Management Profile  Rob
Chief Financial Officer
Rob has 20 years of executive management experience in the Internet, retail wholesale and manufacturing industries. From November 1999 to January 2008, Rob served as CFO and treasurer at eDiets.com (NASDAQ: DIET), where he was a key participant in the successful expansion of the company into a leading online provider of diet services, information and products. Prior to eDiets.com, Rob managed financial reporting for Equinox Systems, Inc, which was acquired by Avocent (NASDAQ: AVCT) in 2001. Before his work in the e-commerce industry, Rob, a certified public accountant, was an audit manager with Arthur Andersen LLP in Boston and South Florida. How far can a “Skipper/Comedian” from the Jungle Cruise at Walt Disney World go? Well how about to the office of CFO at Bridgevine. Granted it was a long, long time ago, but perhaps that experience gave Rob the training he needed to navigate the world of big business. “Every day is a new exciting challenge while serving thousands of customers, seventy employees and eight Board of Directors. And as CFO in an entrepreneurial environment, I get to work with some amazing people. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to work with a Board of Directors and a management team that has a history of building successful companies. They all have a vested interest in the success of the company. To the extent that this organization had a very legitimate business claim for access to capital this board provided it, and not just money but smart money. They have a lot more successes than they do failures.” Rob explains how Bridgevine has been successful despite the intricacies of the company’s business. “Our business is more complex than what it looks like from a far. Sure we have large companies that we help merchandise their products and services and that sounds very simple. But when you peel back the onion you’ll realize there’s a lot more to it than just that. This is a very data intensive business whether yesterday’s ad spends was successful or not depends on many different factors. How did we convert? Is the system performing well? You soon come to realize that it takes a lot of effort to have a successful order and doing that a couple of hundred thousand times a year doesn’t just happen by itself. This is not a business that can be put on autopilot. Everyone has to be doing his or her job everyday.” “We need to continue to broaden our business and we will. We can be selling many different types of services, home security, music, pest control and many others. We can’t be dependant on any one major company. We want to have a multitude of partners, because if one or two go down in a bad economy we’ll survive it.” So where does Rob see the company in the coming years? “In the future you’ll see a very different type of Bridgevine. Much larger and more expansive, the legacy business will still be here, but probably not as big a piece of the pie as it is currently. We have assets that our competitors don’t have and if we can match those to others it would give us that much more leverage with our business partners.” Rob is a sports fan everyday of the year. Being raised in New England he has a certain allegiance to the professional sports teams in that area. But is probably one of the few who can express respect for the collegiate sports programs of Notre Dame, the Florida Gators and the Miami Hurricane’s all in the same breath. He also enjoys coaching his kid’s baseball and football teams. Why did you join Bridgevine? The opportunity to work with a Board of Directors and a management team that has a history of building successful companies. (Also - looking for a discount on my monthly Comcast bill.) Why do you like working at Bridgevine? The entrepreneurial environment. (See response to #1) What is the most interesting aspect of your job at Bridgevine? Balancing the interests of shareholders, customers and employees. (Being seated between G. Miller and V. Olmstead: priceless.) What part of your personal development while at Bridgevine are you most proud of? Bringing transparency to the financial operations. (Discovering the Italian Subs at nearby Giordano’s sub shop.) What hobbies or interests do you have outside the office? Skiing, golf and coaching youth baseball/softball. (Checking email and vmail) If you could be a tree, what kind of tree would you be? Redwood |