Mr. G. Todd Eichler, Co-Founder, Student Advantage, Inc.
Todd co-founded Student Advantage in 1992 to provide an integrated media and commerce solution to the higher education market. Today, the company has relationships with over 1,100 universities, 15,000 businesses and millions of students worldwide. Additionally, Student Advantage wholly owns the Official College Sports Network (www.collegesports.com), which produces, manages and markets the university athletic sites for over 130 schools including Notre Dame, Stanford, UCLA, Duke and more. Previously, he managed many projects for AT&T during his years at Bronner, Slosberg, Humphrey (now Digitas), a top direct marketing agency based in Boston. He started his corporate career at Bain & Company in Boston, consulting for major brands such as Kraft General Foods and Anheuser-Busch. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Duke University with a B.A. in Economics.

Mr. Vito Bialla, Chairman, Zoot Sports
Vito is the CEO, Partner and Founder of Bialla & Associates, Inc., a retained executive search and management consulting company serving domestic and international sports media and entertainment clients. His expertise is in consulting to companies ranging from entrepreneurial start-ups to established corporations, and his extensive contact base and long-standing business relationships give him access, credibility and network resources within the global business community. Vito is also an athlete and Chairman of ZootSports & Zoic Clothing Co. He has carried these brands into an impressive array of ultra-distance races, including multiple Ironmans, Ultramans, and marathons. He is also the first person ever to complete a double Ultraman (640-mile swim, bike and run), which he accomplished in a remarkable 63 hours, and he holds the Olympic Club 1000-lap indoor track run record. In July 2002, Vito finished the world's toughest foot competition, the Badwater 134.5 mile race through Death Valley, for which he received the prestigious Buckle Award. He is a member of the Olympic Club and the San Francisco Yacht Club, and is the proud father of three junior athletes.

Mr. Harry Weller, Partner, New Enterprise Associates
Harry is a partner of New Enterprise Associates (NEA), a venture capital firm with over $5 billion of capital under management. He specializes in enterprise infrastructure software and applications companies, and serves on the board of SourceFire. Prior to joining NEA, Harry was a partner at FBR Technology Venture Partners where he worked primarily with enterprise software companies. Previously, he was with the Boston Consulting Group and Deloitte & Touche Management Consulting. At both firms, he managed strategy and technology initiatives in the financial, manufacturing and telecommunications industries. Harry received an M.B.A. from the Harvard School of Business Administration and a B.S. in Physics from Duke University.

Mr. Christopher McKibbin, Founder and President, Perpetual Entertainment
Chris currently serves as the President of Perpetual Entertainment, a pioneer in the networked video game market. Previously, he was with Electronic Arts in a series of roles and capacities. As General Manager Subscription Games of EA.com, he managed Origin Studio and the Ultima Online game service (225,000 subscribers and $35 million in annual revenues), and worked with EA Studios to design, develop, and launch the online games Majestic, Motor City Online, Earth & Beyond, and The Sims Online. And, as the Chief Operating Officer of the top Electronic Arts production studio (EA Canada), he grew personnel from 100 to 650 and annual revenues from $100 million to $450 million while managing the following game franchises on all platforms: FIFA Soccer, NBA Live Basketball, NHL Hockey, Triple Play Baseball, PGA Tour Golf, and Need for Speed. Prior to his time at Electronic Arts, Chris was the Founder and CFO of Digital Domain, a company that he built from 0 to 250 employees in nine months, in the process creating the #2 special effects studio in the world with $35 million in revenues and positive cash flow. He has a B.A. degree from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

Kenneth “Hap” Klopp, Founder, The North Face
For 20 years, Kenneth “Hap” Klopp was the president of The North Face, a firm that created the standard for innovation and quality in the outdoors, mountaineering, backpacking and skiing industries. During his tenure, The North Face grew from a back room, 14 person operation into an enterprise employing more than 1,000 people involved in manufacturing, licensing, retailing and distribution in 45 countries. Fourteen of the people who worked for and were mentored by Hap at The North Face are now running major companies in the Sporting Goods and Apparel Industries. In 1988 Hap sold The North Face and founded HK Consulting in the San Francisco area. He has an affiliated consulting office in Japan and its clients range from start-ups to multi-billion dollar corporations. Hap also serves on a number of Boards of Directors and is Chairman of an investment company—Canterbury Holdings. In addition to his consulting activities, Hap and two partners in 1999 took over the 100 year-old Canterbury of New Zealand company noted for being the world’s leading rugby apparel and equipment company. Canterbury is headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand with divisions in Australia, UK, South Africa, Hong Kong, Japan and the U.S. A by product of that involvement resulted in the creation of a Hong Kong based apparel sourcing company to service Canterbury and other HK Consulting clients with operations in China, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Viet Nam. Hap is an author of two books on business philosophy and management and is a lecturer at the Business Schools of Stanford, the University of California and the University of Montana.

Sean Dee, former VP Marketing, Levi Strauss & Co.
Sean has played a key role in building and restoring the iconic image of major American cultural brands, including Coca-Cola Company, eBay, Radio Shack, Club Car, and Levi Strauss & Co. As V.P., Marketing at Levi Strauss & Co. from ’98 to ’02, he led the development of award-winning marketing campaigns that culminated in the first year to year sales increase for the company in six years. He was also the client-side visionary behind the SilverTab “Lost But Not Lost” and “Lost Change” integrated content short film series, the latter in collaboration with Sony and Motorola. As Global Marketing Director for Levi’s in the mid 1990s, Sean pioneered digital commerce and communications strategies for the company worldwide, and initiated long-term media alliances with a number of key entertainment companies such as MTV/Viacom and SFX/Clear Channel. Prior to Levi’s, Sean was V.P./Account Director at Foote, Cone & Belding (SF). Among his chief accomplishments then was the launch of one of the first integrated retail marketing and design divisions housed within a traditional ad agency, as well as the development of category-leading web sites for the Levi’s Red Tab and Dockers brands. An avid outdoors enthusiast, Sean has been particularly drawn to the Pacific Ocean throughout his life. Whether south in Pedregal, north in Bolinas, or west in Kohala, you’ll often find him fishing for tuna in the morning and bodysurfing in the evening.

Mr. John Ritt, Founder, Pool Inc.
Jon founded Pool in 1999 to help develop brand vision and give shape to companies, products, and environments. Today, Pool contributes to brands such as Duracell, Nike, SKYY vodka, Levi's, NO FEAR, 24 Hour Fitness, Jockey, and Patagonia. Previously after a stint as Senior Art Director at Gap Kids and Baby Gap, Jon became Creative Director at the San Francisco firm Man Bites Dog, where he contributed to building client brands such as Dockers, Adidas, Pete's Beer, and The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Ritt studied graphic design at Art Center College of Design, where he is now a faculty member, and did his undergraduate work in painting at the University of California Santa Barbara. Recently featured in Graphic Design USA's "People to Watch 2005", Jon is a 25 year recreational surfing veteran and can often be seen paddling around San Francisco's Alcatraz Island or found on a surfing adventure in Costa Rica or the Mentawais.

Mr. Martin Lauber, CEO/Creative Director, Swirl
Martin started Swirl , a creative marketing company that blends the best minds, skill sets, strategies, and tactics into a marketing force unique in the advertising community, in 1997. Since that time, Martin has led Swirl through consecutive years of growth and profitability, all of which have been fueled through referrals. Martin’s eclectic career began in 1989 as an in-house copywriter for Disney, creating trailers and movie posters for such memorable hits as “Ernest Goes to Camp.” In 1992 Martin joined Foote, Cone and Belding in San Francisco where he worked on such clients as Clorox, Taco Bell and Epson. Martin then returned to LA to help launch the Fox Sports Network as well as several sports-oriented entertainment properties and feature films. Unable to stay away from his native San Francisco for too long, Martin returned to FCB to work on the Levi Strauss & Company account, where he wrote the acclaimed “Dockers Mission” campaign and contributed to various Levi’s 501 and silverTab campaigns. In 1995 Martin was promoted to Creative Director of the newly formed Interactive Division of FCB, where he led creative development for the first branded websites for the Levi's® and Dockers® brands and developed a range of CD-ROM and kiosk applications for the retail environment. Martin’s Levi.com iterations led to national and international acclaim including the coveted Gold Pencil. He has a BA in American Studies from UCLA, and in his spare time you might find him participating in vintage auto races throughout California, as well as restoring classic European cars.

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