CosmoCom is the future of Call Center Technology Company Information

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CosmoCom Management Team
Ari Sonesh Photo Ari Sonesh, CosmoCom CEO and Chairman, has been responsible for the strategic and operational direction of the company since its inception. Under Ari’s leadership, CosmoCom grew from an idea on a napkin, to a patent for multimedia call distribution over IP, and -- after successful funding rounds with some of the most prominent VC investors -- to a profitable, global IP Contact Center Software Company headquartered on Long Island with offices in nine countries. CosmoCom’s flagship product, CosmoCall Universe™, is now the most selected hosted contact center platform of tier-one service providers globally. Ari’s career before CosmoCom gave him significant experience in a broad range of areas including general management, research and development, production, support, international commerce, and marketing in the computer and telecommunications industries. Before founding CosmoCom, Ari was Vice President of Engineering, Operations, and Technical Support for Comverse Technology, a leading telecommunications equipment manufacturer with annual sales in excess of one billion dollars. Previously, Ari served as Vice President of R&D and President of General Telecomputer, an early producer of a CTI product designed in Israel and manufactured in Asia. Before that, he held several senior management and engineering positions in Israel. He received his BSEE from the Technion in Haifa, Israel, in 1979. A knowledgeable art lover, Ari developed the acclaimed timeline and exhibit "Communication and Art in the Information Age" which lines the walls of CosmoCom headquarters.

[ View the long (2-page) biography of Ari Sonesh ]

 

Stephen E. Dellutri Photo

 

Stephen E. Dellutri, Chief Technology Officer, co-founder and developer of the CosmoCall  Universe technology, is a distinguished professional in the fields of information technology and networking and is the co-inventor of the unified IP-based call center. Mr. Dellutri has developed software and implemented global Internet Protocol networks for Fortune 100 companies and co-founded CosmoCom after serving as Assistant Vice President in charge of the design of global inter-networking at Citicorp International Communications Inc. He also served as IT Director at Comverse Technology and as senior inter-networking engineer at Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney.

[ View the long (1-page) biography of Steve Dellutri ]

 

Ben Eisner

 

Ben Eisner, President of CosmoCom Americas, has more than 25 years of experience as an executive in the telecom product industry and has focused exclusively on the call center space for the past ten years in his two most recent positions. Immediately before joining CosmoCom, Mr. Eisner was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Telephony at Work. Prior to that, he was responsible for Strategic Alliances and Channel Development at Comverse Infosys, now known as Verint. Ben was President and CEO of Deka, a Long Island based manufacturer of specialty telecommunications hardware following his 5-year tenure as President of Telrad Telecommunications, Inc., the US subsidiary of Israeli telecom giant Telrad Limited. Before that, Ben served as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for Tadiran Telecommunications in Israel. Ben holds a Ph.D. in Economics and an MBA in Marketing, both from Washington University in St. Louis.

 

Steve Kaish Photo

 

Steve Kaish, Vice President Product Management and Chief Information Officer, has extensive business and technical leadership experience in the telecommunications industry. Prior to joining CosmoCom he was Telcordia’s Director of Product Management for the industry's first production Class 5 softswitch. Prior to Telcordia, Mr. Kaish managed a number of architecture teams launching innovative service offerings at AT&T's Bell Laboratories, including the AT&T WorldNet® Internet access service, as well as AT&T's first network-based call center service. He received his Bachelors of Engineering from Cornell University, and his Masters of Engineering from Stanford University. He holds four patents in the areas of Intelligent Network and Call Center technologies. 

 

Mier Kisos Photo

 

Meir Kisos, Vice President International Technical Operations and General Manager of CosmoCom Israel, has more than two decades of experience in managing the development, support, and sales of telecom products. Prior to joining CosmoCom, Mr. Kisos served as vice president, Strategic Alliances at the Real Time billing Division of Comverse in Israel after serving as vice president of Operations for the same division in the USA. Before that, Mr. Kisos worked at Comverse in Israel, where he was involved in the formation and development of their world wide support organization. Mr. Kisos holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the New York Institute of Technology.
 

 

Steve Kowarsky Photo Stephen R. Kowarsky is the Executive Vice President and one of the founders of CosmoCom. He came to CosmoCom from Comverse Technology, which he joined in early 1985 as its second U.S. employee after a distinguished career in software development and IT management. At both Comverse and CosmoCom, Mr. Kowarsky has played a key role in major account selling, key relationship management, product strategy and positioning, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property. He now has primary responsibility for CosmoCom's marketing communication activities. He is an industry authority and thought leader on the subjects of Contact Center On-Demand and Contact-Center-in-a-Box.

[ View the long (1-page) biography of Steve Kowarsky ]

 

Alan Mitchell  Photo

 

Alan Mitchell, Vice President, Mobile Solutions, has over 20 years experience as a business development leader of innovative solutions and services over IP, driving breakthroughs from concept to market. Before joining CosmoCom, he was a Services VP at Avaya, where he led successful development of highly automated remote support services that surround communications-enabled business process solutions. Prior to Avaya, Alan was Microsoft’s General Manager in the Communications Sector, where he led many breakthroughs for Microsoft and its solution partners, including hosted shared tenancy Exchange. Alan has a PhD in mathematics from Brown University, and MS/BS degrees in aerospace engineering from MIT.

 

Andie Rees Photo

 

Andie Rees, Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan, has over 20 years experience in the Telecommunications, Call Center & CRM space, plus 8 years as an Electrical Engineer before he moved into the world of sales and marketing. Before joining CosmoCom, he was the Senior Vice President, International for Onyx Software. Prior to that, he led the startup of Aspect in the Asia Pacific region for four years of strong growth. Before moving to Singapore, he held a number of senior management positions with Aspect UK, where he was also part of the startup team. Mr. Rees began his career as a graduate engineer with Lucas Engineering and later worked as a Marine Electrical Engineer with Princess Cruises. An avid and accomplished rock and mountain climber, Rees has scaled some of the world’s tallest peaks.

 

Ronald Rubens Photo

 

Ronald Rubens, Vice President - Europe, Middle-East & Africa, has more than 17 years of experience in the Call Center and Telecommunications industry. He has a diverse background that includes management positions in sales, marketing, strategy and product management. Prior to joining CosmoCom, Ronald worked for Avaya in key management positions. He was a major contributor to the success of Avaya in the Call Center/Contact Center business in EMEA and worked with Avaya in the United States for almost 4 years on international channel development, product management and mergers & acquisitions. Prior to his career with Avaya, Ronald worked for a system integrator in the Netherlands and for Northern Telecom in Sales and Marketing. Ronald earned a BSc in Electrical Engineering, cum laude, from Rotterdam Faculty of Technology in the Netherlands and an MBA from New York University - Stern School of Business in the United States.

 

Natan Stein Photo

 

Natan Stein, Vice President, Technical Operations, has more than 20 years of multi-disciplinary experience in R&D and Technical Services, including communications, image processing and real-time applications. Prior to joining CosmoCom, Mr. Stein served as VP, Technology and Technical Services at Visonic Technologies and before that as Executive Vice President of Medical SNI Systems Ltd. Previously, Mr. Stein worked at Fibronics, Haifa, where he was involved in the development of advanced data-communication products and served as acting director of the R&D division. Mr. Stein holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the renowned Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, where he specialized in Digital Design, Communication and Control Systems, graduating Cum Laude.

 

Paul J. Strohmenger Photo

 

Paul J. Strohmenger, Chief Financial Officer, is a CPA with over 25 years of financial  management experience. As Managing Director of a professional services firm, Mr. Strohmenger had been providing management consulting and interim CFO services to companies in a variety of industries over the past 12 years, with a particular emphasis on technology companies. He has been CFO for both public and privately held companies and spent ten years with Deloitte & Touche.

 

Meir Yaniv Photo Meir Yaniv, Sr. Vice President of Global Accounts, joined CosmoCom early in its development. He built its global sales and support organization from the ground up and managed it worldwide for several years. Later he focused on the Asia Pacific region, which grew rapidly under his stewardship. Mr. Yaniv is now responsible for CosmoCom's Global Accounts, including some of the largest and best known companies in the industry. Mr. Yaniv's previous position was Vice President, International Sales, with Telco Systems (now a BATM company), where he built and ran the international sales organization. Previously, Mr. Yaniv held numerous executive positions, including President of Magnalink Corporation, a leading Massachusetts-based data compression vendor that was later acquired by Telco Systems. In the mid-1980's, Mr. Yaniv founded and was President of Crystal Technology Corporation, an early CTI company funded by VC's from the USA, Canada, Japan and Israel. Mr. Yaniv, a graduate of the Technion (Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences) started his career in the technical field (software development) in Israel, where he held management positions with Elbit and the IDF. 

 

 Regional Executives
 
Mike Adolphy Photo

 

Mike Adolphy, Regional Sales Director UK, Ireland and South Africa brings over 20 years of sales experience to CosmoCom with sales leadership roles at companies such as Cable and Wireless, Siemens and Verint Systems where over a 5 year period as Managing Director of their emerging UK contact center software operation he developed a Direct and Channel business focused on the Finance and Insurance Markets. Mike also helped to develop Voyence as MD of their EMEA start-up developing sales of their IP configuration management solutions to Telcos and Managed Service Providers.
Luciano Dolenc Photo

 

Luciano Dolenc, Country Manager, Brazil, brings to CosmoCom over 25 years of executive sales management experience in Brazil and other countries in Latin America in both direct and indirect sales. Prior to joining CosmoCom, Mr. Dolenc was the Country Manager of Peregrine Systems. He was also responsible for the success of other US-based companies in Brazil, especially Sun Microsystems, SCO and Intergraph Corporation. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the State University of Campinas.
Eric Eydelman Photo

 

Eric Eydelman, Managing Director, Russia, Baltic Countries and CIS, , has more than 20 years of experience in engineering, management and sales, including 11 years in Call Center and Telecommunications. Prior to this position, Eric was in charge of Project Management for CosmoCom's largest telecom accounts for almost 7 years. Prior to joining CosmoCom, Eric was a manager in Engineering and Technical Support for Comverse Technology. Before Comverse, Eric held senior engineering positions at Northrop Grumman, Unisys and Harris Corporations, where he focused on mission critical communication projects internationally and for the US government. Eric was a recipient of the master fellowship program from Grumman Corporation. Eric received his B.S. and M.S. degrees, Cum Lade, in electrical engineering from Polytechnic University of NY.

 

Tetsuo Hotchi Photo

 

Tetsuo Hotchi, Country Manager, Japan, has a strong record of developing the Japanese Contact Center market through the introduction of advanced US solutions. In his 10+ years in the industry he has been a strong contributor to the history and the growth of the market. His introduction of Lucent (now Avaya) Call Center solutions to a major Japanese Electric Power Supply Company was the first such US System chosen under severe, Japanese-specific conditions. He later helped to open Rockwell’s Japan operations and subsequently he established and managed the Davox Japan (now Concerto) business operations as their Japan Regional Manager.
Steve Jackson Photo

 

Steve Jackson, Vice-President of Sales, CosmoCom Americas, has more than 20 years of experience as a sales executive in high technology and has worked exclusively in the call center space for the past seven years. Prior to joining CosmoCom, Mr. Jackson was the Vice-President, Eastern North America at Concerto Software. Before that, he served as Vice-President, North America for Eshare Communications. Steve was the Vice-President, General Manager of the Paperclick division of NeoMedia Technologies following successful sales management assignments at Prime Computer, GTE, and Tandem Computers. Steve holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Central Florida. 

 

Wolfhart Krishke Photo

 

Wolfhart Krischke, Managing Director, Central and Eastern Europe, has more than 20 years of experience in the Call Center and Telecommunication field. He has a broad background including diverse management and sales management positions. Prior to joining CosmoCom, Wolfhart held Senior Sales and Sales Management positions at Aspect in Central Europe and was a major contributor for Aspects success in Europe. Earlier Wolfhart was Key Account Manager at Ascom, a Swiss based IT and communications company, where he expanded Ascoms presence in the German Telco market. Prior to his sales career in the Call Center and Telecommunication industry, Wolfhart focused on international mission critical IT and Telecommunication projects for the government. Wolfhart was honored by the Government for his international achievements with the Cross of Honor. 

 

Kiran Maini Photo

 

Kiran Maini, Country Manager, India, brings to CosmoCom a strong background in both engineering and international business. He has more than ten years of experience and a successful track record in sales leadership roles. Before joining CosmoCom, Kiran was Sales Manager of South Asia at Cincom Systems. Prior to Cincom, he was with Siemens. Mr. Maini holds a Bachelors Degree in Engineering and a Masters Degree in International Business.

 

Iraj Rezaian Photo

 

Iraj Rezaian, Regional Sales Director, South Europe, has over 20 years of experience in international sales and marketing, holding several management positions in the Telecommunications and Internet industries within well-established worldwide companies such as, CGEE Alsthom, Olivetti and Memorex Telex. Mr. Rezaian brings to CosmoCom his proven experience of international sales channels development and key relationship management. Mr. Rezaian's technical background includes five years of engineering studies at the U.S. Military school, The Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina and S.U.N.Y. Maritime College in New York.

 

 

Wiebe Vink Photo

 

Wiebe Vink, Regional Director Northern Europe (comprised of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) has been involved in sales and sales management for over 20 years. He is a well-regarded business leader with more than twelve years of experience in the European contact center industry, including sales and management positions for the region with industry leaders such as Avaya, Quintus, Genesys, Unisys, and Ericsson. As Genesys’s Managing Director for Northern Europe, he led his region to dramatic growth and evolved a very successful channel selling strategy.
 Board of Directors

 

Gian Brown, member of the Board of Directors, is the President and General Counsel of SAIC's venture investing subsidiary, responsible for overseeing all aspects of VCC's activities. These activities include managing a portfolio of approximately 35 early-stage technology companies, evaluating and making new strategic investments, monetizing securities, and managing a significant cash portfolio. Before joining VCC, Gian practiced with the law firms of King & Spalding in Atlanta and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in New York. He also served as corporate counsel at Atlanta-based eHatchery. Gian's legal practice has included M&A, the creation of joint ventures and strategic alliances, various corporate financial transactions, and general corporate and securities matters. He also has had extensive experience providing an array of legal services to start-up and early stage companies. Gian holds a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law and a Bachelor's Degree in Politics from New York University.

Henry Feinberg, joined TCV as a Partner in 2000. He brings to TCV 25 years of Fortune 500 operating and transaction experience. As the Chairman and CEO of Rand McNally, the world's largest global provider of geographic information in print and electronic media, Henry led the charge into the New Economy. Under his leadership, Rand McNally transformed from a traditional print publisher to a branded, fully digital, distribution driven, multimedia information company with eCommerce businesses in both the B2B and B2C markets. Prior to Rand McNally, Henry was General Manager of International Operations and New Business Development at Covia Partnership, currently Galileo International. Galileo International, which is now a subsidiary of Cendant, provides global electronic commerce for travel related products and services. Henry graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Chemistry from Rutgers University. Henry serves on the Board of Directors of Adknowledge, CosmoCom, Integres Global Logistics, thinkorswim, Triversity, Insurance Services Office, and Yield Management Systems.

Walter Kissinger, member of the Board of Directors, directs the Kissinger Family Foundation and is President of WBK Associates, an investment and consulting group. He is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hofstra University and Chairs the Academic Affairs Committee. He also serves on the Board of the Stony Brook Foundation. He has been a Director of various public and private companies and quasi-public Boards such as the National Council for U.S./China Trade. From 1969 -1988 he was Chairman, President and CEO of The Allen Group, Inc. He is a graduate of Princeton University and received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. 

Oren Lieder, member of the Board of Directors, serves since the beginning of 2003 as an Executive Vice President and CFO of Discount Investment Corporation Ltd. and also serves on the Board of Directors of a number of Israeli enterprises connected with DIC - including Super-Sol Ltd., Elron Electronic Industries Ltd., Property and Building Corp. Ltd. and Bayside Land Corp. Ltd. Prior to his current assignments Mr. Lieder served as CFO of Bezeq, The Israeli Telecom Corp. and of Zim Israel Navigation Co. Inc. and as board member of various companies connected with them including, recently, Pelephone communications Ltd. and DBS Satellite Services Ltd.

Paul Lowell, member of the Board of Directors and Resident Manager of Topspin Partners, L.P., has over 20 years of experience in corporate finance, private equity venture capital, technology transfer and commercialization matters. Previously, he was Vice President at Goldman Sachs and Co. and Senior Vice president of Lehman Brothers, Inc.

Barry Rubenstein, member of the Board of Directors,  has served as Chief Executive Officer of Wheatley Partners since its inception in 1996. Mr. Rubenstein was a founder or founding consultant to several technology companies, including Applied Digital Systems (1969), Safeguard Scientifics (1980), Novell  (1983) and Cheyenne Software  (1983). From 1985 to 1987, Mr. Rubenstein served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Cheyenne. From August 1983 to June 1985, Mr. Rubenstein served as President and Director of Cheyenne.

Leo A. Guthart, Advisor to the Board of Directors, is Chairman of Topspin Partners, L.P., Vice Chairman of the Board of Pittway Corporation, and Chief Executive Officer of its Security Group of companies. He now serves as Chairman of Honeywell's Security and Fire Solutions Group, which includes the Pittway Companies. He is also Chairman of publicly held Cylink Corporation. He was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hofstra University from 1993-1996 and a Founding Director of the Long Island Research Institute. Mr. Guthart is a Director of AptarGroup, Inc. and is also Director of the Acorn Fund, a leading growth-oriented mutual fund. Mr. Guthart is a graduate of Harvard College, where he received a BA in physics, and of Harvard Business School, where he was a George F. Baker Scholar and received both an MBA and a Doctorate in Business Administration with a specialty in corporate finance. Mr. Guthart served on the faculty of Harvard Business School and was a Ford Foundation Fellow.

 

 Auditors
BDO Seidman are the auditors of CosmoCom, Inc.