Bill Liao
Chairman of Advisory Board
Bill is an Australian entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the cofounder of the European social-networking site XING. Having been involved in seven IPOs, he has since decided to dedicate the majority of his time to philanthropy. He is currently working on the The Declaration of Earth Citizenship initiative, as well as the philanthropic social networking site neo.org. He has also been involved with the Hunger Project, both as an investor and volunteer. Bill is married with three children, and divides his time between Switzerland and Germany.
Ben Ling
Board of Advisors
Benjamin is the Director of Search Properties at Google, which includes Images, Video, Books, News, Finance, Real-Time, Alerts and Trends. Previously, he led the Platforms and Syndication group at YouTube, including content verticals in shows, movies, music, sports, news and device verticals in mobile, television and APIs.
Previously, Benjamin was the Director of Platform at Facebook, where he oversaw product management, product marketing, developer operations and partner solutions for Facebook Platform.
Prior to Facebook, Benjamin was the General Manager of eCommerce at Google, where he founded and led Google Checkout and oversaw Google Product Search. At Google, he managed a cross functional team that included product, engineering, sales, marketing, operations, finance and legal.
Benjamin received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University, and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science with a minor in Business from UC Berkeley, where he was awarded the Bechtel Achievement Award for Most Outstanding Graduate in the College of Engineering.
Eoghan Jennings
Board of Advisors
Eoghan is a 15-year veteran of corporate and venture investment management. He is a Managing Partner at Parklane Capital, a specialist technology investment and advisory firm backing entrepreneurs creating world-class enterprises the sectors digital media, internet, software and mobile.
Prior to joining Parklane in 2009, he was XING AG's Chief Financial Officer. He built and managed the accounting, controlling, investor relations, human resources, legal and administrative operations. Eoghan also served on the company's Executive Board from October 2006 until he left in April 2009. After joining XING in 2004 he played an instrumental role in growing the company to a successful enterprise. He assisted the company in raising the initial rounds of business angel financing and in securing Series A venture financing from Wellington Partners in 2005. In late 2006, Eoghan led the IPO team which brought the company to the public markets just three years after inception.
Prior to joining XING, Eoghan was an investment banker assisting private equity and industrial clients raise financing and transact mid-market acquisitions and divestitures for his former employers Lincoln International, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Credit Suisse First Boston. In these roles he gained years of experience as a trusted advisor to public & private companies in growth situations, M&A, reorganizations, & private start-ups in a wide range of industries.
A native of Ireland, based in Hamburg, Eoghan obtained a B.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics.
Secret Advisor #1
Board of Advisors
Industry professional in virtual goods commerce space with 7 years of experience including advising companies for growth, M&A deals in digital media, venture capital focusing on new media business models and expertise in micro-transactions and virtual currencies.
Advisor
Board of Advisors
Advisor has 20 years of finance experience with top firms in the merger, acquisition and principal investment sectors with a bias toward technology, digital media and interactive entertainment.