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Ari Sonesh,
CosmoCom CEO, has been responsible for the strategic direction of the company since its inception. Under
Ari's leadership, CosmoCom grew from an idea on a napkin, to a
patent for multimedia call distribution over IP, and -- after
successful funding rounds with some of the most prominent VC
investors -- to a profitable, global IP Contact Center Software
Company headquartered on Long Island with offices in nine countries. CosmoCom’s flagship product, CosmoCall Universe™, is now the most
selected hosted contact center platform of tier-one service
providers globally. Ari’s career before CosmoCom gave him
significant experience in a broad range of areas including general
management, research and development, production, support,
international commerce, and marketing in the computer and
telecommunications industries. Before founding CosmoCom, Ari was
Vice President of Engineering, Operations, and Technical Support for
Comverse Technology, a leading telecommunications equipment
manufacturer with annual sales in excess of one billion dollars.
Previously, Ari served as Vice President of R&D and President of
General Telecomputer, an early producer of a CTI product designed in
Israel and manufactured in Asia. Before that, he held several senior
management and engineering positions in Israel. He received his BSEE
from the Technion in Haifa, Israel, in 1979. A knowledgeable art
lover, Ari developed the acclaimed timeline and exhibit
"Communication and Art in the Information Age" which lines the walls
of CosmoCom headquarters.
[ View the long
(2-page) biography of Ari Sonesh ]
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Dr. Benjamin Eisner,
President and Chief Operating Officer, has more than 25 years of experience
as an executive in the telecom product industry and has focused
exclusively on the call center space for the past fourteen years in his
two most recent positions. Immediately before joining CosmoCom, Mr.
Eisner was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Telephony at Work. Prior to that, he was
responsible for Strategic Alliances and Channel Development at
Comverse Infosys, now known as Verint. Ben was President and CEO of
Deka, a Long Island based manufacturer of specialty
telecommunications hardware following his 5-year tenure as President of Telrad
Telecommunications, Inc., the US subsidiary of Israeli telecom giant
Telrad Limited. Before that, Ben served as Vice President of
Marketing and Business Development for Tadiran Telecommunications
in Israel. Ben holds a Ph.D. in Economics
and an MBA in Marketing, both from Washington University in St.
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Stephen R. Kowarsky, Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer, is one of the founders of CosmoCom. He
came to CosmoCom from Comverse Technology, which he joined in early
1985 as its second U.S. employee after a distinguished career in
software development and IT management. At both Comverse and
CosmoCom, Mr. Kowarsky has played a key role in major account
selling, key relationship management, product strategy and
positioning, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property. He
now has primary responsibility for CosmoCom's marketing
communication activities. He is an industry authority and thought
leader on the subjects of Contact Center On-Demand and
Contact-Center-in-a-Box. [ View the long
(1-page) biography of Steve Kowarsky ]
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Stephen E. Dellutri,
Chief Technology Officer, co-founder and developer of the
CosmoCall Universe technology, is a distinguished professional
in the fields of information technology and networking and is the
co-inventor of the unified IP-based call center. Mr. Dellutri has
developed software and implemented global Internet Protocol networks
for Fortune 100 companies and co-founded CosmoCom after serving as
Assistant Vice President in charge of the design of global
inter-networking at Citicorp International Communications Inc. He
also served as IT Director at Comverse Technology and as senior
inter-networking engineer at Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney.
[ View the long
(1-page) biography of Steve Dellutri ]
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Nick Applegarth,
Vice-President, EMEA, has nearly 25 years experience in the
telecommunications industry with a diverse background that includes
senior general management, sales and marketing across international
boundaries, particularly EMEA. Prior to joining CosmoCom, Applegarth
was Senior Vice President and General Manager of EMEA at Envox.
Before that he was Managing Director at Nuance and he spent the
better part of the 90’s in successful sales and management positions
at voicemail giant Octel which was acquired by Lucent where he
assumed the role of VP of Service Provider Messaging, EMEA. He is
fluent in French and Russian, and conversant in Spanish, Italian and
German and holds a BSc with Honors from the University of Surrey.
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Steve Jackson,
Vice-President, CosmoCom Americas, has more than 20 years
of experience as a sales executive in high technology and has worked
exclusively in the call center space for the past seven years. Prior
to joining CosmoCom, Mr. Jackson was the Vice-President, Eastern
North America at Concerto Software. Before that, he served as
Vice-President, North America for Eshare Communications. Steve was
the Vice-President, General Manager of the Paperclick division of
NeoMedia Technologies following successful sales management
assignments at Prime Computer, GTE, and Tandem Computers. Steve
holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Central
Florida.
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Steve Kaish, Vice
President Product Management and Marketing for CosmoCom, has over 20
years of business and technical leadership experience in
telecommunications products and services. Since joining CosmoCom, he
has served in a variety of senior management roles managing Sales
Engineering, Business Development, Technical Services and
Documentation & Training. Prior to joining CosmoCom Mr. Kaish led
both product management and architecture teams launching innovative
telecommunications products and services at AT&T’s Bell Labs and at
Telcordia Technologies. He received his Bachelors of Engineering,
magna cum laude, from Cornell University, and his Masters of
Engineering from Stanford University. He holds four patents in the
areas of Intelligent Network and Call Center technologies.
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Meir Kisos, Vice
President International Technical Operations and General Manager of
CosmoCom Israel, has more than two decades of experience in managing
the development, support, and sales of telecom products. Prior to
joining CosmoCom, Mr. Kisos served as vice president, Strategic
Alliances at the Real Time billing Division of Comverse in Israel
after serving as vice president of Operations for the same division
in the USA. Before that, Mr. Kisos worked at Comverse in Israel,
where he was involved in the formation and development of their
world wide support organization. Mr. Kisos holds a B.Sc. in
Electrical Engineering from the New York Institute of Technology.
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Isaac Perelmuter,
Vice President of R&D has more than 25 years of Telecom and
Management experience in Quality Assurance and Software Development.
Before joining CosmoCom, Mr. Perelmuter worked at Bell Labs,
Bellcore and Telcordia Technologies. There he held a variety of
management positions including, Executive Director of the QA &
Performance Organization for the first production Class 5 softswitch,
Director of QA for the Advanced Intelligent Network products and
Development Manager in a number of Operations Support Systems. He
also has expertise in ISO 9000/CMM processes, Project management,
and Software automation. Mr. Perelmuter hold a B.S. degree in
Electrical Engineering from CCNY and and MS degree in Operations
Research & Management Science from Columbia University. |
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Andie Rees, Vice
President, Asia Pacific and Japan, has over 20 years experience in
the Telecommunications, Call Center & CRM space, plus 8 years as an
Electrical Engineer before he moved into the world of sales and
marketing. Before joining CosmoCom, he was the Senior Vice
President, International for Onyx Software. Prior to that, he led
the startup of Aspect in the Asia Pacific region for four years of
strong growth. Before moving to Singapore, he held a number of
senior management positions with Aspect UK, where he was also part
of the startup team. Mr. Rees began his career as a graduate
engineer with Lucas Engineering and later worked as a Marine
Electrical Engineer with Princess Cruises. An avid and accomplished
rock and mountain climber, Rees has scaled some of the world’s
tallest peaks. |
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Natan Stein, Vice President, Technical
Operations, has more than 20
years of multi-disciplinary experience in R&D and Technical
Services, including communications, image processing and real-time
applications. Prior to joining CosmoCom, Mr. Stein served as VP,
Technology and Technical Services at Visonic Technologies and before
that as Executive Vice President of Medical SNI Systems Ltd.
Previously, Mr. Stein worked at Fibronics, Haifa, where he was
involved in the development of advanced data-communication products
and served as acting director of the R&D division. Mr. Stein
holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the renowned Technion,
Israel Institute of Technology, where he specialized in Digital
Design, Communication and Control Systems, graduating Cum Laude.
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Meir Yaniv,
Sr. Vice President, MESA and Global Accounts, joined CosmoCom early in its
development. In addition to managing EMEA operations, Mr. Yaniv is responsible for CosmoCom's Global
Accounts, including some of the largest and best known companies in
the industry. Mr. Yaniv's previous position was Vice President,
International Sales, with Telco Systems (now a BATM company), where
he built and ran the international sales organization. Previously,
Mr. Yaniv held numerous executive positions, including President of
Magnalink Corporation, a leading Massachusetts-based data
compression vendor that was later acquired by Telco Systems. In the
mid-1980's, Mr. Yaniv founded and was President of Crystal
Technology Corporation, an early CTI company funded by VC's from the
USA, Canada, Japan and Israel. Mr. Yaniv, a graduate of the Technion
(Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences) started his career in
the technical field (software development) in Israel, where he held
management positions with Elbit and the IDF.
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| Regional
Executives |
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Mike Adolphy,
Regional Sales Director UK, Ireland and South Africa brings over 20
years of sales experience to CosmoCom with sales leadership roles at
companies such as Cable and Wireless, Siemens and Verint Systems
where over a 5 year period as Managing Director of their emerging UK
contact center software operation he developed a Direct and Channel
business focused on the Finance and Insurance Markets. Mike also
helped to develop Voyence as MD of their EMEA start-up developing
sales of their IP configuration management solutions to Telcos and
Managed Service Providers. |
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Eric Eydelman,
Managing Director, Russia, Baltic Countries and CIS, , has more than
20 years of experience in engineering, management and sales,
including 11 years in Call Center and Telecommunications. Prior to
this position, Eric was in charge of Project Management for
CosmoCom's largest telecom accounts for almost 7 years. Prior to
joining CosmoCom, Eric was a manager in Engineering and Technical
Support for Comverse Technology. Before Comverse, Eric held senior
engineering positions at Northrop Grumman, Unisys and Harris
Corporations, where he focused on mission critical communication
projects internationally and for the US government. Eric was a
recipient of the master fellowship program from Grumman Corporation.
Eric received his B.S. and M.S. degrees, Cum Lade, in electrical
engineering from Polytechnic University of NY. |
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Tetsuo Hotchi,
Country Manager, Japan, has a strong record of developing the
Japanese Contact Center market through the introduction of advanced
US solutions. In his 10+ years in the industry he has been a strong
contributor to the history and the growth of the market. His
introduction of Lucent (now Avaya) Call Center solutions to a major
Japanese Electric Power Supply Company was the first such US System
chosen under severe, Japanese-specific conditions. He later helped
to open Rockwell’s Japan operations and subsequently he
established and managed the Davox Japan (now Concerto) business
operations as their Japan Regional Manager. |
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Wolfhart Krischke,
Managing Director, Central and Eastern Europe,
has more than 20 years of experience in the Call Center and
Telecommunication field. He has a broad background including diverse
management and sales management positions. Prior to joining
CosmoCom, Wolfhart held Senior Sales and Sales Management positions
at Aspect in Central Europe and was a major contributor for Aspects
success in Europe. Earlier Wolfhart was Key Account Manager at Ascom,
a Swiss based IT and communications company, where he expanded
Ascoms presence in the German Telco market. Prior to his sales
career in the Call Center and Telecommunication industry, Wolfhart
focused on international mission critical IT and Telecommunication
projects for the government. Wolfhart was honored by the Government
for his international achievements with the Cross of Honor.
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Kiran Maini, Country
Manager, India, brings to CosmoCom a strong background in both
engineering and international business. He has more than ten years
of experience and a successful track record in sales leadership
roles. Before joining CosmoCom, Kiran was Sales Manager of South
Asia at Cincom Systems. Prior to Cincom, he was with Siemens. Mr.
Maini holds a Bachelors Degree in Engineering and a Masters Degree
in International Business. |
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Iraj Rezaian,
Regional Sales Director, South Europe, has over 20 years of
experience in international sales and marketing, holding several
management positions in the Telecommunications and Internet
industries within well-established worldwide companies such as, CGEE
Alsthom, Olivetti and Memorex Telex. Mr. Rezaian brings to CosmoCom
his proven experience of international sales channels development
and key relationship management. Mr. Rezaian's technical background
includes five years of engineering studies at the U.S. Military
school, The Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina and S.U.N.Y.
Maritime College in New York.
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Gian Brown, member of the Board of Directors, is the President and
General Counsel of SAIC's venture investing subsidiary, responsible for
overseeing all aspects of VCC's activities. These activities include
managing a portfolio of approximately 35 early-stage technology
companies, evaluating and making new strategic investments, monetizing
securities, and managing a significant cash portfolio. Before joining
VCC, Gian practiced with the law firms of King & Spalding in Atlanta and
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in New York. He also served as
corporate counsel at Atlanta-based eHatchery. Gian's legal practice has
included M&A, the creation of joint ventures and strategic alliances,
various corporate financial transactions, and general corporate and
securities matters. He also has had extensive experience providing an
array of legal services to start-up and early stage companies. Gian
holds a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law and a
Bachelor's Degree in Politics from New York University.
Henry Feinberg, joined TCV as a Partner in 2000. He
brings to TCV 25 years of Fortune 500 operating and transaction
experience. As the Chairman and CEO of Rand McNally, the world's largest
global provider of geographic information in print and electronic media,
Henry led the charge into the New Economy. Under his leadership, Rand
McNally transformed from a traditional print publisher to a branded,
fully digital, distribution driven, multimedia information company with
eCommerce businesses in both the B2B and B2C markets. Prior to Rand
McNally, Henry was General Manager of International Operations and New
Business Development at Covia Partnership, currently Galileo
International. Galileo International, which is now a subsidiary of
Cendant, provides global electronic commerce for travel related products
and services. Henry graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Chemistry from
Rutgers University. Henry serves on the Board of Directors of
Adknowledge, CosmoCom, Integres Global Logistics, thinkorswim,
Triversity, Insurance Services Office, and Yield Management Systems.
Walter Kissinger, member of the Board of Directors, directs the
Kissinger Family Foundation and is President of WBK Associates, an
investment and consulting group. He is Vice Chairman of the Board of
Trustees of Hofstra University and Chairs the Academic Affairs Committee.
He also serves on the Board of the Stony Brook Foundation. He has been a
Director of various public and private companies and quasi-public Boards
such as the National Council for U.S./China Trade. From 1969 -1988 he was
Chairman, President and CEO of The Allen Group, Inc. He is a graduate of
Princeton University and received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business
School.
Paul Lowell, member of the Board of Directors and
Resident Manager of Topspin Partners, L.P., has over 20 years of
experience in corporate finance, private equity venture capital,
technology transfer and commercialization matters. Previously, he was Vice
President at Goldman Sachs and Co. and Senior Vice president of Lehman
Brothers, Inc.
Barry Rubenstein, member of the Board of Directors, has
served as Chief Executive Officer of Wheatley Partners since its inception
in 1996. Mr. Rubenstein was a founder or founding consultant to several
technology companies, including Applied Digital Systems (1969), Safeguard
Scientifics (1980), Novell (1983) and Cheyenne Software
(1983). From 1985 to 1987, Mr. Rubenstein served as Chief Executive
Officer and Chairman of the Board of Cheyenne. From August 1983 to June
1985, Mr. Rubenstein served as President and Director of Cheyenne.
Gadi Veinrib, member of the Board of Directors, has been
the Assistant to the President of Discount Investments Ltd. and serves
as a Director on several of its portfolio companies including Netvision
Ltd. Mr.Veinrib holds a Masters degree in Economics from Tel Aviv
University.
Leo A. Guthart, Advisor to the Board of Directors, is
Chairman of Topspin Partners, L.P., Vice Chairman of the Board of Pittway
Corporation, and Chief Executive Officer of its Security Group of
companies. He now serves as Chairman of Honeywell's Security and Fire
Solutions Group, which includes the Pittway Companies. He is also Chairman
of publicly held Cylink Corporation. He was Chairman of the Board of
Trustees of Hofstra University from 1993-1996 and a Founding Director of
the Long Island Research Institute. Mr. Guthart is a Director of
AptarGroup, Inc. and is also Director of the Acorn Fund, a leading
growth-oriented mutual fund. Mr. Guthart is a graduate of Harvard College,
where he received a BA in physics, and of Harvard Business School, where
he was a George F. Baker Scholar and received both an MBA and a Doctorate
in Business Administration with a specialty in corporate finance. Mr.
Guthart served on the faculty of Harvard Business School and was a Ford
Foundation Fellow.
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