Leadership
Ramu Yalamanchi is the founder and chief executive officer of hi5 Networks, Inc. Ramu oversees key partnerships, business and product strategy, and helps guide the overall growth of the organization. After launching hi5 in 2003, Ramu brought the service to profitability within the first year of operation, and continues to drive the evolution of the service and business to millions of customers worldwide.
Prior to starting hi5, Ramu played a key role in technology companies that have advanced online advertising and the progression of Internet communities. He was an early contributor serving in product management, business development, and sales at eGroups (acquired by Yahoo!) and AdKnowledge (acquired by CMGI). In his final year of college, Ramu helped launch Sponsornet – the Web’s first advertising network. Prior to these experiences, Ramu learned about company building and business leadership from his entrepreneurial father, who established and managed more than a half dozen companies as Ramu was growing up in the suburbs of Chicago.
Ramu holds a B.S. in computer science from the University of Illinois – Urbana, Champaign.
Akash Garg co-founded hi5 Networks, Inc., and is the company’s chief technology officer. Akash oversees hi5’s technology infrastructure and software development, and originally developed the core product concepts and underlying technology that has helped to fuel the rapid growth of the service. To support one of the most-trafficked sites in the world, Akash has guided the design and implementation of a highly scalable, highly available platform using a combination of open source and homegrown technologies on low-cost Linux machines.
Prior to hi5, Akash was at Reactivity, assisting early-stage startups with technology strategy and direction, as well as architecting and implementing key portions of Reactivity’s flagship product. His interest in computers and technology began at a very young age. His family had purchased one of the early IBM PCs, and Akash’s initial interest in PC gaming led to an exploration and passion in programming.
He later graduated with a B.S. and M.S. in computer science from Stanford University.
Jeff Stephens is the chief financial officer of hi5 Networks, Inc. Jeff oversees the finance, accounting, human resources and administration functions of the company. He brings over 15 years of Internet and software experience to hi5.
Prior to hi5, Jeff was the senior vice president finance and administration and corporate controller at QuinStreet, Inc., a leading online marketing and media company. At QuinStreet, Jeff built the financial and control infrastructure that allowed the company to scale effectively. During his tenure, QuinStreet experienced substantial growth in revenue, profits and headcount. Jeff has also served as corporate controller at Sonnet Financial, and started a software company while in college.
Jeff holds a B.S. in finance from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Anil Dharni is the director of products at hi5 Networks, Inc., where he drives the product roadmap and key product initiatives. Anil works closely with hi5’s engineering team to deliver new features and services from concept to launch for hi5’s members globally.
Most recently, Anil was co-founder of an Internet based knowledge-sharing community for college students, where he led a pilot of his company’s offering at 10 universities. Previously, he served in product management roles at Yahoo! and held consulting and engineering roles at Wipro, Ariba, and Engineering Animation. Shortly after completing his undergraduate in engineering, Anil founded and sold a Company that provided a collaborative workflow management software tool.
Anil holds a B.E. in aeronautical engineering from Punjab University and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management (where he was co-president of both the MIT Venture Capital Club and MIT Innovation Club).
Brett Finkelstein establishes and manages global media partnerships for hi5 Networks, Inc. In this role, Brett works with a range of premier media companies to represent the advertising properties of hi5, a leading site in markets spanning Latin America, Europe, and Asia. With hi5’s partners, Brett has helped tailor unique offerings and packages to meet the needs of international marketers.
Prior to hi5, Brett was involved in ventures spanning online advertising and e-commerce. At NexTag.com, Brett was responsible for helping to develop the mortgage services channel. Later, he founded 4-D Networks, and holds US Patent 6,901,379 - Online Shopping with Virtual Modeling and Peer Review.
Brett earned a B.S. in accounting from the University of Maryland (Smith School of Business), and his MBA from Temple University (Fox School of Business).
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