Dr. Homaira Akbari, President, SkyBitz
Dr. Akbari joined SkyBitz on October 2007 as the President & CEO. Since then, SkyBitz, a leading provider of remote asset tracking and security solutions, has had record performance despite the challenging economic environment in 2008-2009. For the first time, the company had positive net income in 2009; the cash flow turned positive in 2010; and the revenues grew by 22% to $37 million in 2011. Dr. Akbari has expanded SkyBitz into new international geographies and new customer verticals including Oil & Gas, Chemicals and Government. She successfully sold SkyBitz to Telular Corporation (NASDAQ: WRLS) in February 2012; she continues to lead SkyBitz which is expected to have double digit growth in 2012.
Dr. Akbari holds a Ph.D. with honors in particle physics from Tufts University and an MBA with distinction from Carnegie Mellon University.
John Becker, President and CEO, ScienceLogic
John Becker brings to ScienceLogic a solid track record of understanding strategic market issues and leading companies through their next phase of growth.
A seasoned technology executive with more than 30 years of experience, John has helped several companies grow and achieve successful outcomes. Previously, he was CEO of Approva Corporation, where his leadership was instrumental in the company’s acquisition by Lawson Software. He has also held CEO positions at Cybertrust (acquired by Verizon in 2007), TruSecure Corp. and AXENT Technologies (IPO; eventually sold to Symantec Corp).
Prior to AXENT, he held various finance positions at Raxco Software, Marriott Corporation and MCI Communications, Inc. John holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of Richmond.
Amir Hudda, CEO, Naaya
Amir Hudda is the Founder & CEO of Naaya, a social-game based learning platform targeted at 5-12 year old kids focused on social & global studies and 21st Century Skills. Mr. Hudda has raised almost $100M in capital from leading US Venture Capitalists as well as US and Norwegian Investment Banks. He has also completed 6 M&A transactions valued at approximately $185M. Prior to starting Naaya, he was the CEO of Apptix, Founder & CEO of Brickstream Corporation and Founder and CEO of Entevo Corporation.
Mr. Hudda holds an M.S. in Computer Science from Georgia Tech and a B.E. in Computer Engineering from PICT, University of Pune, India.
Dev Ganesan, CEO, Aptara
Dev Ganesan is the President and CEO of Aptara Inc. Under Dev’s leadership, Aptara is playing a pivotal role in assisting the world’s leading publishers navigate and profit in the digital/mobile age. As the former head of both private and publically-held companies, Dev’s entrepreneurial drive and long track-record of operational and financial success has resulted in Aptara’s expansion and evolution, from a technology vendor to a digital solutions partner−one that is helping publishers produce and deliver eBooks and other digital content to mobile devices and eReaders efficiently. During his tenure, Aptara more than doubled its EBITDA and tripled the enterprise value in 3 years, resulting in a sale to iEnergizer UK for $144 million in cash in February 2012.
In addition to his executive role at Aptara, Dev currently serves on the Board of Directors of few fast-growth companies in the Washington, DC and Silicon Valley regions.
David Steinberg, CEO, SnappCloud
David Steinberg is the CEO of SnappCloud, based in Washington, D.C. SnappCloud is a technology company that designs, builds, and operates branded app stores for leading device makers and distributors. During his career, he has been Vice President of BioNetrix Software for global market development, Director of worldwide distribution for Check Point Software, and a founding officer of SynOptics, which became Bay Networks after merger. Most recently, Steinberg led Washington, DC-based SwapDrive as CEO.
Steinberg is active advising many young companies. He also serves as an advisor to Core Capital Partners, a Washington, DC based venture capital firm, and sits on several corporate and non-profit Boards' of Directors.
