Canoe Ventures is comprised of a team of experts from some of the top companies at the forefront of media innovation. Each member brings their own significant skill set to the table, which will play an integral role in bringing TV a giant step forward into the future.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
David Verklin serves as CEO of Canoe Ventures, LLC, a joint venture founded in 2008 by the country´s leading cable operators. Based in New York City, the company is focused on enabling advanced advertising technologies and making them easier to buy, use and measure. Under David´s leadership, Canoe Ventures is developing addressable, interactive and data solutions that will make TV more valuable for marketers and viewers. Since being named CEO of Canoe Ventures, David has been named to Mediaweek´s "Watch List 2009" and was recognized by CableFAX Magazine in 2009 as one of the 100 most powerful people in cable.
Prior to joining Canoe Ventures, David was CEO of Aegis Media Americas, where he quickly grew capitalized media billings to approach $7 billion annually. He revolutionized the industry by unbundling the media services agency and creating a 360-degree service offering for clients, and he reinvented the agency model by integrating on and offline marketing services with the merger of Carat Fusion and Carat USA. This resulted in one operating company that became the largest fully integrated on/offline agency in the world. Also during his tenure at Aegis, David wrote a book, "Watch This, Listen Up, Click Here," a user´s manual for understanding the new media landscape, published by John Wiley and Sons.
David is a recognized leader. In 2007, he was appointed Media Lions Jury President at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He has been inducted into the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Hall of Achievement and recognized as a Mediaweek "All Star" and Ad Age "Media Maven." Writing about David, Ad Age asked the question, "...is there a single other human being who has been as much of a leader, visionary, a force for change and a voice of optimism in the media and marketing industries over the last 15 years?"
David serves on the Boards of the American Advertising Federation, the New York Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Power of Peace and the Ad Council. He also serves as a Director-at-Large for the American Association of Advertising Agencies. In 2008, The UJA Federation´s Global Leadership honored him with an Award for all of his professional and philanthropic achievements.
David began his career at Young & Rubicam, New York and then helped create Hal Riney & Partners in San Francisco, first serving as its Media Director and later as its Managing Director. Under his leadership, Hal Riney grew into one of the largest privately held advertising agencies in the U.S. David is a graduate of the University of Virginia.
Kathy was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Canoe Ventures in June 2009. In this role, she works with all of Canoe's lines of business to help ensure that the promise of advanced advertising becomes a reality.
Prior to Canoe, she had a successful career in managing and scaling high-tech organizations, having served in key management roles and board positions in both start-up and mature companies for the past 15 years. Before joining Canoe, Kathy was COO of Carrier Services at IDT where she directed pricing, profit optimization, business metrics reporting and operations. In 2006, she was named COO of IDT Telecom where she oversaw the unit's retail and wholesale businesses and was responsible for product management, technology, engineering and all operations. During her tenure at IDT, Kathy also served as CTO of IDT Telecom, EVP of Technology of IDT Corporation, and COO of the Engineering and Operations Division. Kathy began her career with IDT in 1998 as Vice President of Engineering and Operations and was appointed to the IDT Telecom Board of Directors in 2001.
Before joining IDT, Kathy spent several years as EVP of Development and Operations at Call Sciences, a start-up company developing Personal Number Services. Previously, Kathy had worked on communications and software systems for Bellcore; military projects at Bolt, Beranak and Newman (BBN); and various technical and management positions in a variety of technology-based companies focusing on the development of energy systems and robotics.
Kathy serves as an independent director on the board of Motionbox, Inc. an internet-based personal video sharing services provider. She maintains a strong presence within the community and has been honored by the Resource Center for Women and Their Families for her leadership and philanthropy. Kathy holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and an M.S. in Computer Science from Boston University.
Vicki drives the strategic development and execution of all marketing and communications initiatives for Canoe Ventures.
Vicki comes to Canoe Ventures from Comcast Spotlight, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, where she served as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications. In her time there, she managed all marketing functions including brand strategy, advertising, public relations, public affairs, promotions, creative services, and internal and external communications across Comcast´s nearly 90 markets. She additionally oversaw the re-branding of the division and led marketing initiatives to promote the use of spot cable´s multi-platform marketing solutions among local, regional and national advertisers.
In 2009, CableFAX Magazine named Vicki one of the most powerful women in cable. She was also named a "Wonder Woman" in the Cable, Broadband, and Telecommunications Universe in 2009 by Women in Cable & Telecommunications (WICT). She received a WICT Accolade in 2008 as a "Woman to Watch" and has also been named by CableFAX as a "Top 100 Heavy Hitter." Vicki holds an MA in Communications Management from the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California.
Lou Mastria, CIPP, spearheads Canoe's privacy strategy. He is responsible for oversight and direction of Canoe's information use policy to ensure compliance with legal regulations, industry guidelines and best practices.
Prior to joining Canoe, Mastria was Chief Privacy Officer at a leading provider of consumer database services. He has also held several key thought-leadership positions at the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), including Vice President of Public Affairs and Vice President of Interactive and Emerging Media. He led the DMA's policy on email authentication, the founding of the Interactive Marketing Advisory Board and development of best practices for online affiliate advertising, was a founding member of the Authentication & Online Trust Alliance, as well as acting as a key figure in more traditional areas of interactive marketing policy, including numerous privacy initiatives.
Mastria continues to serve in thought-leadership roles at the DMA through his election to the DMA's Committee on Environment and Social Responsibility and the DMA08 and DMA09 Program Advisory Committees. He also participates actively in the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Public Policy Committee.
Mastria is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) through the International Association of Privacy Professionals, holds a B.A in Political Science from New Jersey City University and a M.A. in Public Policy from Rutgers University.
Mark forges collaborative partnerships with national cable and broadcast television networks for Canoe Ventures, working with them to enhance their sales and programming with cable's advanced advertising capabilities.
Mark's background covers a broad spectrum of broadcast and digital media. To mention just a few of his previous roles, Mark spent five years at Premiere Retail Networks (PRN) helping to build it into the nation's largest retail television business. During Mark's tenure, advertiser adoption across PRN's family of networks increased five-fold. Before that he spent more than 10 years with the ABC Television Network, holding several senior management positions.
While serving as EVP of Sales and Marketing for Office Media Networks, they, in association with Dow Jones & Company, launched the Wall Street Journal Office Network, a digital media and event services network deployed in premier office buildings across the nation's top Designated Market Areas (DMAs). Mark holds a B.A. from the University of Florida.
Arthur manages the engineering and technology team for Canoe Ventures. He helps drive the creation of shared technology processes and standards for more robust audience targeting, interactivity and measurement.
For more than 20 years, Arthur has worked in the media and interactive TV industries where he has helped develop critical initiatives with standard bodies, industry organizations and providers. He is an active member of SCTE, chaired the CableLabs Working Group, which developed the EBIF technical specification for enhanced television, and is a long-term advocate of open standards-based technologies and other cross-MSO projects. Before Canoe Ventures, Arthur was a Senior Vice President at Bright House Networks where he was responsible for leading the development of new technology-based products and services for video, high-speed data, voice and wireless.
In 2009, Arthur received the Individual Leadership Award of the 6th Annual Awards for Leadership in Interactive and Multiplatform Television, which were presented at The TV of Tomorrow Show. This award is given to "an individual who demonstrated notable leadership in the interactive, multiplatform TV industry over the past year, and whose efforts helped move that industry forward." He was also named one of the Most Influential Minorities in Cable by CableFax in 2009. Arthur is a member of NAMIC and CTAM, from which he received a Rainmaker Award in 2005.
Arthur has a B.A. from Cornell University and attended the MFA Graduate Program at New York University´s Tisch School of the Arts.
Bruce manages advertising agency relations for Canoe Ventures where he helps them fully utilize cable's advanced advertising products and services on behalf of their clients.
Bruce has more than 25 years of experience in media and research fields. Most recently he was the President of Nielsen Entertainment, a global division of The Nielsen Company, that comprised of a portfolio of research brands that collectively provide the entertainment industry with a broad range of syndicated and custom research. Prior to Nielsen, Bruce was the President and COO of the entertainment-based media services company, Palisades Media Group.
For more than 15 years, Bruce held various roles at Carat USA from Product Development Director to EVP Director of Planning and ended his tenure as the interim President. He was part of the global team that created and implemented Carat's planning process across North America, the Global Product Leadership Team and Aegis Product Lab. Bruce received his BA in Advertising from San Jose State University.
Michael provides legal and other business guidance for Canoe Ventures.
Prior to joining Canoe Ventures, Michael served as in-house counsel for Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs) where he was responsible for providing legal and business counselling on a number of development projects including advanced advertising, Go2Broadband™ and Tru2Way™, as well as on digital output, recording, copy protection and digital rights management technologies.
Before CableLabs, Michael negotiated software-licensing agreements for Lucent Technologies and directed procurement, supply chain and various international and domestic product development activities for EchoStar Communications Corporation. Michael received a JD from the University of Denver, Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado and a BS in Electronic Engineering Technology from DeVry Institute.
John Redpath joined Canoe Ventures in January 2010 as SVP, General Counsel.
Redpath has more than 30 years of experience, with most of his career spent at major media companies including Time Inc. and HBO. Prior to joining Canoe, he served as Chief Legal Officer of the United States Golf Association and, before that, was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Time Inc., a global leader in media and entertainment, where he was responsible for almost all legal matters.
From 1978 – 2002, Redpath held a variety of legal positions at HBO, including Executive Vice President and General Counsel where he was responsible for legal work including the negotiation of film licenses, affiliation agreements, acquisitions, litigation strategy, government relations, and more. He began his legal career as a Corporate Attorney at Dewey Ballantine LLP in New York.
Redpath served as a Lieutenant of the United States Navy from 1966-1969. He received an LLM from New York University Law School, a J.D. from University of Michigan Law School, and he graduated cum laude from Princeton University. A dedicated community leader, Redpath also serves on the Board of Directors at “Learning Leaders,” which has grown to become the largest school volunteer and parent engagement program in New York City.
Neil joined Canoe in May 2009 to lead and manage finance, administration, accounting and reporting.
Before joining Canoe, Neil served as CEO of Longview Consulting Group, an advisory firm he founded in 2005 that works with emerging and middle-market companies in the areas of marketing and financing strategy. Previously, he led corporate operations, finance and administration while serving as EVP and CFO for various companies including Audio Audit, a provider of verification technology; Mediaport LLC, a technology consortium comprised of the three largest global advertising holding companies Omnicom, Interpublic, and WPP Group; iPrivacy LLC, a software development company focused on providing Internet security protection for the financial services sector; and The Carson Group, a financial information and consulting company providing financial databases, stock surveillance and investor relations counsel to Fortune 500 corporations.
Mr. Schaffer began his career as a certified public accountant with Price Waterhouse in New York. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Accounting from the School of Management, Binghamton University.
Paul manages Canoe's overall operations and is responsible for aligning company resources against key priorities and initiatives.
Paul brings more than 30 years of diverse domestic and international business management expertise to Canoe, spanning General Management, Chief Operating Control oversight, Chief Marketing Officer responsibilities and corporate commercial development coordination. Paul most recently served as President, Diversified Services for Aegis Media Americas, where he managed five operating units of the company. His career began at Kraft Foods, where he served as Vice President, Marketing Strategy from 1989 to 1997.
He currently serves on the Advisory Board of Results International, an independent specialist providing corporate finance and consulting services exclusively in the marketing communications and new media sectors. Paul holds an MBA from Columbia University.
Jim joined Canoe in October 2009 to lead and manage the development of the company's interactive television and advanced advertising product strategy.
Jim brings a wealth of experience in the development and implementation of digital media product strategy in both broadcast and cable television. He was most recently Vice President, Product at Synacor, the leading white label supplier of web services and digital media to the cable and telecommunications industries. Prior to Synacor, Jim was Vice President, Digital Media at A&E Television Networks where he led the development and management of the company's digital media properties across all of the network's brands. Before joining A&E, Jim was Founder and President of AvitageMedia, a consulting and production company for advanced television, interactive advertising, Internet, broadband, and digital.
Jim began his career at CBS where, as part of the CBS Technology Center, he was awarded two patents for the use of computers in music. Since then, he has held executive positions including SVP, Product at Women.com, EVP/COO of Astronet.com and VP Product Development for Kurzweil Music Systems. In the mid 1990s, Digital Equipment Corporation acquired Jim's CDROM production company to create Digital Media Studios. As GM/Executive Producer, Jim led the creation of some of the first shopping, music, VOD and other interactive television applications.
Jim is active in a number of industry initiatives and organizations and serves in several roles for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Jim holds an MBA in Marketing and Masters and Bachelors degrees in Electrical Engineering.
ADVISORY BOARD
Canoe Ventures´ advisory board is comprised of industry leaders with expertise and experience in a range of businesses relevant to Canoe´s mission to make television a preeminent digital marketing medium.
Jim Garrity Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bellwether Digital Bridge, LLC
Jim Garrity is the founder and CEO of Bellwether Digital Bridge, LLC, a marketing consultancy that helps advertisers, agencies and digital media companies bridge the gap between the worlds of traditional and digital communications.
Mr. Garrity has held sales and marketing positions for three Fortune 50 companies in his career. He began with IBM where he spent 14 years in sales and sales leadership roles and, later, in marketing and communications, the last one being Director of Advertising, IBM US. In 1992, he joined Compaq where he held two positions, the last being Vice President of Communications.
From 1997 to 2007, Mr. Garrity served as Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer at First Union in Charlotte, NC, which later became Wachovia. He retired from Wachovia in 2007 after ten years there as CMO.
Mr. Garrity currently sits on the Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards of a number of companies including Burst Media, MarketShare Partners, Canoe Ventures, Send It Certified and Digitalsmiths.
He sat on the Board of Directors of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) from 1995 to 2007. He served as the Chairman of ANA´s Board of Directors in 1998 and was Founder and Chairman of the ANA´s New Technologies Committee (now known as the Digital Marketing Committee), a group focused on emerging developments in marketing and marketing communications techniques and technologies. From 1996-2007, Garrity also served as a Director of the Board of the AdCouncil. Mr. Garrity is a graduate of Fairfeld University in Connecticut.
Wendy Clark SVP, Integrated Marketing Communications and Capabilities, The Coca-Cola Company
Wendy Clark oversees The Coca-Cola Company´s global design, marketing communications, media, sponsorships, interactive marketing and its Live Positively sustainability platform. Under her guidance, her team is leveraging the power and impact of holistic design, working to align and focus their ad agencies under a new value-based compensation model and driving great adoption and understanding of digital media with a "fans-first" mentality.
Prior to joining The Coca-Coca Company, Ms. Clark was Senior Vice President, Advertising for AT&T where she was at the helm of the company´s most ambitious and aggressive re-branding and advertising campaigns in its history. Before AT&T, she served as Senior Vice President and Director of Client Service at GSD&M, an internationally recognized advertising agency based in Austin, Texas and held a variety of field and corporate positions in advertising and marketing for BellSouth Mobility.
She was inducted into the American Advertising Federation´s (AAF) "Advertising Hall of Achievement" in November 2007 and AdAge cited Clark as "one of the most important women in marketing" in its "Women to Watch" 2007 issue. Fortune also featured her in its "40 Under 40" issue where she was also named one of four "Women to Watch" in November 2009.
Ms. Clark is a board member of the Association of National Advertisers and the Jack & Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/Creative Writing from Florida State University.
Beth Comstock SVP and Chief Marketing Officer, General Electric
Beth Comstock is SVP & Chief Marketing Officer of General Electric where she leads the company´s organic growth and commercial innovation initiatives as well as its sales, marketing and communications functions. She is responsible for ecomagination, the GE-wide business platform that is devoted to reducing environmental impact with new technology, and healthymagination, that is focused on achieving sustainable health through innovation by lowering costs, improving quality and reaching more people.
Ms. Comstock returned to the CMO role after having spent over two years as President of Integrated Media at NBC Universal where she oversaw the television ad sales, marketing and research teams with a focus on new advertising innovations. She also led the company´s digital media development and distribution including the formation of Hulu and Peacock Equity, and the acquisition of iVillage.com.
In 2003, she was named GE´s first Chief Marketing Officer in more than 20 years and helped reinvigorate marketing across the company, introducing ecomagination, Imagination Breakthrough innovations and the "Imagination at Work" brand campaign.
Previously, Ms. Comstock held a succession of publicity and promotions roles at GE, NBC, CBS and Turner Broadcasting. She began her career in local television production in Virginia.
Ms. Comstock is a trustee of the Smithsonian´s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. She is a graduate of the College of William and Mary.
David Droga Founder and Creative Chairman, Droga5
David Droga has been fortunate enough to work around the world and with the most talented individuals in the advertising industry. His previous roles include Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of Publicis, Executive Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi London, Regional Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Asia, and in his earlier days Creative Director and Partner at OMON in Sydney.
In 2006, he founded Droga5 in New York, which Creativity magazine named the "U.S. Agency of the Year" in 2007. As a result, David has now won "Agency of the Year" in four separate countries. Since 2009, Droga5 has been the fastest growing independent agency in America.
To date, he is the single most-awarded creative at the Cannes International Advertising Festival with over 50 Lions. David has been inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement and honored with lifetime achievement awards across the globe. Mr. Droga sits on several boards, including the One Club, Magnum and New Museum.
Mark Kvamme Partner and Venture Capitalist, Sequoia Capital
Mark Kvamme is a Partner and Venture Capitalist at Menlo Park-based Sequoia Capital, focused on investments in enterprise data management software, consumer media, advertising services, healthcare, Internet, outsourcing, technology, and software.
From 1991 through 1998, Mr. Kvamme served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors at CKS Group, Inc., an advertising agency that pioneered new advertising strategies by integrating marketing with technology.
Earlier in his career, he was a Director of International Marketing at Wyse Technology; the President and Chief Executive Officer at International Solutions, Inc.; and was a Founding Member at Apple France. Mr. Kvamme also held management and marketing positions at International Solutions, Inc. and Apple Computer, Inc.
Mr. Kvamme sits on the Boards of Directors of imeem, Mark Logic, StrongMail Systems, Cast Iron Systems, LinkedIn, PodShow, Corvigo, MotoSport, and EMN8. He has served on the Boards of Directors of IronHide, Bang Networks, Cerisent, Sawyer Media, Harmonic, Allocity Inc., and Macromedia. He holds a BA in French Economics and Literature from the University of California, Berkeley.
Bob Liodice President and Chief Executive Officer, ANA - Association of National Advertisers
Mr. Liodice has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA) since 2003. He was previously Executive Vice President, responsible for member relations and business development with a primary focus on strengthening relationships with ANA member companies and broadening the membership base. He joined the ANA as Senior Vice President in 1995.
Prior to the ANA, he was Vice President of Global Marketing and Sales for Grupo Televisa, a major worldwide broadcaster. Previous experience includes more than 15 years in marketing and financial management at Kraft General Foods including having served as category marketing manager for the Jell-O and Bakers brands.
He is a member of the Boards of Directors of The Advertising Council, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF), National Advertising Review Council, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the Advertising Educational Foundation and he is an executive committee member of the World Federation of Advertisers.
Mr. Liodice holds bachelor degrees in accounting and management and an MBA in Finance from New York University.
Wes Nichols Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, MarketShare Partners
Wes Nichols is the Co-Founder and CEO of MarketShare Partners, a leading strategic marketing analytics firm focused on marketing ROI models and software that are used by Fortune 50 companies.
Prior to starting MarketShare Partners, Mr. Nichols was President and CEO of TEQUILA, a 1,400-person direct and interactive marketing agency owned by Omnicom Group. Before that, he was Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Direct Partners, a full-service marketing services network. He helped build the agency into one of the largest and most respected direct and interactive agencies globally, with nearly 300 employees in four offices, serving EarthLink, Pfizer, Nissan, Mars, DirecTV and others. Direct Partners was acquired by Omnicom Group in 1999 and has become an important element of Omnicom´s digital and CRM strategy.
Mr. Nichols sits on the Board of Directors of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB), an organization focused on establishing marketing accountability standards and practices. He is also a Board member of The Wharton School´s Future of Advertising Committee, and is on the B2B Client Advisory Board of Google, an active member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO), a Senior Fellow of the Milken Institute and a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy.
He holds degrees from Randolph-Macon College and The Johns Hopkins University in Psychology and Business Management, respectively, as well as having completed post-graduate work in entrepreneurship and management at Harvard Business School.
Mike Pohl Chief Executive Officer, Jinni Media LTD
Michael Pohl has more than 25 years experience in the telecommunications and cable industries with companies integral to the development of IPTV, HDTV, On Demand, OSS and next generation advertising and infrastructure network tools. He currently serves as CEO of Jinni Media LTD, an Israeli company that offers a semantic search-and-recommendation engine that is based on "content genetics and user psychographics."
Prior to joining Jinni, Mr. Pohl was President of the Global Strategies Group at C-COR, Inc. where he oversaw worldwide sales, marketing, product management and global strategy. Before C-COR, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of nCUBE Corporation. He has also held executive positions at SkyConnect, Douglas Communications Corporation, Tribune Cable Communications, and, at ARRIS Group, as Vice President/General Manager of the On-Demand Systems Division. He also currently serves on the Board of Directors at BigBand Networks, Inc. and Ascent Media Corporation.
Mr. Pohl was the 2008 recipient of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) Vanguard Award for Associates & Affiliates. In 2009, Jinni was selected as a Red Herring "100 Europe" winner, an OnHollywood 100 winner, a Plugg Startup Rally winner, a SXSW Web Awards nominee, a TechCrunch Europas nominee and Jinni was named the best recommendation engine on the web by CNET. In September, Jinni won the Outstanding Achievement in web development WebAward presented by the Web Marketing Association.
Gokul Rajaram Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Chai Labs, Inc.
Gokul Rajaram is Co-Founder and CEO of Chai Labs, an Internet company building a content and community platform for Web publishers. Chai Labs is funded by a number of notable investors including Marc Andreessen and Reid Hoffman.
Prior to Chai Labs, Mr. Rajaram was Product Management Director for Google AdSense. He helped conceive and crystallize the product in early 2003, and played a key role in its launch and growth into a multi-billion dollar product line. Gokul was also product lead for a number of acquisitions for Google, including DoubleClick (display advertising/ad serving) and AdScape (in-game advertising).
Earlier in his career, Gokul worked as a software engineer and technical lead at Juno Online, an early free e-mail provider in New York (which later merged with NetZero to form United Online), where he developed the back-end advertising system that drove much of Juno´s revenues and helped it go public in 1999.
Mr. Rajaram holds an MBA from MIT´s Sloan School, an MS in Computer Science from the University of Texas, Austin, and a B. Tech in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur where he received the President´s Gold Medal for being Class Valedictorian.
George Wiedemann Chief Executive Officer, UMarketing LLC
Mr. Wiedemann serves as the CEO of UMarketing, LLC, a multichannel marketing services provider whose clients include Chase, Allstate, and bluefy.com.
Mr. Wiedemann began his career in 1968 at Time Magazine as the youngest Circulation Marketing Director in the magazine´s history. In 1976, he became president of Claritas, collaborating with founder Dr. Jonathan Robbin to develop the demographic overlay technologies still used today in database marketing. In 1978, he joined Wunderman, a Y&R agency, as Director of Client Services.
Ed Meyer, CEO of Grey Advertising invited Mr. Wiedemann to found Grey Direct in 1980, which he led for 21 years. Grey Direct, now G2 Direct and Digital of Grey Global Group, part of WPP, became a global direct response advertising agency with over $1 billion in billings in a network of 38 profitable companies. In 2000, he became President and CEO of Responsys, a leading commercial email company. Responsys´ blue chip customers included Lands´ End, Continental Airlines, Office Depot, Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo Bank among many others.
In 1998, Mr. Wiedemann became a member of the Board of Directors of Rewards Network and was offered the position of CEO in 2002. After three years, he returned to the east coast to join Harte-Hanks as Managing Director of Harte-Hanks Partners, a strategic engagement arm of Harte-Hanks.
Mr. Wiedeman served on the Board of Directors of the Direct Marketing Association for fifteen years and was Chairman of the Board in 1999-2000. He is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.