Our Team
Robert Kao
Founder / CEO
Robert started out his career in the finance industry developing BlackBerry applications and trading systems for top investment banks in New York City. He also co-authored numerous books for Wiley Publishing, including BlackBerry for Dummies, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th edition. He is currently working on a BlackBerry development title to be release in 2010.
As the Founder of SmrtGuard, Robert drives sales strategy, forms relationships with network carriers, and distributors from across the world.
Robert graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering.
Bill Rom
VP - Business Development
Bill has over 25 years of sales, marketing and management experience in the computer and mobile computing industry that spans corporate, venture and entrepreneurial settings. Prior to joining SmrtGuard, Bill co-founded 151 Ventures, a consulting and advisory firm for mobile and wireless technology companies. Prior to 151 Ventures, Bill was COO and co-founder of Emitac Mobile Solutions (EMS), a Dubai-based mobile solutions and service provider of the BlackBerry Solution. He was instrumental in securing the Company’s initial capital funding, establishing the company in the United Arab Emirates, recruiting the start-up team and driving the company to revenues of more than $5M in the first year. Prior to the formation of EMS, Bill was EVP of Outercurve Technologies, a company he joined after negotiating the sale of the Vaultus Wireless Division to Outercurve. In 2002 Bill was with Vaultus Mobile Technologies as VP of Sales and before that a principal and VP of Sales for Wireless Telecom, Inc., a wireless application service provider that was sold to Vaultus in January 2000 as part of capital raise that he facilitated. Previously Bill was CEO and co-founder of Mobile Computing Solutions, Inc, a mobile computing integrator and Managed Services company.
Valerie Kahn
VP - Marketing
Valerie has over 25 years of business development, operating, technology and marketing experience helping to build some of the world's most successful businesses. Her experience in these areas, as well as her technical, operating and marketing management expertise, spans corporate, venture and entrepreneurial settings. Prior to joining SmrtGuard, Valerie co-founded 151 Ventures, a consulting and advisory firm for mobile and wireless technology companies. Prior to 151 Ventures, Valerie was EVP for Emitac Mobile Solutions (EMS) where she drove the Company's business development and enterprise sales efforts and was directly responsible for signing multi-million, multi-year agreements with both Etisalat in the UAE and Etihad Etisalat Mobily in Saudi Arabia for the BlackBerry Solution. Prior to EMS, Valerie was VP Business Channel Marketing, Sales and Business Development for Cingular Wireless. Before the merger of Cingular with AT&T Wireless, Valerie's roles at AT&T Wireless included managing the Enterprise Product Marketing Team with responsibility for the first American operator introduction of BlackBerry products. In addition to her most recent endeavors Valerie held the position of SVP of the AXA Group; Paris, France, where she was responsible for eBusiness activities in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Previous to AXA, she held executive positions at Dun & Bradstreet's (D&B's) E-commerce Subsidiary, Eccelerate, Sungard Data Systems, Security APL (CheckFree Investment Services), Citibank, and Donald, Lufkin and Jenrette.
Andy Maunder
CFO
With more than 25 years in both funding and managing emerging and growth companies, Andy Maunder has assisted companies from start-up fund raising, through later stage growth, and eventually through Initial Public Offering and M&A transactions. In addition to CFO for SmrtGuard, Andy is a Venture Partner with Guggenheim Partners and a Principal with 151 Ventures, a consulting and advisory firm for mobile and wireless technology companies. Prior to 151 Ventures, Andy served as CFO of Traffic.com, the market leader in the collection, processing and delivery of traffic information to consumers, media groups and businesses. During Andy's tenure he helped lead the company through its IPO in 2006 and was a key member of senior management when the company was sold to NAVTEQ (NYSE: NVT) in 2007. Prior to joining Traffic.com, Andy was CEO and co-founder of Kayak Interactive Corporation, a spin-out of Valaran Corporation, a software infrastructure company founded by Andy in 2000.
Originally from the UK, Andy qualified as an accountant with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and worked in a number of senior positions in start-up and larger organizations, and was CFO at Oxford Molecular Group when the company went public on the London Stock Exchange in 1994.
Andy has built a reputation for strong leadership and strength in operational and financial management and is effective at all levels including board, executive, management and advisory levels. He has served as a board member for companies in the United Kingdom and the United States and served as a member of the Executive Committee for the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA).
Lawrence Lee
Director - Sales and Operations
Lawrence started out his career at Accenture managing large scale system implmentations for various Fortune 500 clients in the telecommunications industry. He has built extensive experience in project management, process reengineering, and business analysis. At SmrtGuard he is responsible for sales implementation and day to day operations.
Lawrence graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Engineering.
Haemish Graham
Director - Software Development
Haemish has been developing mobile applications and games for more than a decade, starting with games on PDA. His first BlackBerry application, Flipside, a visual stunning BlackBerry music player, made its way into Jim Balsillie's (RIM Co-CEO) BlackBerry.
Haemish has helped SmrtGuard mature technically in a relatively short period of time. He continues to be integral part of the SmrtGuard Team. Before joining SmrtGuard, Haemish was CTO at Astraware.
Haemish graduated from University of Warwick with a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science.
Advisor
Beth Marcus
Beth has been Founder and CEO of several successful startups, most notably EXOS, Inc., which was venture capital backed and sold to Microsoft in 1996. Since then she has been involved in 14 start-ups in a variety of fields as a founder, investor, or advisor. She has raised equity numerous times and has also done angel investments herself. Several of these ventures have been acquired by public companies.
Beth has SB and SM in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and a PhD in Biomechanics from the Imperial College, London, where she was a Marshall Scholar. She has more than a twenty patents to her name and numerous publications and public speaking engagements.
