Board of Directors

Fred is a Co-Founder and Managing Director of NextEquity Partners, a new venture growth equity fund he co-founded in 2015. Fred also serves as a Managing Director and was a Co-Founder of Elevation Partners. From 1996-2004, Fred was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Apple Computer. Fred joined Apple from ADP, where he was Chief Financial Officer and served on the company’s Executive Committee from 1992 to 1996. Prior to joining ADP, Fred held several executive positions at MAI Systems Corporation from 1978 to 1991 including President and Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Before starting his career in private industry, Fred served as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and was a CPA and a consulting manager with Coopers & Lybrand from 1972 to 1977. Fred holds a BA from Whittier College and an MBA from UCLA. Fred previously served on the boards of directors of Apple, Crystal Decisions, Move, Palm, Sonos, 3Com and the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council. Fred currently serves on the boards of directors of eBay and Yelp, the board of trustees of Whittier College and the Stanford Athletics Board. The Board has determined that Mr. Anderson qualifies as an "audit committee financial expert," as defined in applicable SEC rules.

Christine Barone is the CEO of True Food Kitchen, an award-winning seasonal kitchen and bar that has pioneered health-driven dining. Ms. Barone has grown True Food to 33 restaurants across 14 states. Prior to True Food, Ms. Barone ran the food business at Starbucks as Senior Vice President of Food, Licensed Stores and Evenings, where she led the roll-out and launch of La Boulange bakery offerings to over 12,000 Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to Starbucks, Ms. Barone spent ten years leading multiple teams as a management consultant with Bain & Company, where she advised leaders of retail, consumer and technology businesses on strategy, marketing, organization and operations. She began her career as an investment banker. Ms. Barone graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in applied mathematics and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Mr. Gibbs is a senior campaign advisor to President Barack Obama. From January 2009 to February 2011, he served as the 28th White House Press Secretary. Mr. Gibbs was the communications director for then- U.S. Senator Obama and for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Previously, Mr. Gibbs was press secretary of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign and has previously specialized in Senate campaigns, having served as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and for four individual Senate campaigns, including those of Obama in 2004 and Fritz Hollings in 1998. Gibbs graduated cum laude with a B.A. in political science from North Carolina State University

George Hu currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Twilio, the leading cloud communications platform, where he has overseen and executed the Company’s strategy, including guiding the Company towards new market opportunities. Previously Mr. Hu spent over 13 years at Salesforce, the global CRM leader, where he served in roles spanning products, marketing and customer education, most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer for four years. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hu held product management and strategic consulting roles at North Point Communications and The Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Hu holds an A.B. from Harvard University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Diane Irvine has served on our board of directors since November 2011. Ms. Irvine served as an executive of Blue Nile, Inc., an online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry, from 1999 to 2011, most recently as Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Irvine also served as a director of Blue Nile. Prior to Blue Nile, Ms. Irvine served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc., a timberland management and wood products company. From 1981 to 1994, Ms. Irvine served in various capacities, most recently as a partner, with Coopers and Lybrand LLP, an international accounting firm. Ms. Irvine also serves on the Boards of Directors of XO Group Inc., a consumer internet and media company devoted to weddings, and Funko, Inc., a leading pop culture consumer products company. Diane holds a B.S. in Accounting from Illinois State University, a M.S. in Taxation from Golden Gate University, and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Golden Gate University. The Board has determined that Ms. Irvine qualifies as an "audit committee financial expert," as defined in applicable SEC rules.

Sharon Rothstein serves as Operating Partner of Stripes Group, a leading growth equity firm that has invested in high-growth consumer and SaaS companies for over a decade. Prior to joining Stripes, Ms. Rothstein served as Executive Vice President, Global Chief Marketing Officer and subsequently, Executive Vice President, Global Chief Product Officer for Starbucks, the specialty coffee retailer, where she had responsibility for the Starbucks brand and go-to-market plan as well as the company’s portfolio of product platforms. Ms. Rothstein led the creation of the narrative for Starbucks’ global retail experiences and directed all product initiatives, creative expressions, advertising, and omni channel marketing and merchandising. In addition, Ms. Rothstein held senior marketing and brand management positions at Sephora, Godiva, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Nabisco Biscuit Company and Procter & Gamble. She currently serves as a Board member of True Food Kitchen and Levain Cookies. Ms. Rothstein earned a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Brian Sharples co-founded and served as Chairman and CEO of HomeAway, Inc., a global online marketplace for the vacation rental industry, where he led the company's successful public offering in 2011, and the $3.9 billion acquisition by Expedia in 2015. Prior to HomeAway, Mr. Sharples was President and CEO of IntelliQuest Information Group, Inc., a supplier of marketing data and research to technology companies that went public in 1996 and was sold to WPP Group in 2000. In addition to his operational leadership, Mr. Sharples has served on the boards of several global technology companies specializing in the consumer space, including KAYAK and RetailMeNot, Inc., and currently serves on the boards of GoDaddy and Ally Financial Group. Mr. Sharples also helped oversee the successful acquisitions of KAYAK (by Priceline) and RetailMeNot Inc. (by Harland Clarke) during his board tenures. Mr. Sharples also has served on the boards of several private companies, including most recently as Chairman of Twyla, Inc., a company he co-founded in 2015 that offers a software platform to license and sell limited edition artwork. He also serves as Chairman of private-equity backed Fexy Media, and on the board of RVShare. Early in his career, Mr. Sharples founded I Motors, an event-based marketplace for used cars, and served as a consultant at Bain & Co. Mr. Sharples holds a B.S. in Economics and Math from Colby College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Jeremy founded Yelp in 2004 with Russel Simmons, a former colleague at PayPal. Jeremy continues to drive the vision and product experience for the company, personally overseeing product development among other aspects of the business. Prior to Yelp, Jeremy completed his first year of Harvard Business School, but dropped out after founding the company. Before attending business school Jeremy was VP of engineering at PayPal. He holds a B.S. in computer engineering from the University of Illinois.

Tony Wells currently serves as chief media officer at Verizon Communications Inc. Previously, Mr. Wells served as chief brand officer at USAA, a leading provider of insurance, banking and retirement solutions to members of the U.S. military, veterans and their families. Mr. Wells led marketing teams at USAA from 2017 until 2021, including USAA’s marketing research, analytics and member intelligence function, and also directed the marketing teams for USAA Bank and USAA Financial Advice Solutions Group. He brings extensive industry experience having held chief marketing officer roles at Schneider Electric, ADT Security and 24 Hour Fitness. His career has spanned the automotive, home, financial services, and retail industries, having worked at Visa USA, Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), SFX Sports Group, The Mills Corporation and Nissan North America. He sits on the board of directors for Pattern89. Mr. Wells was formerly an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and earned a management certificate from Johns Hopkins University.