Robert Jewell
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Rob Jewell, a cofounder, is credited with being one of the early pioneers of the incentive marketing industry. Gratis Internet, under Mr. Jewell’s leadership, achieved a #95 ranking in 2004 and #18 ranking in 2005 on the Inc 500 listing of the fastest growing private companies in the US. Mr. Jewell was a finalist for the 2005 Greater Washington Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Mr. Jewell holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Donald Charlton
President
Don Charlton has served as our President since October 2006 and has served as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer since October 2005. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Charlton was executive vice president, strategic development, mergers and acquisitions for InPhonic, Inc., a leading online distributor of wireless services and devices, where he helped to raise more than $90 million in private equity and more than $140 million in public equity and was part of the senior management team that achieved a Inc 500 #1 ranking in 2004. He has also held management positions with Osage Venture Partners, Baxter International and Coopers & Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Charlton holds a BS from the University of Scranton and a MBA from the Stern School of Business of New York University.
Shendan Grove
Chief Information Officer
Mr. Grove oversees all aspects of IT strategy and delivery. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Grove was the senior vice president of engineering at GetWellNetwork, a leading provider of interactive patient care solutions. He has also served as the vice president of the IT eCommerce division of InPhonic Inc., and held various management roles in the technology divisions of CrossTier.com Inc. and Varsity Group Inc. (formerly known as VarsityBooks.com, LLC). He started his career in technology at Sallie Mae, holding several different positions within the IT organization. Mr. Grove holds a B.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Edward Simmons
Chief Technology Officer
Mr. Simmons has served as our Chief Technology Offer since February 2002. Mr. Simmons is responsible for architecting the Company’s legacy systems and currently leads back-end systems development. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Simmons served as a Senior Consultant for Venturi Technology Partners. He also held technical positions at Albright & Wilson Americas, Total Systems Resources and CP Systems.
Portman Wills
Vice President, Engineering
Mr. Wills manages our IT group responsible for new platform development. Prior to joining the company, he served as the Chief Architect at Voxiva, where he designed global communications and information systems for developing nations. He also held positions as Chief Technology Officer of Digital Divide Data and Program Manager for Microsoft’s HomeAdvisor Group. Mr. Wills received his B.A. in Economics, B.A. Mathematics from the University of Virginia.
Gordon Peters
Vice President, Business Development
Mr. Peters manages business development and oversees the B2B product lines. Prior to joining the company, he ran business development for 1010 Interactive, an online marketing company focused on the consumer electronics vertical. Before that, Mr. Peters owned his own private consulting company working with technology companies and non-profits with clients in the US, Africa, and Asia. He started out his career as a consultant for Bain & Company. Mr. Peters holds a B.A. with distinction from the University of Virginia in Economics.
Emily Pender
Vice President, Advertiser Services
Ms. Pender manages our advertiser services group and focuses on developing strategic advertiser relationships for Gratis. Ms. Pender is an 11 year industry veteran of online marketing. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Pender held management positions at LinkShare Interactive, MetaReward and Impulse Marketing Group. Ms. Pender holds a B.S. in Philosophy from Agnes Scott College.
Robert Crawford
Vice President, Finance
Mr. Crawford manages our finance and administrative/HR functions. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Crawford was a business and operations manager for Fahey Davidson Inc. He also held financial positions with Reuters News Service, Booz Allen and Hamilton and Circuit City Stores. Mr. Crawford holds a BS from University of Richmond and earned his MBA from the Smith School of Business of the University of Maryland.
Marilyn de Jesus
Director, Media Services
Ms. de Jesus manages our advertising/media buying operations. Prior to joining the company Ms. de Jesus served as a senior affiliate manager for Net Blue, Inc. She also held positions at Certified Employment and CT Corporation. Ms. de Jesus holds a BS from California State University-Hayward.
Janay Mullin
Controller
Ms. Mullin runs our financial operations. Prior to joining Gratis, Ms. Mullin served as Assistant Controller for Blackboard Inc (BBBB), a leading provider of e-Education enterprise software applications and services. While at Blackboard, Ms. Mullin was responsible for day-to-day management of accounting and reporting operations and Sarbanes Oxley Compliance. She has a dual B.S. Degree in Finance & International Business from Pennsylvania State University and is a CPA.
Michael Goff
Director of Marketing Operations
Mr. Goff runs our Marketing Operations Group and our Email Marketing Group. Our Marketing Operations Group is responsible for trafficking of all advertising offers across Gratis’ product and service lines. Our email marketing group is responsible for the delivery of advertising offers to our internal marketing database. Mr. Goff, a Fulbright scholar, earned his B.S. from the University of Richmond graduating Magna Cum Laude.