Avi Azulai – Board
Avner (Avi) Azulai is the co-founder & was Group Managing Director of iTouch Plc. until March 2005. iTouch was a public listed company on the LSE (ITU.L) that focuses on providing information & entertainment to mobile users in 20+ countries. iTouch was purchased by For-side.com (Japan) in May 2005. Avi is the founder & chairman of Blackbay Ltd, a mobile enterprise solution company, and the co-founder & director of Handmade Mobile Entertainment Ltd, an online social dating network.
Avi is also the Managing Partner of Medvest UK LLP, a bio-technology investment partnership, as well as Managing Partner of EVDo Technologies UK LLP, a high tech investment partnership. Both groups have joint ventures with the Israeli government startup incubator programmes.
Prior to iTouch, Avi has held a number of positions in the information technology and online information systems industries. He co-designed the Minitel for the South African market. Avi holds a BSc in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science and has completed a Diploma in Management.
Andrew Falcon – Board
Andrew Falcon is a Non-Executive Investor Director on the Board and represents Seraphim Capital, a VC investor. He is currently Chief Operating Officer at Fjord, a digital design consultancy, having previously been Chief Operating Officer for 8 years at iTouch, the public listed (LSE) company that provided information and entertainment services to mobile users in 20+ countries before selling to For-side (Japan) for £180m. He later assisted the founders in the management buy-out of iTouch from For-side and subsequent sale to, and integration with, Buongiorno (Italy).
Prior to iTouch, Andrew worked in investment banking and mining companies in South Africa and London. He holds a B.Comm and and LLB degree.
Ivan Farneti – Board
Ivan Farneti focuses on software and internet investments for Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures. He is a member of the board of directors of various companies in the Doughty Hanson portfolio including, Gomez Inc., Handmade Mobile Entertainment Ltd., Mobango Ltd, Fenestrae BV, Plazes AG, and Tridion BV and he is a Board observer for Garlik Ltd.Prior to Doughty Hanson Ivan was a Vice President at Deutsche Bank Venture Capital in London and prior to that a senior associate at Bain & Co in Italy.
Ivan holds a degree in Business Management from Bocconi University in Milan, a degree from ESSEC in Paris and an MBA from INSEAD. He speaks fluent Italian, English, French and Spanish.
Neil Goldberg – CEO
Neil joins Handmade Mobile Entertainment with 16 years of leadership experience building global companies in the entertainment and technology industries, most recently helping grow SayNow from a Silicon Valley startup to a leading social, voice-based entertainment platform, culminating in a sale to Google. His expertise spans traditional and digital media as well as advanced technology products and services including mobile, social and consumer Internet.
Prior to SayNow, Neil was COO at Akimbo, where he brought his vision for the transformation of Internet-delivered television. In 2004 Neil co-founded On Demand Media Group, which provides strategic management advice and implementation for the digital media, entertainment, gaming and telecommunications industries. Neil started his career at Warner Bros., where he served as Director of Worldwide Acquisitions.
Complementing his business experience, Neil brings a wealth of knowledge to the creative process having worked as a writer and producer of network TV, studio movies, and reality/game shows.
Javier Rubiό – Board
Javier was co-founder and CEO of Cluster and chairman of DiamondCluster International for Europe and Latin America. In November 2000, he led the Cluster Team that sold the company to DTPI for a deal worth 500M$.
Javier’s sector knowledge is based on telecommunications, media and technology. He has served clients in more than 20 countries, including several operations set up by Vodafone, Telefόnica, Orange and Deutsche Telecom in different countries, with top level management dealings.
Currently, Javier is a board member of DCI (Nasdaq: DTPI) and continues to have an active involvement in advising the management of the firm in its international’s strategy. Past and current board memberships include Catalytic, Node Bettymovil and Flirtomatic (portfolio companies).
Javier has been a regular speaker in Top TMT forums, including the annual 3G event (Cannes and from 2006 Barcelona).
Javier holds a degree in Telecommunications from Barcelona University and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.