Fred Singer is an Internet pioneer and entrepreneur whose career and philanthropic activities have spanned a broad range of interests from media, arts, education, science and veteran affairs. In addition to his role as CEO of Echo360, Fred also serves as Chairman of Grab Media.
Before Echo360 and Grab Media, Fred was a Senior Advisor to Masayoshi Son, President and CEO of Softbank Corporation in Japan and was also active as a venture partner at Softbank Capital in the US.
Prior to Softbank, Fred held a number of senior roles at AOL including Chief Operating Officer of AOL Studios/Interactive Services, Chief Operating Officer for ICQ (instant messaging) and Senior Vice President of Emerging Products. Prior to AOL, Fred was a founder of the Washington Post Online Service (now WashingtonPost.com) and a Consultant with Bain & Company.
Fred has served on a number of business, charitable and educational boards including DoubleClick, Motley Fool Company,Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (International Committee), Queens School of Business, and Upper Canada College. His current board work includes the Langley School and “Warriors to Cyber Warriors” which focuses on helping wounded warriors find meaningful training and careers in cybersecurity.
Fred holds an MBA from Harvard as well as an LLB, an MA in Philosophy, a BA with Distinction in Philosophy, and a BA with Honors in Commerce from Queen’s University in Canada.
Professor of English John Casteen became President of the University of Virginia in August 1990. As president, he oversaw a major restructuring of the University’s administrative and governance structures, one of the largest capital funds campaigns ever undertaken, significant improvements in academic programs, and major expansions of the University’s physical facilities.
Before becoming president of UVA, John served as president of the University of Connecticut from 1985-1990. Prior to the University of Connecticut, he served as Virginia’s Secretary of Education and taught English at the University of California (Berkeley) and the University of Virginia. He also served as UVA’s Dean of Admission from 1975 to 1982.
John has been a director of the American Council on Education, a director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, trustee and chair of the College Entrance Examination Board, commissioner of the Education Commission of the States, member of the Board of Control for the Southern Regional Education Board, commissioner of the New England Board of Higher Education, and chair of the Association of Governing Board’s council of presidents. From 1991 to 1993, he chaired the National Board on Oceans and Atmosphere. In 1997, John completed a term as chair of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as well as a term as president of SACS. In 2000-2002, he chaired the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). He recently completed a term as chair of the Association of American Universities (AAU). John is currently a member of AAU’s Institutional Data Committee.
John’s business career has included service as a director of Connecticut Bank and Trust Company (CBT), New England Education Loan Marketing Corporation (Nellie Mae), Sallie Mae, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Connecticut, Inc., Calico, the College Construction Loan Insurance Association (Connie Lee), Allied Concrete Company, Jefferson Bankshares, Inc., and Wachovia Corporation. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and a member and chair of the Jefferson Science Associates, LLC. Currently, he serves as chair of Universitas 21 and is a member of the Board of Directors of U21 Global Pte Ltd. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of SAGE Publications, Inc. and the Virginia University Research Partnership Board.
John’s work in academia and in the greater community has been recognized by numerous organizations including the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), the National Institute of Social Sciences, the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Most recently, Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Government and Public Affairs presented John with the Excellence in Virginia Government Lifetime Achievement Award.
John holds three degrees in English from the University of Virginia (a BA with high honors, an MA, and a Ph.D).
Donn Davis co-leads Revolution Growth, which invests in and helps build innovative and impactful companies. Prior to founding Revolution LLC with Steve Case in 2005, Donn was a senior executive at America Online and AOL Time Warner. Donn served as COO and then President of the AOL Interactive Properties Group, driving the mission to expand beyond the core AOL Service with new brands and new strategies.
Donn served as CEO of Exclusive Resorts LLC from 2004 to 2007. He built Exclusive Resorts from a start-up to the #1 market leader, and defined an entirely new segment of luxury hospitality called the destination club. From 1992 to 1998, Donn served in numerous senior roles at Tribune Company. He was the founder and President of Tribune Ventures, pioneering the concept of strategic corporate venture capital and delivering an overall 55% IRR. Previously, as Senior Counsel, he structured and negotiated dozens of acquisitions and strategic partnerships in publishing, broadcasting, and digital media.
In addition to Echo360, Donn sits on the board of directors of Zipcar and Everyday Health.
Evan Morgan is a Director at Revolution Growth, a Washington DC-based private equity firm which invests in and actively helps build disruptive, innovative, and significant new consumer companies.
Prior to joining Revolution Growth, Evan was an Associate at the Carlyle Group and a member of the U.S. Growth Capital team. During his time at Carlyle, Evan also worked closely with members of Carlyle’s executive team on corporate strategy initiatives including new product offerings and fund formation. Before the Carlyle Group, Evan was an investment banking analyst at Financo, Inc. a boutique consumer/retail-focused M&A firm based in New York City.
Evan is a founding member of Charter Board Partners, a DC-based charitable organization backed by the New School Venture Fund and the Walton Foundation that focuses on board development for charter schools in the District of Columbia.
Evan received a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Wayne Weisman has been a partner at SCP since its inception and his experience in private equity and venture capital investing dates to 1987.
He joined Churchill Investment Partners, Inc. as a managing director in 1990, and became Vice President and a member of the board of directors of CIP Capital at its founding. From 1992 to 1994 he served as Executive Vice President of Affinity Biotech, Inc. where he had responsibility for strategic alliances, financial strategy, and mergers and acquisitions and oversaw its IPO and merger into the company that became IBAH, Inc. From 1987 to 1990, Wayne operated a management and financial advisory firm.
Wayne began his career at the Philadelphia law firm of Saul, Ewing, Remick & Saul. He is a director or chairman of several companies, including CinemaStar, Inc., Gigared S.A. and Deep Breeze, Ltd, and he was until recently a director of Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He also serves on the investment committee of Vitalife Life Sciences Fund.
Wayne graduated cum laude with a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He received a JD from the University of Michigan Law School.
Steven Murray joined SOFTBANK Capital in 1997 and has more than 14 years of experience in managing investments, mergers and acquisitions, finance and accounting for growth-orientated technology companies. In addition to his investment sourcing, evaluation and management responsibilities within SB Capital, he is also the CFO for the SOFTBANK group that manages substantially all of SOFTBANK’s global activities outside of Japan.
Steven has been the principal executive responsible for several billion dollars of complex structured transactions and monetization strategies to maximize investment value during his tenure at SOFTBANK. These transactions have included structured loans, initial and secondary public offerings, mergers, private asset and stock sales, public market block stock sales, and long-term collars. He started his career in the Audit Department of Deloitte & Touche where he worked with some of the firm’s most prestigious and acquisitive clients including KKR, Primark and Harcourt General.
Steven serves on the boards of several private companies, including Webhire, National Leisure Group, Viacore and BERJ. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a BS in Accounting from Boston College.
Chris Holden brings more than 25 years of early-stage investing and company-building experience to Court Square, including 11 years with News Corporation in a variety of senior operating, strategy, and executive management roles.
From 1995 to 2000 he served as Chief Executive Officer of Kesmai Corporation, a wholly owned software and technology subsidiary of News Corp, which he sold to Electronic Arts and America Online. Prior to becoming CEO of Kesmai, Chris was vice president of News Technology Group. He also served on News Corp’s Global Interactive Strategy Taskforce, was a member of the executive team that created iGuide, and was a senior executive with the News Digital Media Group. Prior to joining the News Technology Group, he co-founded the Advanced Media Group for HarperCollins Publishers in New York and served as corporate vice president. While at News Corp, Chris served as a director of numerous private companies in the IT, software, and media sectors.
Chris left News Corp in 2000 to co-found Court Square Ventures. He has been a board member in CSV I portfolio companies CSTV (sold to CBS), Logic Library (sold to SOA Software), and Verance (still operating). Currently, he is a director of CSV II portfolio companies Emerging Media Group, Grab Networks, Echo360, and Mobile Posse. He serves on the board of the Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation, the University of Virginia Patent Foundation, and was appointed by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to the Board of Visitors of Virginia State University. He is a graduate of Woodberry Forest School and Davidson College.
Dr. Poduska is an independent business consultant and a director with Novell, Inc. and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. His prior positions include serving as Chairman of Advanced Visual Systems, Inc.; President and CEO of Stardent Computer, Inc. and; Founder, Chairman and CEO of Stellar Computer, Inc.
John holds a Sc.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from UMASS Lowell. His awards include the McDowell Award of the IEEE and the MIT Corporate Leadership and Distinguished Industrial Achievement Awards. In 1987, John was also chosen as Arthur Young Venture Magazine’s Master Entrepreneur in High Technology and was inducted into the Institute of Entrepreneurs.
John is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and of several boards including the Boston Ballet, Wang Center and the Boston Lyric Opera. He is a trustee of Lahey Clinic and Bentley College and also serves on the board of directors of Safeguard Scientifics, Anadarko Petroleum, XL Vision and Emerge Interactive.
