Eric Hippeau has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2003. Eric has served as a Managing Partner of SOFTBANK Capital Partners, a venture capital firm, since November 2001. From March 2000 to November 2001, Eric served as President and Executive Managing Director of SOFTBANK International Ventures, an international venture capital firm and affiliate of SOFTBANK. Prior to joining SOFTBANK, Eric spent 25 years in senior management positions at large media companies. He served in various roles at Ziff Davis Publishing Inc., a publishing company, including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1993 until October 2000. During his career at Ziff-Davis, Eric was early to recognize the trend toward online media. Under his stewardship, ZDNet became one of the few successful examples of a strong online business model evolving from traditional magazine content, and Ziff-Davis led the first institutional financing round for Yahoo! in 1995. Eric was also responsible for founding ZDTV, the only cable channel dedicated to technology and the Internet, and an early success in integrating television and the Web. He also directed several successful magazine launches including Yahoo! Internet Life. Eric's experience prior to joining Ziff-Davis includes senior executive positions at International Data Group. Eric sits on a number of Boards of Directors, including Yahoo! Inc. and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. |