Executive Management & Board of Directors

Tim Judd – Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Judd has twenty-five years of sales, marketing and business development experience in search, high tech and new media. He is a veteran of providing technology solutions to major newspapers around the world. Tim moved to the Internet and corporate Search world and was instrumental in the recovery, growth and the successful acquisition of several leading Internet players. His background in Search provides a deep understanding of the business and the technology behind it. Coupled with his background in more traditional print technology areas, it is a powerful combination. He founded Contraco USA, an international Search and consulting company focusing on vertical applications of innovative search technology. Prior to Contraco, he was Director of Business Development for Search for Terra Lycos and responsible for the maintenance and vigorous growth of search traffic at Lycos through the development and deployment of the Lycos’ SideSearch product. This success in traffic growth was a key factor in the successful sale of Lycos to Daum, a leading Asian Internet company. Mr. Judd was also Director of Business Development Fast Search and Transfer (FAST) a leading provider of enterprise search solutions and was an early competitor in the web search wars of the early 2000s. Tim built the Internet search division of FAST to the point where it became an attractive acquisition target and was acquired by Overture Advertising which subsequently was acquired by Yahoo!. Tim has been featured in Response Magazine and has participated in numerous panels on Local Search and Lead Generation. He resides in Temecula, CA.

Ralph Williams – Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Dr. Williams served several years with Ernst & Ernst (now Ernst & Young), an international accounting firm, in the firm’s Small Business Department. He has held executive positions as President as well as Chief Financial Officer in several fast growth companies. He has been involved with financing, investing and company executive management for over thirty years. Dr. Williams’ experience includes various positions with Sonera Venture Partners, USA; Lockheed Corporation, Ventura Capital Management, and the investment-banking firm of Pacific Equity Development Corporation. Dr. Williams has owned, operated and sold his own businesses and served on the Boards of Directors of several companies. Dr. Williams has held professional memberships in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Management Accounting. Dr. Williams holds a Doctorate degree in Business Administration (DBA) from the University of Southern California (Accounting), a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree (Finance) from Suffolk University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from College of The Holy Cross. Dr. Williams holds both CPA and CMA Certifications. Dr. Williams lives in Temecula, CA.

James O’Connor – Chief Technology Officer

James oversees the architecture, design, implementation and operation of Search Initiatives software platforms. James has over three decades of work experience at high profile technology organizations. Prior to joining SI, James spent over ten years at Microsoft Corporation as one of the original developers for Mac Entourage. His background spans the gamut from Systems Software for Hewlett Packard to Digital Video Systems for Radius/SuperMac and positions at Rolm and Northern Telecom.

Brian Osterhout – Director of Revenue

Brian has been in online and offline marketing for the past 20 years to the very start of the Internet. He was one of the pioneers of utilizing online portals like AOL to drive enormous new revenue to his employer as well as direct to his clients with which he worked on a contract basis. Brian continued in the online marketing space developing new avenues from the beginning of commercial email to new display opportunities within the space. He used his offline marketing skills to develop the marketing for a small telecommunications provider in the southeast. RTP Communications primarily sold residential long distance at the time. Brian setup their outbound phone room and also managed the trade show marketing for the company. Later he created the company’s T1 and larger, Key Accounts department.

After the company was sold, he went on to entrepreneurial pursuits. Brian utilized his sales expertise and marketing acumen to be able to build several network marketing and direct sales businesses. Reaching top level rank at each company within 6 months time. He also helped to launch a couple of companies working directly with the founder. He then moved on to help launch another start-up The Prosperity Network which sold a suite of SEO tools and platform for marketing individual company sites and or products. He created the entire marketing program and was directly involved in product development as well as overseeing all areas of the company. He managed its growth to a multi-million dollar annual concern until his departure to join eLocal Listing in Business Development in November of 2011.

Ali Riaz – Board Member

Ali Riaz is the CEO of Attivio, responsible for corporate strategy, direction, and operations. Mr. Riaz has extensive management experience in propelling early-stage companies into large, corporate leaders through effective, scalable client programs, product offerings and business operations. Before joining Attivio, he was President and CEO of GetConnected, Inc. (GCI), a market-leading transaction processing platform enabling the sales of digital services. Prior to that, he served as President and COO of Fast Search & Transfer (FAST), a global enterprise search company that is now part of Microsoft Corporation. Mr. Riaz has experience in both small and large organizations, and has held executive positions with Computer Services Corporation (CSC) and Novartis International, Inc.

Dr. Stanley G. Rosen – Board Member

Dr. Stanley Rosen has served on the faculty of the Defense Acquisition University, part of the US Department of Defense, since December 2008. He has had extensive experience in strategic planning and program management during a career spanning over four decades. His activities as a business and organizational strategy consultant include work with Toffler Associates, the executive advisory firm formed by Alvin and Heidi Toffler. In addition, Dr. Rosen was Director of Strategic Development and Integration for Boeing Satellite Systems. In this capacity, he was responsible for development of Boeing’s strategy for succeeding in the global satellite market, serving a wide variety of US Government and international commercial customers. Prior to the acquisition of Hughes Space and Communications by Boeing, he led Hughes’ ballistic missile defense architecture development and was Strategic Planning Director for Hughes Defense Systems. Before joining Hughes, Dr. Rosen held scientific, engineering, program management, and strategy and policy development positions with the U.S. Air Force, during which time he worked on a wide variety of NASA, Air Force and classified space activities. His last position in a distinguished 21-year military career was Director of Long Range Planning, Space Systems Division, Air Force Systems Command. Dr. Rosen earned a BS from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a MS in Aerospace Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MS in Systems Management from the University of Southern California, and a Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. He has served in various volunteer capacities with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, including chair of the Space Systems Technical Committee, national board member, and Vice President of Public Policy, and is currently on the board of the National Space Society. He is a former Chairman and board member of the California Space Authority and Past President of the Association for Strategic Planning, where he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010. He is certified as a Strategic Management Professional and Level III in Program Management. He and his wife Anne live in Los Angeles, California, and have seven children.

Bill Blevins – Board Member

Bill Blevins joined the Board of Directors of Search Initiatives in 2006. Mr. Blevins has more than 25 years of experience in the media industry.

Before starting MicroMedia, Bill Blevins was the vice president of new business development for GateHouse Media, a public company with their headquarters located in Fairport, NY. GateHouse Media owned more than 465 newspaper web sites across the country. He was formerly Vice President of Online Operations with Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. located in Birmingham, AL, from 2004 to 2006.

From 1990 to 2004, Mr. Blevins held several newsroom and online management positions, including Director of Photography and Internet Director running Fredericksburg.com, for The Free Lance-Star Publishing Co. Inc., of Fredericksburg, VA. In December 2000, Bill received the Newspaper Association of America’s “20 Under 40” award honoring 20 people under 40 years of age who have had significant positive impact on the newspaper industry. Mr. Blevins has more than 20 years of experience in the newspaper industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the School of Fine Arts and Communications at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA