BestOffer.com Assembles High Performance Management Team at Starting Line
1 December 1999
BestOffer.com Assembles High Performance Management Team at Starting Line
Top-Level Talent to Drive Transformation of Used Car Market
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 1 -- The used car market will never be
the same thanks to the efforts of the world-class management team assembled by
BestOffer.com. Focused on taking the pain out of buying and selling used cars,
BestOffer.com's unique service guides consumers through every step of the
complicated process of buying and selling a used car. BestOffer.com combines
the information technology and innovation of the Internet with off-line
quality assurance, such as unbiased vehicle inspections and dedicated customer
service, to bring trust and convenience to the used car market.
The BestOffer.com team is led by founders Pratap Mukherjee and Jeff Reed,
former management consultants for the Monitor Company who both hold MBAs and
undergraduate degrees from Stanford University. "We had a vision to
revolutionize this huge, inefficient, and unfriendly consumer market," says
co-founder and CEO Mukherjee. "We needed to find automotive and customer
service expertise to build an operation that would instill confidence and
trust with our customers. We looked for computer engineering talent to ensure
our online services were both cutting-edge and user-friendly. And, to get the
word out about our innovative new service, we sought someone with a proven
track record in consumer-focused marketing."
Since founding the company and securing its first round of financing in
June, 1999, Mukherjee and Reed have assembled a talented management team to
drive their effort to build a more customer-friendly used car market. "We
found the team with the exact qualifications needed to ensure our success,"
says Mukherjee. "Not only do they all share entrepreneurial passion and
business acumen -- they are also leaders in their fields. We've got
world-class marketing talent, award-winning customer care experience,
innovative engineering expertise, and automotive industry experience."
The auto inspection team works under the leadership of Vice President of
Operations Alex Groundsell, a 30-year automotive industry veteran. Before
delivering consumers top-quality repairs and service with auto dealerships and
his own business, Groundsell served as a team manager and chief mechanic for
Grand Prix auto racing teams. He led Ferrari in its 1966 class win at LeMans,
and worked with Mario Andretti and Al and Bobby Unser.
Ted Simon, Vice President of Marketing, has spent 20 years building some
of the world's premier brands. Ted was most recently Director of Marketing for
Broderbund Software, where he guided the creation and launch of their new
games division, Red Orb Entertainment, and oversaw the marketing of Myst and
Riven, two of the most successful titles in the history of consumer software
products. Previously, as Vice President/Account Director at advertising giant
Leo Burnett Company, Ted led brand building efforts for clients such as
Marlboro, Kraft, Procter & Gamble, Miller Brewing, and Ameritech. Ted holds a
Masters of Management from Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and a B.A.
in Political Science from Colgate University.
Tony Wasserman, Vice President of Engineering, leads the efforts that keep
the BestOffer.com website and other systems functioning at peak performance.
Wasserman is the former CEO of Interactive Development Environments (IDE) and
founder of Software Methods and Tools, a consulting company for software
development processes and tools. Prior to founding IDE, Tony was a professor
at the University of California. Tony holds an A.B. in Mathematics and Physics
from U.C. Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of
Wisconsin at Madison.
Responsibility for BestOffer.com's top-notch customer service and quality
assurance falls to Vice President of Customer Care Brian Haas. Brian was
Director of Customer Support for ADAC Laboratories, the leading manufacturer
of nuclear imaging equipment and a winner of the prestigious Malcolm Baldridge
National Quality Award. He has an MBA from Stanford University and a B.A. in
Social Studies from Harvard University.
Since unveiling itself at Red Herring's NDA 99 Conference in early
November, the BestOffer.com management team has focused on preparations for an
initial launch and promotion in the San Francisco Bay Area in December 1999.
After establishing itself as the market leader in the Bay Area during the
first quarter of 2000, BestOffer.com will roll out throughout the year to
major metropolitan areas nationwide.