board of advisors
Steve Woda - Founder
Steve fell victim to e-commerce fraud in 2000 when he purchased a PDA on eBay that never arrived. Recognizing the need for a better trust and safety model for online shoppers, Steve turned his frustration into inspiration by founding buySAFE, the world's leading e-commerce trust and safety company. He developed and refined the business plan and product prototypes for buySAFE while earning his MBA at the Wharton School, where the venture became a finalist in the School’s prestigious business plan competition.
Prior to founding buySAFE, Steve was both a vice president of Assurance Capital Corporation and a director of the Financial Risk Solutions practice within the Rutherfoord Companies, one of the largest privately-held insurance brokerage firms in the United States. At USF&G Insurance, he managed a $1.5 billion portfolio of surety bond guarantees and built the business from $3 million to more than $12 million annual revenue in two years. Steve began his career at Travelers Property & Casualty, and also worked at PayMyBills.com, an online bill management service and idealab! company.
Dr. Eric K. Clemons
Dr. Clemons is a pioneer in the systematic study of the transformational impacts of information on the strategy and practice of business. He currently serves as the professor of operations and information management at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. His research includes strategic uses of information systems, such as e-commerce, information economics, building competitive advantage via information technology and the impact of technology on strategic alliances.
Dr. Clemons is currently a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Management Information Systems and Journal of Electronic Commerce. He has served on the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment study of securities markets and on the Quality of Markets Advisory Board of the London Stock Exchange. He has held visiting academic appointments at Harvard University, Cornell University and Hong Kong University of Science & Technology.
Marsha Collier
Marsha Collier is one of the foremost eBay/eCommerce experts and educators in the world. With over 1 million copies of her books in print (with special editions for the UK, Germany, France, Canada, Australia - and an edition in Spanish), she is the top selling eBay author. Among her books, eBay For Dummies is the best selling book for eBay beginners while her eBay Business All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies is the best selling title on operating an eBay business. Marsha also shares her eBay business expertise in streaming video at Entrepreneur.com's "Entrepreneur's Coaches Corner" and is Entrepreneur.com's online eBay columnist.
Along with her writing, Marsha is also an experienced eBay and eCommerce educator. She was one of the original eBay University instructors as well as a regular presenter at eBay Live. Marsha also hosted Make Your Fortune Online, a PBS special on eBay and online business that premiered in 2005. The show was the basis for her PBS premium five DVD set, Your Online Business Plan. She makes regular appearances on television, radio, and in print to discuss eBay and eCommerce. Currently, she also co-hosts a syndicated radio talk show, The Computer & Technology Radio Show hosted along with Marc Cohen.
Marsha earned her eCommerce expertise as a longtime seller on eBay. She began her online retailing career in 1996 as a means to earn extra money for her daughter's education. She grew her business to a full-time venture and was one of the first eBay PowerSellers.
Mary Dridi
Mary Dridi has more than 15 years experience as a financial executive with emerging fast growth technology companies. She has a wide range of financial management, strategic and operational experience including venture financing, IPOs, M&A activity, and investor relations.
Mary served as CFO, executive vice president, and treasurer of webMethods, a leading provider of business software. She played a significant role in webMethods' IPO in February 2000, which was one of the most successful IPOs in high-tech history, and she helped manage the company's rapid growth to $200 million in revenue. Before this, Mary was vice president of finance for SRA International, Inc., where she managed the company's growth from $49 million to more than $200 million. Previously at KPMG, she provided audit and other business services to companies in a variety of industries and also consulted on several IPO initiatives and the private placement of equity. Before joining buySAFE's Board of Advisors, Mary also served as the company's first CFO.
In June of 2002, Mary was named CFO of the Year by the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC), the Maryland Tech Council and the DC Tech Council. She has served on Virginia Governor Mark Warner’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates and the Advisory Board for the George Mason University School of Management. Mary holds a B.A. in Commerce and Accounting from the University of Virginia’s McIntyre School of Commerce.
David J. Farber
Mr. Farber is the former Chief Technologist of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and considered by many to be the "Grandfather of the Internet" due to his early research on creating the world’s first operational Distributed Computer System at the University of California Irvine. He has served on the U.S. Presidential Advisory Board on Information Technology and the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council.
He is a director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and is the Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunication Systems, holding dual appointments in the Computer and Information Science and Electrical Engineering Departments at the University of Pennsylvania, where he manages leading edge research in High Speed Networking. In addition, he holds appointments as a Faculty Fellow of the Wharton School of Business and a Faculty Associate of the Annenberg School of Communications.
Mr. Farber is a co-founder of Caine, Farber & Gordon Inc. (CFG Inc.), which became one of the leading suppliers of software design methodology. He is the recipient of the 1995 ACM Sigcomm Award for lifelong contributions to the computer communications field, and in 1997 was awarded the prestigious John Scott Award for Contributions to Humanity.
David Holtzman
As CTO of Network Solutions and the manager of the Internet’s master root server during the late 1990s, Mr. Holtzman not only oversaw the growth of the commercial Internet from 500,000 domain names to over 20 million, he also led the way in imagining and inventing a world in which technology positively impacts every facet of human life.
Today, as the editor of a monthly publication called “GlobalPOV” — Mr. Holtzman collaborates with business, political and tech leaders from around the world to determine the specific ways that technology is changing notions like privacy, identity and intellectual property.
A former cryptographic analyst and submariner with the U.S. Navy, Mr. Holtzman also worked at DEFSMAC (Defense Special Missile and Astronautics Center) as an intelligence analyst, focusing primarily on the Soviet Manned Space program. In addition to being an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at American University ’s graduate business program, Mr. Holtzman also serves on several boards, including the Nanotechnology Business Alliance.
Mr. Holtzman holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Maryland and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh, as well as being an honors graduate in Russian from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California.
Scott Kraft
Mr. Kraft is an award-winning expert in branding and marketing. Over twenty years, he has developed ground-breaking strategies and marketing campaigns for leading brands such as Citigroup, General Electric, NewsCorp, IBM, and SBC/Ameritech.
Today, as CEO of Kraft Consultants, Scott helps clients optimize their marketing investments and create lasting business value. This work has led to major initiatives at some of the world’s greatest organizations.
Recently, as VP, Global Head of Branding and Advertising at Sun Microsystems, Scott re-ignited the Java brand, turning it into a global power brand that is now found on virtually every mobile phone shipped.
In the 1990s, Scott served in executive roles in companies that were key to the interactive and Internet revolution, including Executive VP of Interpublic agency NicholsonNY (now IconMedia), CEO Gadfly Inc. and Managing Partner Sterling Group.
Kraft’s work has been awarded the top honors in the marketing and advertising industry, including the Cannes Lions Grand Prix, the Grand Clio, and the AdClub’s Golden Pencil.
Andrew Parsons
Mr. Parsons is currently Chairman of Gulliver Growth Partners, LLC, an investment and advisory firm. He was former Chairman of the Kantar Group of WPP PLC, and is a board member of several public and private companies with a marketing and Internet focus.
Mr. Parsons recently retired as Director and Senior Partner of McKinsey and Company, Inc. - a leading international management consulting firm. He founded the E-Marketing initiative, and at various times led the North American Consumer practice and the Global Marketing practice. He served clients globally on strategic, organizational and marketing functional issues in the consumer goods and services, retail, marketing services, media and pharmaceutical/medical devices sectors. Prior to joining McKinsey, Mr. Parsons was Vice President of Marketing for the Prestige Division of American Home Products. Earlier he had worked as an Account Executive for LPE/Leo Burnett.
Mr. Parsons has an M.A. from Oxford University and an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar and was awarded the George Hay Brown prize for Marketing.
Dr. David J. Reibstein
Dr. Reibstein is recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on competitive marketing strategy, market segmentation, marketing models and understanding brand choice behavior. He currently serves as the William S. Woodside professor and professor of marketing at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He recently served as the executive director of the prestigious Marketing Science Institute.
He is the co-founder and a board member of BizRate.com, a leading comparison shopping search site on the Web and provider of e-commerce research. Prior to his appointment at Wharton, he was an assistant professor of marketing at the Harvard Business School, and a visiting professor at INSEAD at Fontainebleau, France and Stanford University.
Thomas D. Rutherfoord, Jr.
Mr. Rutherfoord is the chairman and CEO of Thomas Rutherfoord, Inc., and president of Rutherfoord International, Inc. The Rutherfoord Companies is one of the 100 largest independently-owned insurance brokerage, risk-management and business support services firms in the United States, serving clients across the nation and around the world.
Mr. Rutherfoord is active with many key industry associations including the Chief Executives Organization, World President’s Organization, and various civic and cultural groups. He has served several terms on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of The Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art.
