Thomas Gieselmann

Co-Founder of e.ventures

Tom is a co-founder of e.ventures (formerly BV Capital) and focuses his investments in the areas of early stage (post product / prototype) business-to-consumer Internet/Wireless applications. His field of interest includes location relevant services, games, communications services, network businesses, freemium, monetization, social, and the-next-big-thing. He focuses on service design and the combination of value proposition, distribution strategy, and business model. Tom has led investments in, among others, del.icio.us (YHOO), PeanutLabs, nCircle, Fotolog (HIM) and K2Network, and served on the board of epinions (EBAY). Before co-founding e.ventures, Tom was the youngest partner at Bertelsmann Ventures where he contributed to the successful investments of Gotomypc (CTX) and eGroups (YHOO). He started his career in the Internet industry at Videotel, a joint venture among Microsoft, EDS, Deutsche Telekom and Axel Springer, building Europe’s first online service in the early 1990s. Thereafter, as part of the initial team of AOL Germany, he developed both aol.de and AOL Games.

Eugene Nikiforov

Co-Founder

Eugene is a seasoned international business leader, and has been involved in electronic commerce since 1996. Prior to founding Merchantry in 2004, Eugene was the CEO of Quantum Art, an on-demand business solutions company, which he still chairs. Prior to founding Quantum Art, Eugene was the Director of Multimedia Development at Fountainhead Management (acquired by Intershop Communications in 1998). Prior to joining Fountainhead, Eugene managed a long-term consulting engagement for Citibank, working with the internal technology division to develop the bank’s first Internet-based global financial platform. Prior to Citibank, Eugene served as Senior Financial Advisor at Interpegro Trading Company, managing the firm’s international financial transactions across a wide channel of partners, and supporting the firm’s Moscow, London, Berlin, Warsaw, and Zurich offices. Eugene holds a Masters Degree in Philosophy and Sociology from Moscow State University, and speaks several languages. He lives in Long Island right on the water with his two wonderful kids.

Edward Shenderovich

Co-Founder

Edward Shenderovich co-founded Merchantry in 2004, together with Eugene Nikiforov. He has since moved on to other ventures, but is an active board member of Merchantry and helps the executive management team on strategic and business development issues. As a founding partner of Kite Ventures, a venture investment company based in Moscow, Edward is also a board member of Tradeshift, Delivery Hero, and Altergeo, among others. Prior to Kite, Edward was a founding executive at SUP, a Moscow-based online media company, which operates Livejournal.com, Gazeta.ru, and Championat.ru. He had started his career in technology finance and management at Silicon Valley Bank.

Ian Sigalow

Partner at Greycroft Partners

Ian’s investment focus includes advertising technology, Internet software, and mobile services. He currently serves or observes on the boards of Greycroft’s investments in Buddy Media, Buzzd, Collective, CrowdFusion, Extreme Reach, MarketBright, OggiFinogi, Panvidea, Tynt, and Vizu. Ian previously invested in and advised several companies, including Airpath Wireless (acquired by Aptilo) and SensorLogic. Prior to joining Greycroft, Ian founded StrongData Corporation, a pioneer in digital encryption, and spent several years as a venture capitalist with Boston Millennia Partners, where he focused on early stage companies in the software and Internet sectors. Ian’s past experience also includes investment banking in the technology group at Donaldson, Lufkin, and Jenrette and strategy consulting with the Arnold Business Strategy Group. Ian holds a BS in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

Tommaso Trionfi

Chairman of the Board

Tommaso brings to Merchantry more than 23 years of management experience with early stage and larger global software and engineering companies. Prior to joining Merchantry in June 2010, initially as Chief Executive Officer, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Wimba from 2000 to 2009. He led the growth of the company from a Research Institute technology to the leading provider of Web-based SaaS collaboration software for the education market. At Wimba, Tommaso built a team of more than 140 people spanning three countries, and organized marketing, sales, business development, product management and finance into a structured organization before the company was sold to Blackboard (BBBB). Prior to Wimba, Tommaso led business development at Omniticket Network, worked as Chief Operating Officer of Southern Europe for Colorlux, a global engineering company, and served as Chief Operating Officer of Fontenay Industries, where he led operations and key acquisitions. Tommaso received his MBA from INSEAD, and master’s degree in Science and Technology with honors from the University of Grenoble. Tommaso is currently a member of the US council of INSEAD and a trustee of the INSEAD foundation.