About BranchOut - Leadership

Leadership

BranchOut's Executive Team

	Rick Marini – Founder, CEO & Chief Connector Rick is a serial entrepreneur and pioneer in social media with more than a decade of experience in the consumer Internet space. As the Founder & CEO of BranchOut, he is responsible for setting the right course, hiring incredible people and letting them run as fast as possible… more» Rick is a serial entrepreneur and pioneer in social media with more than a decade of experience in the consumer Internet space. As the Founder & CEO of BranchOut, he is responsible for setting the right course, hiring incredible people and letting them run as fast as possible to build a service that can change the world. Previously, Rick was the Founder & CEO of SuperFan, a social entertainment platform that developed social games and Facebook apps. SuperFan's clients included CBS, MTV, Universal Music, Warner Music, Sony and others. Before SuperFan, Rick was the Co-Founder and Chief Strategist of Tickle, one of the largest social media sites on the Internet. In 2002, Tickle won the "Rising Star" Webby Award as the fastest growing site on the Web and became a top 20 global site with 200 million registered users and $40 million of annual revenue. In 2004, Tickle was acquired by Monster Worldwide for over $100 million. Rick received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the University of New Hampshire, magna cum laude, and a MBA from Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration. Rick currently serves on the Advisory Boards of Fwix, Lumos Labs, Stipple, Founder's Den, FIGHTER and previously Friendster (acquired by MOL). Rick is a huge fan of the Red Sox, live music and traveling the world. less»
	Chris Merritt – VP of Sales & GM of Enterprise Products Chris brings 20 years of experience and relationships to BranchOut, where he'll focus on building out Enterprise solutions and bringing them to market. He joins BranchOut from Yahoo!, where he most recently was responsible for their largest advertiser and agency relationships… more» Chris brings 20 years of experience and relationships to BranchOut, where he'll focus on building out Enterprise solutions and bringing them to market. He joins BranchOut from Yahoo!, where he most recently was responsible for their largest advertiser and agency relationships as VP of Global Advertiser Partnerships. He also led the turnaround and divestiture of Yahoo!HotJobs, which was sold to Monster Worldwide. Prior to Yahoo!, Chris was a Senior Executive with Monster, leading teams on the ground in North America, Europe and Asia. Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Auburn University, with a Bachelors of Operations and Systems Engineering. He also holds an Executive Education certificate from MIT's Sloan School. Outside of work, Chris serves on the board of the University Club of Palo Alto, and enjoys cycling, surfing and spending time with his wife and four children. less»
	Nate Smith – Director of Engineering Nate is a founding team member of BranchOut. Nate is responsible for the architecture and technical design of BranchOut. Prior to BranchOut, Nate was a Senior Engineer at SuperFan and Tickle before that. Nate has a BS in Computer Science and Engineering… more» Nate is a founding team member of BranchOut. Nate is responsible for the architecture and technical design of BranchOut. Prior to BranchOut, Nate was a Senior Engineer at SuperFan and Tickle before that. Nate has a BS in Computer Science and Engineering from The University of California, Davis. On the weekends, Nate surfs, plays softball, and plays rugby for the San Francisco Fog RFC. He's recently put new strings on his bass and is looking to put the band back together. less»
	Ray Siu – Director of Consumer Technology Ray is a founding team member of BranchOut. Before becoming Director of Production at BranchOut, Ray was a Web Developer at Tickle, specializing in social networking and creating viral applications. He was also a front end developer on Tickle's photo sharing site, Ringo… more» Ray is a founding team member of BranchOut. Before becoming Director of Production at BranchOut, Ray was a Web Developer at Tickle, specializing in social networking and creating viral applications. He was also a front end developer on Tickle's photo sharing site, Ringo, and a dating site, LoveHappens. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of San Francisco and has studied Multimedia and Web design at the Art Institute of San Francisco. Some of Ray's favorite things are the Notorious B.I.G., 7-11 hotdogs, his Xbox, McDonalds and the WuTang Clan. less»
	Zack Onisko – Director of Product Design Zack is one of the founding team members of BranchOut and is a multi-disciplined product strategist and product designer. He has been working with some of the BranchOut team since 2003, previously at SuperFan and Tickle before that.… more» Zack is one of the founding team members of BranchOut and is a multi-disciplined product strategist and product designer. He has been working with some of the BranchOut team since 2003, previously at SuperFan and Tickle before that. His experience working in start-up environments has allowed him the privilege to own many products from every stage of the product development flow – from the idea stage to designing wireframes, mock-ups and prototypes; to delivering specs and managing the team of front-end and back-end engineers; to assessing and prioritizing project tasks; to QAing; launching live products; following through with analytic measurements and optimization; and iterating to maximize virality and revenue. Zack studied communication design and business at San Francisco State University. He is an avid music fan, collects guitars, is patiently browsing for a new motorcycle, and enjoys morning jogs around Lake Merritt with his fiancé and Australian Shepard. less»
	Rebecca Meissner – Director of Product Prior to joining BranchOut, Rebecca worked as a Product Manager for Disney Interactive Media Group, as an HR Business Partner for Playdom, and as a headhunter for a number of VCs, private equity firms, and investment banks in San Francisco.… more» Prior to joining BranchOut, Rebecca worked as a Product Manager for Disney Interactive Media Group, as an HR Business Partner for Playdom, and as a headhunter for a number of VCs, private equity firms, and investment banks in San Francisco. At BranchOut, Rebecca leads both the Facebook consumer product, as well as all enterprise offerings, including RecruiterConnect, CareerConnect, and Social Jobs. She brings recruiting, HR, sales, and Facebook platform experience to the product and team. She also manages the team's HR and recruiting efforts. She studied and earned her degree from Boston University and the University of California - Berkeley. Rebecca was introduced to the BranchOut team by a friend that also knew the CEO, Rick. A two time NCAA National Champion in Woman's Rowing, Rebecca also enjoys long distance running, frisbee golf, cornbread and karaoke. less»
	Greg Wong – Head of Business Development & Legal Affairs Before joining BranchOut as the Head of Business Development & Legal Affairs, Greg worked at Yahoo! as a director of business development for Flickr, Mail, Answers and Groups and as director of legal & business affairs for HotJobs the Yahoo! homepage and other sites.… more» Before joining BranchOut as the Head of Business Development & Legal Affairs, Greg worked at Yahoo! as a director of business development for Flickr, Mail, Answers and Groups and as director of legal & business affairs for HotJobs the Yahoo! homepage and other sites. He was also general counsel at Engage.com and an M&A and venture attorney at Morrison & Foerster. Greg is going to use his deal making and legal expertise to help drive and execute on BranchOut's partnerships Greg came to BranchOut through an introduction from Chris Merritt our VP of Sales & GM of Enterprise Products. Greg partnered with Chris as lead counsel for HotJobs and they worked together on the sale of HotJobs to Monster. Greg grew up in New York and has a B.S. from Cornell University and received his J.D. from Cardozo Law School. He spends most his free time playing with his daughters, but Greg also loves surfing, skiing and cycling and is a huge fan of Arsenal FC and the Yankees. less»
	Sarah Patterson – Director of Marketing As Director of Marketing, Sarah leads BranchOut's consumer and enterprise marketing efforts. Sarah brings over 10 years of marketing and strategy experience to BranchOut… more» As Director of Marketing, Sarah leads BranchOut's consumer and enterprise marketing efforts. Sarah brings over 10 years of marketing and strategy experience to BranchOut. Before joining BranchOut, Sarah was Director of Product Marketing at salesforce.com where she worked on product positioning and marketing strategy for Chatter. Prior to salesforce.com, Sarah worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co and in investment banking at Jefferies Broadview where she focused on M&A for media and technology companies. Sarah holds a BA in economics from Wellesley College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. When not at work, Sarah enjoys rock climbing, skiing and trying to find the spiciest food in San Francisco. less»
	Alex Popescul – Director of Search Alex brings to BranchOut more than 10 years of industrial and academic experience developing intelligent algorithms for the web data.… more» Alex brings to BranchOut more than 10 years of industrial and academic experience developing intelligent algorithms for the web data. Prior to joining BranchOut, Alex applied his passion for data and algorithms at several web companies, including working on search and modeling massive data sets at Yahoo!, Yandex and Ask.com, and on recommender systems and relational predictive modeling as part of his work towards PhD degree in machine learning which he received from the University of Pennsylvania. During his more that four years as a software engineer and research scientist at Yahoo! he developed several of the top signals of Yahoo!'s web search ranking algorithm, and was one of its first large scale Hadoop users. At BranchOut, Alex is responsible for transforming the 'big data' into data products that make user experience relevant and fun. When not at work, he enjoys exploring new hikes in the area and long runs in San Francisco's Crissy Field. less»
	Ted Metzger – Head of Mobile Ted is a senior team member of BranchOut. Ted is responsible for the product direction and engineering development of BranchOut's mobile platform.… more» Ted is a senior team member of BranchOut. Ted is responsible for the product direction and engineering development of BranchOut's mobile platform. Prior to BranchOut, Ted was an engineer at SuperFan, and met Rick and the rest of the founding team working at Tickle before that. Ted has a BS from Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia. He spends his free time getting his jazz chops together on upright bass. less»