:: ECAST NETWORK :: About

John Taylor
President and CEO

As the CEO of Ecast, John has positioned the company as a leader in place-based media and is propelling Ecast into new retail and hospitality markets. Under his guidance, Ecast grew the size of its network to 10,000 locations nationwide and introduced the use of Web-standard targeting, measuring and reporting capabilities to out-of-home media buyers.

John brings Ecast over 18 years of executive management experience in both Fortune 500 and startup companies. John has a proven track record developing new markets and generating revenue growth for leading companies such as Macromedia, Sun Microsystems and NCR and creating new products and technologies for enterprise and new media markets. Before joining Ecast, John was the senior director of new business at Macromedia and prior to that he served as VP of broadband at Quokka Sports, responsible for the company's broadband product and business development efforts. John has also held senior level sales and management positions with Java multimedia tools company Dimension X (acquired by Microsoft), and Illustra Information Technology (acquired by Informix). John holds a B.S. from Cornell University.

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Christopher Goumas
SVP Marketing and Media Solutions

Chris oversees marketing, product, business development and creative services for Ecast. Tapping his extensive knowledge, experience and network in the place-based media industry, he works to identify new adjacent market opportunities for Ecast to expand its footprint and leverage its core music solution and innovative EQ hardware platform. As a nationally recognized expert in text (SMS and MMS) marketing and implementation for the retail and service sectors, his expertise in mobile helps Ecast forge new frontiers to bring market-defining solutions to its digital music network and beyond. Chris's industry tenure includes SVP of retail and marketing solutions for Access 360 Media where he oversaw mobile marketing, digital place-based media, retail development, sales support and marketing, and as director of retail development for Premier Retail Networks.

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Ron Nitafan
VP Finance

In his role as VP Finance, Ron has broad oversight over all Ecast operations that touch on contract negotiations from music licensing to strategic partner agreements to employee benefits and compensation. As such, he's responsible for managing financial operations, customer support, production, music royalties and licensing, and human resources. In addition, Ron assists CEO John Taylor with strategic planning, board guidance and preparation, business planning and venture funding. Ron leverages his diverse financial and accounting experience from technology giants to the most successful startups--including Microsoft Web-TV, Sega of America and BEA Systems--to manage Ecast's digital music network for optimal revenue and profit as well as its expansion into the emerging media arena. Providing critical financial direction, planning and strategies, Ron's charter is to ensure Ecast is managing new business for success.

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Scott Walker
VP Network Operations

Scott spearheads the Ecast jukebox business, the key driver behind the company's national network footprint of 10,000 locations in bars and nightclubs across the country. Formerly director of sales and marketing, Scott has been a consistent top performer and leader at Ecast since he joined in 2005. A 19-year veteran of the Coin Op/jukebox industry, Scott has played a vital role in the growth of the Ecast business, bringing his insight and experience to the table and serving as the voice of Ecast operator partners. Before his start at Ecast, he was 10 years at Betson Distributing, the industry's largest national distributor, building many of the lasting relationships that have cemented his well earned reputation.

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Charles Pontious
VP Engineering and Information Systems

Charles brings Ecast over 20 years of progressive experience in Global IT service delivery and support. His broad technical background (e.g. mainframe and mini computer systems, world wide networking, database management and Internet delivery) is uniquely suited to Ecast, where the demands of running a sophisticated 10,000-plus node network require the rigors of current software development methodologies and best practices of high availability production operations. Charles holds a Bachelor of Music with a Minor in Computer Science from California State University, Sacramento. He has a long list of certifications and is a member of North American Network Operators Group (NANOG), IT Service Management Foundation (ITSMF) and the International Society of Audit and Control Associations.

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Darren Clark
Chief Architect

Darren has been with Ecast since 2002 and is a driving force behind the technical innovation and high-performance design architecture that characterize the Ecast platform today. His guidance helps ensure the platform's alignment with the strategic direction of the business as well as its ability to meet enterprise-class scale and performance demands. On the forefront of planning the next generation of the Ecast platform, Darren's deep familiarity with Ecast's technical infrastructure is essential as he leads the development of research projects exploring new opportunities for Ecast. Before joining Ecast, Darren was one of the first employees at OpenTable where he led the design and implementation the company's restaurant reservation management software. Darren's background also includes architecture design and development at software and Internet companies including ArtistDirect and Radiant.

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Jim Pothier
Director Advertising Sales

Jim heads up the Ecast national advertising sales division where he and his team are the forefront of emerging media in the growing digital out-of-home space. Jim brings over 10 years of interactive media experience, including senior sales positions at Sega of America, Playboy Inc. and Mondo Media. Most recently, Jim was Sales Director at Monster Worldwide's consumer media division, where he worked with many of the Web's premium brands and marketers. Jim holds a BS in Marketing from Long Island University.

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Rachel Taylor Alegria
Director Human Resources, PHR-CA

Rachel brings to her role at Ecast more than nine years of experience directing and managing human resources for dynamic, mid-size companies. Well versed in all aspects of recruitment, training, employment law and operations support, Rachel is largely responsible for the friendly, performance driven culture at Ecast that stimulates innovation and cooperation. Rachel is a graduate of San Francisco State University and holds professional certificates from the Human Resource Certification Institute and Cal State East Bay. She is also a member of the Society for Human Resources, Northern California Human Resources Association and World at Work.

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