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Board of Directors
Bruce Springer, Board Director
Basil Abifaker, Board Director
Leo Spiegel, Board Director
Marc Averitt, Board Director
Bruce Springer
Board Director
Bruce Springer brings more than 20 years of business leadership, technology, investment and marketing experience to his position as president and chief executive officer of Transaction Wireless. An expert in business formation and development, Springer will focus on expanding TW’s offerings of compelling, user-friendly mobile solutions for retailers, merchants, processors, brands, and consumers. Under his direction, the Company boasts executives and advisors with extensive expertise in retailing, wireless technology and payment processing to help ensure Transaction Wireless is poised to lead the market. Springer is also responsible for the Company’s fundraising efforts, bringing his investment acumen and extensive start-up experience to find the right investors to help ensure long-term growth.
Prior to joining the Company, Springer served as an advisor to various private equity and venture capital firms. Springer also co-founded and served as president and CEO of BidShift, a SaaS company focused on the healthcare staffing market. He also founded and was managing director of GreenSpring Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm. Additionally, Springer was co-founder, COO and EVP of WebMD, an internet healthcare and transaction services business. Earlier in his career, he founded and ran Springer Communications, an integrated marketing firm.
Springer is an industry expert, published author and experienced speaker at various trade and business conferences. Under his leadership, BidShift won the UCSD Connect Software Company of the Year award in 2004. Springer currently sits on the board of AdvancedMD.
Basil Abifaker
Board Director
As chief technology officer and founder of Transaction Wireless, Basil Abifaker brings his entrepreneurial vision for improved mobile commerce and vast experience in developing wireless technology to the Company. He’s responsible for product development and technology. Prior to Transaction Wireless, Abifaker co-founded Tourmaline Networks, which was sold to Intellisync and then acquired by Nokia. There, he was responsible for developing the firm’s marquee product, Soda-Pop Mail®, the most successful BREW® email application to date. The application has been ported to more than 150 BREW handsets and on 24 carriers worldwide, including Verizon, ALLTEL, Telstra, BellSouth, Telefónica Unifón and Hutch, among others. Abifaker was instrumental in developing partnerships with AOL & QUALCOMM to use Tourmaline’s technology for AOL Mobile Mail & Eudora2Go.
A 12-year wireless software veteran, he also served as a senior system engineer and product manager for Tiernan Communications, a San Diego based manufacturer of digital video compression and transmission equipment. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from San Diego State University.
Leo Spiegel
Board Director
Leo Spiegel is a Managing Partner at Mission Ventures, a Southern California venture capital firm that invests in early stage IT companies. Prior to joining Mission Ventures, Leo Spiegel was President of Digital Island, Inc., a leading provider of global e-business network and content delivery services. Leo joined Digital Island as a result of a merger with Sandpiper Networks, Inc., the world's first content delivery service provider for the Internet, where he was the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. In 2000, Leo won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Marc Averitt
Board Director
Marc is a Co-Founder and Managing Director of Okapi Venture Capital and is responsible for Okapi Ventures' information technology and digital media investments. He has held leadership positions of increasing responsibility in business development, legal, operations, corporate development, and strategy in the technology industry for more than a decade. Prior to founding Okapi, Marc was with Intel Corporation first as an attorney for the Microprocessor Products Group and then as the Director of Strategic Business Development for the Software & Solutions Group worldwide. Prior to Intel, Marc worked for Sun Microsystems in business development and legal roles. Marc received his bachelors from the University of Southern California, where he majored in both Philosophy and Business Administration, and went on to earn his Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law. Marc has also attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive Education program. He has traveled extensively throughout the world and has done deals in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Israel, Japan, Russia, Sweden, and Uzbekistan in addition to the U.S. Marc's present professional board affiliations include My Damn Channel (Director), RF Nano Corporation (Director), Orange County Venture Group (Director; 2008 President), and DATAllegro (Advisor). He is a frequent panelist and/or speaker for venture capital, M&A, technology commercialization, emerging markets and corporate development. Marc maintains a personal blog about being a VC in "The OC" at http://ocvcblog.com.
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