continent trips)
and as Chief Executive Officer and President of Brandwise LLC from
January1999 to June 2000.
From 1996 to 1998, Kathy served as Chief Executive Officer of Reed
Travel Group business unit. And, from 1993 to 1995, she served
as President and Chief Executive Officer of the SABRE Group (a
division of AMR Corporation), as Senior Vice-President of AMR/
American Airlines, as well as past Chief Information Officer of
American Airlines, Inc.
She has been a Director of Tech Data Corp. since 2000 and
serves on a number of other boards, including Genispace,
Saturn Reservations Systems and Imbot, EzRez Software, Inc. and
previously as a Corporate Director of Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. from
2001 to May 11, 2006.
Kathy is on the Executive Committee of the World Travel & Tourism
Council ‐ a global coalition of more than 100 Chief Executive
Officer’s from all segments of the travel and tourism industry and is
a lifetime member.
Additionally, she was a Trustee of the Institute of Certified Travel
Agents, and participated in the exclusive technology-related
Research Board. She served as a Director of Switchfly, Inc. and
has been a Member of the Advisory Board of Apollo Holdings Inc.
(previously Gtrex Inc.) since 2004.
She has served as a Director of Travelocity.com LP since 2001,
and is a frequent speaker and business commentator on travel,
distribution and technology issues. She has lectured at major
academic institutions and recently co-authored a book: MultiChannel Distribution: The Essential Guide. Kathy is a Certified
Travel Counselor (CTC) and attended Moravian College and
American University.
WayBlazer Executives and Advisors
February 2015