OvastMedia

Ovast Media provides a portfolio of consumer sites, informational web properties, search technologies and social media blogs that focus on popular, consumer-relevant categories, from technology, finance and education to home design, health and travel. This network delivers a rich mix of news, commentary, guidance and professional services to each vertical, creating rewarding experiences to today's digital consumers through high-quality content, innovative relevancy initiatives and user-specific results from the Real-Time Web.

David Gessel

Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Gessel founded Ovast Media, Inc. in 2010 after having joined Tsavo Media in 2009 as Vice President of Strategic Development. Prior to joining Tsavo, David served as a Vice President in the Technology Group at American Capital (NASDAQ: ACAS) from 2005 to 2009. Before then, Mr. Gessel ran Black Rose Technology, an engineering consulting firm that offered design and engineering services, including thermal design and testing, mechanical engineering and industrial design. Mr. Gessel also co-founded several ventures, including Keyspan Instruments, Inc. to design optical and experimental instruments, such as a temperature-controlled ceilometer under contract to NASA. From 1993-1997, Mr. Gessel was a Senior Researcher and Project Director at Interval Research Corporation where he was responsible for the development of a state-of-the-art rapid prototyping facility, designed and fabricated numerous projects, including pen-based computers, panoramic cameras, 3D video, ultrasonic arrays and teleconferencing, and shared responsibility for the operation of the Electric Carnival, which demonstrated the wonders of multimedia and the Internet throughout the U.S. and Canada. Prior to his tenure at Interval, Mr. Gessel spent three years as a scientist in Apple Computer’s Advanced Technology Group where he focused his efforts on digital camera technology, rapid prototyping, pen-based computers and display technologies. Mr. Gessel holds a BS in Physics with a concentration in Writing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has been awarded seven US patents and two European patents.

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Brian Martin

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Martin joined Ovast Media, Inc. in 2010. Prior to joining Ovast, Mr. Martin was a Vice President in the Leveraged Buyouts Group at American Capital, Ltd. where he invested in leveraged buyouts, management buyouts, recapitalizations, direct-growth capital and restructurings from 2002 to 2009. Mr. Martin served on the boards of numerous American Capital portfolio companies including FutureLogic, 3SI Security Systems, ECA Medical Instruments, Value Plastics, BarrierSafe International, Dynojet Research, and LVI. Prior to joining American Capital, Mr. Martin worked in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Technology Services Investment Banking groups at Robertson Stephens. While at Robertson Stephens, Mr. Martin completed merger and acquisition transactions, private placements and initial public offerings for Technology Service companies including Predictive Systems, Convergent Group, Integrated Information Systems, Etinuum and Divine interVentures. Mr. Martin is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business.

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Nate Thelen

Chief Technology Officer

Mr. Thelen has been a leader in software development for more than 10 years. After completing his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Oregon, he was recruited to Microsoft where he worked on PowerPoint. From there, Mr. Thelen was recruited to Los Angeles as the CTO of the growing consultancy PBJ Digital. At PBJ Digital, Mr. Thelen grew the three-location technology division by 500% within six months. In 2000, along with two other partners, Mr. Thelen founded Userplane. Userplane grew into a profitable ASP-model web-communications company with clients such as MySpace, Red Bull, Spark Networks, and eHarmony as well as millions of live, daily users across the globe. In 2006 Userplane was sold to AOL where Mr. Thelen stayed on as Director of Technology. In 2008, Mr. Thelen joined Tsavo Media and in 2010 joined Ovast Media, Inc. Mr. Thelen’s focus at Ovast is on System Architecture, Product Development and Infrastructure. Mr. Thelen has been recognized as a software industry leader, presenting at conferences including Macromedia MAX and Flash Forward.