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Progress Partners team members are a strategic mix of executives with
backgrounds in both entrepreneurial and Fortune 500 companies. Team
members have deep experience in venture capital and angel financings,
mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning and execution, business
development, integrated marketing, and sales management plus new
product /market launches.
This is a team which has not
only been senior management but has also been in the trenches building
and growing small companies themselves as well and managing larger
divisions of Fortune 500s. Progress Partners’ clients benefit
from advice and processes that are time tested and have delivered
results many times before.
Nick is the founder and Senior Managing Director of Progress Partners. He is a
proven technology marketer and fund-raiser with almost 20 years of experience
working with early stage companies in capital raising, mergers and
acquisitions, marketing, branding and advertising; product development; and business
and partnership development. Through his experience in working with
start-ups, top companies and business leaders, Nick brings an extensive network of
senior-level contacts, particularly in the venture community, in New
England, New York, Washington, DC, and California.
Nick has significant transaction experience and has closed numerous
deals within the new media space, most recently: Going, Tremor Media, Media6
Degrees, MediaMath, and Worktopia. Through a strong network, Nick is able to
generate new business and create partnership opportunities for Progress and its
clients. His focus and expertise has allowed for speaking opportunities on
the East and West Coast, including with AlwaysOn and at CES. He also
created the NextMedia Update
(www.nextmediaupdate.com)
newsletter, to serve as a news and information resource for clients and
contacts in the digital media and technology space.
Prior to founding Progress Partners, Nick served in senior marketing and product
development roles at Virtual Access Networks,
MyWay.com (CMGi) and Scotia Pharmaceuticals, a British conglomerate.
In New York, Nick ran an events-planning and non-profit fund raising firm
called Diana Beattie Events. He started his career in New York City Mayoral
politics, and founded and ran the New York State chapter of the Democratic
Leadership Forum.
Nick is a Government and History graduate of Skidmore College. Nick also serves
on the screening committee of Launchpad Venture Group www.launchpadventuregroup.com.
He currently holds investments in five early stage companies and is a Registered
Representative of Brill Securities. Nick enjoys biking, sailing, and participating
as an enthusiastic fan at his son's lacrosse games and his daughters' ballet recitals.
Sam is a Vice President at Progress Partners. He is a cultured and entrepreneurial
manager cum banker with a twelve-year history in media sales, business development
and leadership. Most recently, Sam has worked with early-stage companies to form
go-to-market strategy, raise capital, develop strategic partnerships, negotiate
business development contracts, as well as organize and act upon merger and
acquisition strategies. With a particular focus in entertainment and news media,
Sam has built a strong network of high-level contacts for both early and growth
stage business alike.
Among other transactions in the online media market, most notably, Sam brought
together Progress Partners client Wavexpress with NBC Sports to deliver
high-definition video coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in partnership with
Microsoft and Lenovo. He is a series 7 and 63 registered representative who
recently worked to close venture investments in online advertising technology
startups Media6° and MediaMath, and facilitated the sale of Going.com to AOL.
In addition to transactional work, Sam created the blog behind Progress Partners’
daily next media update newsletter
(www.nextmediaupdate.com).
Prior to joining Progress Partners, Sam held positions in management of design
at Pod Consulting and Procter & Gamble,finance and sales at the Phoenix
Media/Communications Group, and client relations at IGN Entertainment, Inc.,
and Snowball.com. Sam began his career in commercial photography after graduating
with a BA from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR, and more recently earned
his MBA from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College, Magna Cum Laude.
Sam actively participates in speaking opportunities, including Digital Hollywood,
makes select investments in early stage companies and brings his passion in business
to the non-profit world as a Vice President of the MassBike
(www.massbike.org) board of directors. Sam regularly
coaches leadership to undergraduate students at Babson College and serves on judge's panels
for business plan competitions at Babson's F.W. Olin School and MIT’s Sloan School.
When not involved with business matters, Sam enjoys road and mountain biking, tennis, skiing
and photography.
Mark McCall is a Vice President at Progress Partners. He has over 20 years of business and investment experience and is a former Managing Director of two equity hedge funds with combined assets of $500 million; Connecticut based Rock Crest Capital and NYC based Rothschild Technology Partners. He has over 12 years of experience investing in and managing technology and clean energy companies and is currently developing one of the largest clean energy projects in New England.
Formerly, Mark was the President of eMedicalFiles, a software/biometrics company, where he repositioned the company, created a new industry and worked with the State of Texas on a major contract win and deployment.
Mark is a graduate of Babson College, attended the University of Massachusetts Engineering School, and completed an Advanced Program in Information Technology at NYU.
Giles is a Vice President at Progress Partners. Giles has 18 years of business and investing experience largely in the public markets. After working with Progress Partners on a part time basis, and investing in two Progress early stage deals, he joined as a full time member of the team in September, 2009. Giles spent a large portion of 2009 exploring entrepreneurial opportunities in the digital media, consumer and clean tech verticals, all areas of passion for him. Progress Partners provides a natural fit for GilesŐ experience and talents in the fundamental analysis of companies in diverse industries with a eye to discovery of unique investment opportunities and creation of value for all parties.
Formerly, Giles was a Senior Equity Analyst with Atlantic Investment Management, a NYC based long / short equity hedge fund firm. Prior to his 6+ years with Atlantic, Giles spent close to 9 years as an Equity Analyst at Delafield Asset Management, a long tenured and highly respected money management firm. Giles' background as a generalist investor in the public markets provides him with a unique perspective on early stage companies.
Giles has actively participated in deal screening and analysis of early stage digital media companies through the local chapter of a nation-wide for profit angel investor group. He is an active participant in the NYC technology community and has fostered relationships with a growing universe of the city's tech start up executives. Giles earned his BA from Rollins College in 1992. Giles and his family live in Manhattan.
Vinay Kantak is a Consultant at Progress Partners,
focusing on Strategy, Operations and Technology. He brings over 23
years of experience in the areas of information technology, management
consulting, operations, and finance. For the past 10 years, Vinay has
worked in executive management positions with startup/early stage
companies (some of which he co-founded or promoted), or new business
units of large companies. His range of experience helps him play
multiple organizational roles, including COO, CTO and CFO. Vinay is
especially deft at crafting business models, devising product and
solution strategies, creating technology frameworks, as well as
streamlining business and technical operations to meet business
objectives.
Vinay received his BS in Financial Management from University of
Bombay. He then completed his Chartered Accountancy (CPA) with
specialization in Systems Analysis, Cost Accounting, and Operations
Research. He was ranked in top 50 (all-India) in the final qualifying
examination. After his training as a CPA, with special focus on
analysis and audit of business systems, Vinay started his career in the
field of Information Technology as a developer, assuming roles up to,
and including, COO. Vinay is a practitioner of martial art and is a 2nd
Degree Black Belt in Shaolin Kempo style of Karate and he is training
in Jade Forest Praying Mantis style of Kung Fu and Tai Chi. Finally,
Vinay also studies percussion - Indian, African, and Latin, and
performs as a musician whenever his schedule permits.
Sung, Senior Associate, joined Progress Partners in 2008. His primary responsibility is
deal execution of M&A transactions and equity financing for early to mid-stage
firms in the new media and technology sector. He currently develops financial, market,
and operation analysis, leads valuation and fairness opinion projects, and conducts
research on industries and transaction targets.
Sung brings over six years of experience in investment banking and financial services.
Prior to joining Progress Partners, Sung worked at Hyundai Capital, a financial arm of
Hyundai/Kia Motor Group, where he led multiple financial projects, developed several
corporate financial services, and managed 100+ corporate and governmental clients. Sung
also participated in several private placement offerings including PIPE deals at a
boutique investment bank, and served in a military intelligence agency.
Sung graduated with a B.A. in Mass Communication and Journalism from Hanyang University in
Korea, and holds an MBA from the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell
University. Sung enjoys traveling, reading and exploring the local culture.
Hakim, Associate, joined Progress Partners in 2009. His primary responsibilities support all capital raise and M&A deal execution for early to mid-stage companies and valuation work. His entrepreneurial background and investment banking experience position him closely with the dealmakers at Progress partners.
Hakim brings experience from three different continents to Progress Partners. Most recently Hakim served as an M&A associate with Valartis Group, Vienna, Austria, where he successfully initiated a pilot roadshow in India, enabling Valartis to make key investor inroads. Before this he worked with Citigroup, Mumbai as a research analyst for two years. Hakim began his career managing his family business of manufacturing printing ink, Maria Ink and Chemi Coats, in Mumbai.
He has a Masters in Commerce and Bachelors in Management studies from Mumbai University and holds an MBA in global finance from Thunderbird School of Global Management. Hakim likes adventure sports, traveling; learning about new cultures and has a goal to travel all seven continents.
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