As a strong, innovative technology company, Digital Fountain has brought together experienced business leaders and technologists to help guide the company as we revolutionize data communications and content networking.  Our executive team, together with our board of directors and investors, represent some of the most successful and respected individuals in the industry.

Executive Management

Charlie Oppenheimer - CEO and President

Charlie is a senior business executive with more than 20 years of experience, specializing in networking and communications. He was formerly chief executive officer at Aptiva (acquired by Yahoo!); chief operating officer at Oneworld Systems Inc.; and senior vice president and general manager, products division, at Global Village Communication. While at Oneworld Systems, Charlie conceptualized and developed a unique new wide area networking product family providing integrated access devices. Charlie was also at Apple Computer from 1984 to 1993. Charlie holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BS in Computer Science from Union College.

Dr. Michael Luby - Co-Founder and CTO

Michael is a world-renowned scientist, making significant contributions in the areas of coding theory, randomized algorithm design and analysis, networking protocols and cryptography. Prior to founding Digital Fountain, he was a professor of computer science at the University of Toronto and the University of California at Berkeley, where he also led the Theory Group at the International Computer Science Institute. Michael is the inventor of Luby Transform (LT) codes, the unique breakthrough technology upon which the Digital Fountain products are based. Michael received his PhD in Theoretical Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1983.

Dr. Amin Shokrollahi - Chief Scientist

Amin came to Digital Fountain from the Department of Fundamental Mathematics Research at Lucent Technologies' Bell Laboratories. He is one of the world's leading experts in low-density parity check codes. He has also worked in complexity theory, computational and applied number theory, signal processing, and multiple antenna wireless networks. Amin worked with Michael Luby at Berkeley's International Computer Science Institute from 1995-98 where he collaborated on the invention of Tornado codes. He received his MS in Mathematics from Karlsruhe University in 1988 and a PhD in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Bonn in 1991

David Warner - CFO
David Warner has more than two decades of financial experience in the software, systems, and technology industries, and a proven track record of building operations for high growth. Prior to joining Digital Fountain, David served as the CFO for MontaVista Software, where he raised $104M from leading venture capital firms and corporate investors. David also served as CFO for The EC Company, and has held senior management and financial analyst positions at Electronics for Imaging, Sybase and Tandem Computers. He received his MBA from the University of California Los Angeles Graduate School of Management, and a BA from the University of California, Davis.

 

William Seed - Vice President of Engineering, Licensed Products

Bill has 20 years of experience in the design and development of wireless and video technology and products, spanning communications, multimedia, semiconductors, and embedded software. Prior to joining Digital Fountain, Bill was VP of Engineering at CHIPS & Systems, responsible for the design and development of an innovative, software-based multi-codec SoC for high performance set-top box applications. Bill has held senior management positions at ConnexTechnology, Cognio (which he co-founded in 2000), Motorola, and Vistar Communications. At Motorola, Bill led a multi-disciplined team in a company initiative that became the foundation for a family of Motorola digital cellular handsets. Bill holds MEng and BEng degrees from Carleton University.

Steve Berriatua - Vice President, CDN Engineering and Operations

Steve Berriatua brings more than 15 years of engineering experience in building high-quality digital entertainment applications and solutions.  Prior to joining Digital Fountain, he was Senior Vice President of Engineering at FunMobility, where he developed mobile entertainment applications as well as a global, 24/7 service and support organization.  He has also been heavily involved in the design and deployment of cutting-edge solutions for improving the quality of experience for digital media and video consumption.  Steve served as Vice President of Engineering for OpenTV and prior to that, Wink communications, where he helped lead the company to successfully launch the first complete interactive television solution for satellite operators, resulting in a successful IPO for Wink.

Jim Bennette - Vice President, Worldwide Sales & Business Development

Jim is a seasoned business development and sales executive with more than 19 years of experience in digital media, consumer / embedded software and enterprise applications specializing in bringing new technologies and products to market. Prior to joining Digital Fountain, Jim was the vice president of sales and business development for Akimbo Systems, a service provider for IP-based video-on-demand content delivery. Before Akimbo, Jim was the vice president of business development for Orb Networks, a software solution for place-shifting. Jim also held executive positions at AIM Technology, E-Color and Phoenix Technologies. Jim holds a BSBA from University of Phoenix.

Board of Directors

Charlie Oppenheimer (see bio above)

Dr. Michael Luby (see bio above)

Tom Furlong - Tom is a Managing Director at Granite Ventures, LLC. Before joining Granite, he served as Vice President and General Counsel at Zhone Technologies, a communications equipment provider. Prior to Zhone, he was a partner with the law firm of Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich, LLP, where he practiced corporate, securities and intellectual property law for 13 years. Tom holds a BA in economics and an MBA with a concentration in finance from the University of Chicago, and a JD from Northwestern University.

Jack Moses - Jack was co-founder and VP of Marketing of Grand Junction Networks from 1992 until Cisco's acquisition in November 1995. Prior to Grand Junction, Jack held a variety of senior management positions at 3Com. Jack received a BA in Economics from Yale and an MBA from Stanford University.

Andrew Verhalen - Andrew is a general partner with Matrix Partners. His previous investments include Alteon WebSystems, Blue Martini Software, Copper Mountain Networks, Phone.com, Turnstone Systems, WatchGuard Technologies, and several other networking infrastructure companies. Prior to his venture career, Andrew was a divisional VP at 3Com and held a variety of marketing management and strategic planning roles at Intel. Andrew holds an MBA, an MSEE, and a BSEE, all from Cornell University.