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Management Team
Sarath Samarasekera, B. Comm, MSc. — CEO, Founder
Sarath, CEO of Shopster.com, directs the company's corporate strategy. He helms Shopster's ambition of becoming the leader in e-Commerce and product source solutions. Sarath Samarasekera has extensive experience in technology implementation and supply chain management, much of it developed while working as a consultant to some of the largest companies in the world, including Ford Motor Company, Texas Instruments, IBM, and Delphi. Sarath is a serial entrepreneur and started several businesses over the last 12 years covering such diverse categories as hospitality, investing and real estate, all of which continue to be active today. Sarath has a B.Comm from the University of Calgary and MSc. from the London School of Economics.
Matt Cox, BSc. CIS — CTO, Founder
Matt, CTO of Shopster.com is responsible for all aspects of Shopster's technology and software products. Before founding Shopster, Matt gained his stripes developing software in a large distributed computing system. He was responsible for system architecture, data management and user interfaces. In addition, Matt has spent the past 5 years working in the e-Commerce industry, developing both front end consumer facing e-Commerce sites as well as back end databases and transaction security systems. An expert in .Net and MS SQL, Matt is the primary architect and designer of the Shopster e-Commerce engine and a key product strategist. Matt has a BSc. Computer Information Systems.
Robert Smith, BA, MBA, CFA, CA — CFO
Robert Smith brings a wealth of financial knowledge to the Shopster team. Rob has over 25 years of experience with some of world's largest financial institutions such as TD Bank, Grant Thornton, and the National Trust Company along with venture capital experience in private equity firms TCE Capital, Mercado Capital Corp. and the Business Development Bank of Canada. Robert has jointly managed a $600,000,000 portfolio of corporate finance agreements, and has managed a variety of structured financings ranging from $10,000,000 to $125,000,000. Rob has both his CA designation and is a CFA Charter holder in addition to his BA from Queen's University and an MBA from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.
Independent Directors
Brian McGurk, Director
Shareholder and Director, Brian McGurk is the Vice President, People Services at SMART Technologies LLC. Prior to joining SMART he served in the role of Vice President of Human Resources in the oil and gas service industry. As well, in the fuel cell industry he was responsible for the development and implementation of innovative and strategic human resources services and programs. He is a high-energy executive with more than 15 years of senior and executive Human Resources experience in fast-paced and entrepreneurial environments ranging from airlines to wireless communications.
Jeff Molander, Director
Shareholder and Director, Jeff provides digital marketing and media consultation to a variety of clients ranging from Web retailers to private equity firms. In 1999, he helped found affiliate marketing network, DoubleclickPerformics (today, a unit of Google Inc.) serving as Vice President, Sales & Marketing. He is recognized as a change agent in the digital space and is a popular speaker at digital business and marketing conferences. Gerson Lehrman Group recognizes Jeff as one of its highest rated councilors to financial professionals seeking insight into digital economy threats and opportunities.
Oded Orgil, Director
Shareholder and Director, Oded is the Senior VP for HSBC Securities in Toronto. Oded's primary responsibility is in business development for HSBC. The former Regional VP for Richardson Financial Partners, Oded continues to play a significant role in private wealth management. Oded is very active in corporate governance and provides both advisory services and directorships for several companies in industries including: software development, investment, and food and beverage producers. Oded completed his law degree at the University of Western Ontario.
George Tai, Shareholder, Board Secretary
A partner in the Corporate, Securities and Mergers & Acquisitions Group of Carscallen Leitch LLP, George Tai practices securities and business law with a focus on advising technology and oil & gas companies. George has extensive experience in structuring start-up companies, financings, and initial public offerings on both the TSX and the TSX Venture Exchange. George held senior executive positions in legal, finance and operations with private and public (TSX and NASDAQ) technology companies prior to returning to the private practice of law in 2004. With a business background in venture capital investments, George was also formerly registered at the Alberta Securities Commission as a registered investment advisor. George is a shareholder and the Board Secretary for Shopster e-Commerce Inc.
