About Sojern

Mark Rabe is the visionary behind Sojern’s journey to become the number one travel marketing platform. With more than two decades of senior leadership experience, Mark’s track record of success has translated to Sojern, where the brand has been a five time recipient of Deloitte’s 500 Fastest Growing Tech Firms. Prior to Sojern, Mark held various leadership positions at Yahoo!, Overture and About Inc. He currently serves as an active board advisor to tech start-ups. Mark holds a master’s in business administration from Duke University, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and economics from Denison University.

Aman Kothari oversees the company's finance and people organizations. Prior to Sojern, Aman served in several executive finance roles at both private and public companies. At Auction.com, Aman served as chief financial officer and was responsible for overseeing the company’s financial operations and co-led the successful sale of the company to Thomas H. Lee Partners. Prior to Auction.com, Aman was senior vice president, global controller and chief accounting officer at Yahoo! where he spent more than 12 years and played an integral role in many of the company’s significant transactions. Before Yahoo!, Aman was a senior manager with PwC. Aman holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland and is a chartered accountant.

Kurt Weinsheimer leads the solutions organization at Sojern, which includes product, data science and engineering. A veteran in travel marketing, Kurt has more than 15 years of experience in online travel commerce and media and is the force behind Sojern’s mission to offer digital marketing solutions for the travel industry. Prior to Sojern, Kurt served in executive and leadership positions at Netpulse, Spot Runner Inc., Cendant Travel Distribution Services, WorldRes.com, and Patagonia. He was also founder and GM of the hotel division for Orbitz. Kurt holds a master’s in business administration, marketing and organizational behavior from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in english and political science from Boston College.

Noreen Henry oversees the global commercial team, including sales, operations, and strategic partnerships. With more than 25 years of experience in travel, Noreen drives corporate commercial strategy using the intersection of digital media and online distribution as a guide. Prior to Sojern, she served as chief executive officer of WayBlazer, an artificial intelligence travel technology start-up. Before that, Noreen served as chief revenue officer at DHISCO, senior vice president at Travelocity Global, and vice president at Intent Media. She also served on the board of directors with HSMAI and as a vice president with HEDNA. Noreen graduated from the advanced management program at Harvard Business School and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Texas.

Paul Huie oversees Sojern’s legal, data privacy and M&A initiatives to accelerate the company’s global market expansion. With more than 20 years of experience working in the digital and technology industries, Paul has helped multiple companies grow and scale. Prior to Sojern, Paul was the founding general counsel at Criterio and led corporate development activities for the $3.5 billion technology company. He also held the vice president and associate general counsel positions at Yahoo!. Paul received his juris doctorate from Stanford Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Loyola University in Chicago.

Tom Cronin focuses on building scalable financial processes to enable Sojern’s current and future growth. With more than 20 years of international finance experience, Tom brings deep financial and market expertise to the Sojern team. Prior to joining Sojern, Tom was a 12-year eBay/PayPal veteran in a variety of roles spanning Marketing Finance, FP&A, Controllership, Treasury and Internal Audit and he also spent six years abroad working in Switzerland. Tom is a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from York College of Pennsylvania.

Carl Livadas leads Sojern’s technology teams (including engineering, science and optimization, site reliability engineering, insights, and IT), focusing on developing new products and improving online ad efficiency. A researcher turned entrepreneur, Carl relishes in leveraging data, algorithms and machine learning to deliver compelling business value and drive company growth. Prior to Sojern, Carl led data science and engineering for Nanigans’ RTB channels, led the data platform and algorithms team at inPowered, and led Kayak’s deals, email and online ads engineering. He has also worked on cyber security research at Intel Research and BBN Technologies. Carl holds a doctorate in computer science, master’s in engineering in computer science, master’s in aero/astro, and bachelor’s degrees in computer science and aero/astro all from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Brent heads up Sojern’s operations management and is directly responsible for building and growing the Omaha dream. An expert at building high-performing teams and developing talented employees, Brent’s structured, data-driven approach to operations management keeps him at the forefront of an ever-changing industry. An experienced corporate and startup leader specializing in high-growth online media and technology companies, Brent has held various audit and finance roles at Union Pacific and Intuit. Brent holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Hastings College.

Jennifer Egan oversees all aspects of accounting for Sojern. With more than 25 years of experience in both public and private companies, Jennifer brings extensive knowledge leading and developing finance teams. Jennifer’s career began in public accounting with Deloitte, and she subsequently held finance leadership positions in various industries including hospitality, financial services and retail organizations like American Express, ConAgra Foods, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Ameriprise Financial, CURO Financial Technologies Corp., and more. Jennifer is a certified public accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in both accounting and marketing from the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Richard Black is responsible for driving Sojern’s vertical sales strategy for destination marketing organizations, as well as attraction, airline and cruise companies. Richard has more than 25 years of sales experience in the technology and travel industries, during which he has built and led numerous sales teams and shown consistent year-over-year growth. Prior to Sojern, Richard launched his career in the high-tech media space heading up sales teams at IDG and TechTarget. Richard was recruited to TripAdvisor to launch their graphical advertising initiative in 2006. He spent nine years at TripAdvisor heading up three sales teams including building and running the overall DMO Sales initiative. Richard is an accomplished speaker, presenter, and media contributor. He holds a bachelor's degree in advertising with a minor in marketing from The University of Georgia.

John Bryant leads Science and Optimization, which includes the Data Science, Applied Science and Engineering teams dedicated to supercharging Sojern's targeting and automation capabilities. With over 15 years in the artificial intelligence and machine learning space, John is an expert at building, scaling and optimizing data-driven products. Prior to Sojern, John led data science at Ask.com, building machine learning products to improve the consumer search experience and search advertising efficiency. John holds a BA, MS and Ph.D. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley.

Baskar Manivannan is a technologist, mentor, and entrepreneur who oversees the Guest Experience product team. Prior to Sojern, Baskar was the co-founder and CEO at VenueLytics, an AI-driven data and smart concierge platform acquired by Sojern. Prior to VenueLytics, Baskar was the co-founder and CTO at ClypTech, a mobile automation firm, and also held various technology and engineering leadership roles at SAP, Business Objects, ITHENA, Interweave(IBM), and Accenture. Baskar holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Madras in computer science and engineering and a project and risk management certification from University of California, Berkeley.

Céline Chaussegros supervises multicultural teams in London, Dublin, Paris and in markets, and oversees all European commercial activities and advertising operations across hotels, attractions, airlines, and destinations. With more than 15 years of experience in the online travel and hotel distribution spaces, Céline has an unmatched history of supporting hoteliers and the European travel industry. Prior to Sojern, Celine held roles at Orbitz Worldwide, OPODO, and Hotels.com. As a true European expert, she holds a double master’s degree in applied European languages and tourism management, having studied and lived in Germany, then started her career in Belgium working for the German National Tourism Board.

Lina Ang oversees Sojern’s Asia-Pacific office. A 20-year industry veteran and proven leader, Lina has worked with global travel, adtech, and hospitality brands to drive sales, channel distribution, and advertising efforts. Prior to Sojern, Lina held the regional director of strategic accounts position in Asia-Pacific at Orbitz Worldwide, and she has also worked for Blue Singapore/Possible Worldwide, Open World Asia, and The Oriental Singapore. In 2019, she was named one of Campaign’s Women to Watch, which highlights 40 incredible women, their professional accomplishments, and their ability to lift up those around them. Lina holds a master’s degree in marketing from University College Dublin and a hospitality degree from Centre International de Glion in Switzerland.

Josh Beckwith is Sojern’s Managing Director Global Strategic Accounts and Partnerships, based in London. Josh leads data acquisition and management, global strategic accounts, technology partnerships including booking engines, property management systems, and channel managers and international agency strategy. Josh has spent 15 years in media, marketing and marketing research including over a decade of international experience before returning to the UK.

Stewart Smith manages Sojern’s Middle East headquarters located in Dubai. With a 20-year track record of successful sales and business development, Stewart specializes in online advertising and digital marketing. Prior to Sojern, Stewart held sales and management roles at lastminute.com, Espotting, Top-pile, and Sony. He holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from University of Pretoria.