Wize Commerce

Executive Leadership

Wize Commerce has built a team of experienced leaders with an impeccable reputation for commitment to quality and client service.

Jeffrey G. Katz
Chief Executive Officer
Jeffrey G. Katz is a technology and travel industry veteran whose leadership roles have spanned some of the most innovative companies nationwide. Jeff joined Nextag as Chief Executive Officer in March 2010, where he is leading a strategic blueprint encompassing acquisitions, global expansion and the development of new service features to capitalize on consumer trends in the mobilization, personalization and the socialization of ecommerce. From 2006 to February 2010, Jeff served as Chairman and CEO of LeapFrog Enterprises, a publicly held company that develops and markets technology-based learning products and related proprietary content.

As founding CEO of Orbitz (2000 – 2004), Mr. Katz led the formation of an airline industry-backed technology and customer service center. His leadership at Orbitz positioned the site as the first to include all fares online, including all web-only fares, and the introduction of the first massively scaled airfare search engine. Additionally, he directed the creation of Orbitz’s Customer Care Center that provided customers with advance notification of ATC and weather delays, and the introduction of the first travel agency airfare guarantee – now a standard for the industry.

From 1997 to 2000 Jeff served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Swissair, a publicly held international airline. From 1980 to 1997 he served in a variety of roles at American Airlines, including positions in finance, pricing and sales, before being named Vice President of American Airlines and President of the Computerized Reservation System Division of SABRE. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis, and holds master’s degrees from both Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jeffrey G. Katz is a technology and travel industry veteran whose leadership roles have spanned some of the most innovative companies nationwide. Jeff joined Nextag as Chief Executive Officer in March 2010, where he is leading a strategic blueprint encompassing acquisitions, global expansion and the development of new service features to capitalize on consumer trends in the mobilization, personalization and the socialization of ecommerce. From 2006 to February 2010, Jeff served as…

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Bahman Koohestani
EVP Product & Technology
As Executive Vice President, Product & Technology, Bahman Koohestani leads all aspects of technology, product delivery, architecture and scalability for Wize Commerce. Bahman is a Silicon Valley technology luminary who joined Wize Commerce from PayPal, where he was Vice President of Product Development, a global role that encompassed all PayPal merchant and consumer product development. He was also Chief Technology Officer at social network Cyworld, where he was instrumental in shaping their global strategy to connect and attract a social community of more than 40 million members worldwide.

Bahman served as the CIO/CTO of Orbitz Worldwide. He also co-founded and took Delano Technology public, a leader in CRM platform and applications. Bahman also served as Vice President of Messaging Technology at Netscape, where he was instrumental in leading the product vision and scaling the organization. Bahman graduated from York University with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.

As Executive Vice President, Product & Technology, Bahman Koohestani leads all aspects of technology, product delivery, architecture and scalability for Wize Commerce. Bahman is a Silicon Valley technology luminary who joined Wize Commerce from PayPal, where he was Vice President of Product Development, a global role that encompassed all PayPal merchant and consumer product development. He was also Chief Technology Officer at social network Cyworld, where…

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Mike Fury
EVP Sales & Marketing
Mike is an Internet advertising veteran with over 12 years of high growth experience, previously holding senior management roles at Nextag, Advertising.com, AOL, and Socialmedia.com. Recently Mike led all sales efforts for Nextag’s U.S. and Asia-Pacific markets, significantly expanding the company’s presence throughout these regions. In addition to advertising and sales, Mike was also responsible for overseeing the success of product shopping, branded advertising sales, affiliate programs, and technology platform efforts for the company.

Mike is an Internet advertising veteran with over 12 years of high growth experience, previously holding senior management roles at Nextag, Advertising.com, AOL, and Socialmedia.com. Recently Mike led all sales efforts for Nextag’s U.S. and Asia-Pacific markets, significantly expanding the company’s presence throughout these regions. In addition to advertising and sales, Mike was also responsible for overseeing the success of product shopping, branded advertising sales, affiliate programs, and…

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Derek Yung
SVP Finance & Corporate Development
Derek Yung, Senior Vice President of Finance and Corporate Development, is responsible for Wize Commerce’s strategic partnerships and finance function. He previously served as Vice President, Product Strategy and Planning at LeapFrog Enterprises, a leading maker of technology-based educational products, where he led business strategy development and financial planning & analysis. Derek also has over a decade of experience in management consulting at Accenture and at Alvarez & Marsal, specializing in technology enabled business strategies for Fortune 500 client companies. Derek earned his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University and his MBA from Kellogg School of Management.

Derek Yung, Senior Vice President of Finance and Corporate Development, is responsible for Wize Commerce’s strategic partnerships and finance function. He previously served as Vice President, Product Strategy and Planning at LeapFrog Enterprises, a leading maker of technology-based educational products, where he led business strategy development and financial planning & analysis. Derek also has over a decade of experience in management consulting at Accenture and at…

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Sebastien Brien
SVP Analytics & Traffic Engineering
As Senior Vice President of Analytics and Traffic Engineering, Sebastien focuses on statistical modeling and Wize Commerce’s SEM, SEO, Social and Banner/Display traffic sources and site monetization algorithms. A veteran of Nextag, Sebastien implemented statistical methodology within different areas of the company as Manager of Analytics, later becoming Director of Analytics with continued emphasis on traffic acquisition. Before his time at Nextag, Sebastien worked at Intuit as the Data Mining Lead. He’s also held different roles specializing in statistics, data mining, and data warehousing at NextCard, Knowledge Networks and the Institut de la Statistique du Québec. Sebastien earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in Statistics from Université Laval in Québec, Canada.

As Senior Vice President of Analytics and Traffic Engineering, Sebastien focuses on statistical modeling and Wize Commerce’s SEM, SEO, Social and Banner/Display traffic sources and site monetization algorithms. A veteran of Nextag, Sebastien implemented statistical methodology within different areas of the company as Manager of Analytics, later becoming Director of Analytics with continued emphasis on traffic acquisition. Before his time at Nextag, Sebastien worked at Intuit as the Data…

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Shea Kelly
SVP Human Resources
Shea joined Wize Commerce in May, 2010 as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources, and leads all things related to people, including talent acquisition and organization development. In collaboration with our leadership team, Shea drives initiatives to make Wize Commerce an exceptionally effective organization and a place where employees can truly thrive. Prior to Wize Commerce, Shea served as the Executive Development Director at Juniper Networks. From 2004-2006, Shea was Vice President, Global Leadership Capability at Hewlett-Packard. At HP, she was responsible for strategic and operational plans for corporate succession planning, executive assessment, and leadership development. Prior to HP, Shea served as Vice President of Human Resources for Actelion Pharmaceuticals headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. From 2000-2002 she served as Vice President of HR for Yodlee, Inc., a privately held software company. A graduate of the GE Human Resources Management Program, her experience continued over the next eight years with GE and Thomson Multimedia, followed by two years with Citicorp. Shea earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Human Development from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from Purdue University.

Shea joined Wize Commerce in May, 2010 as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources, and leads all things related to people, including talent acquisition and organization development. In collaboration with our leadership team, Shea drives initiatives to make Wize Commerce an exceptionally effective organization and a place where employees can truly thrive. Prior to Wize Commerce, Shea served as the Executive Development Director at Juniper Networks. From 2004-2006…

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