Board of Directors

Michael Alter - President, The Alter Group
Lon Chow - General Partner, Apex Venture Partners
Matt Moog - Founder & CEO, Viewpoints Network
J.B. Pritzker - Founder & Partner, New World Ventures
Brian Hand - Co-Founder & CEO of Lifesnapz

Michael Alter  President, The Alter Group

As President, Mr. Alter is responsible for all planning and operations of The Alter Group, a national corporate real estate development firm with five vertically integrated companies. This year, The Alter Group has 6,700,000 SF of space, worth $758 million, under development across the nation.

Mr. Alter established and is a Board Member of City Year Chicago, now in its tenth year. This unique national service organization unites young people from diverse backgrounds, ages 17 to 23, for a demanding year of full-time community service and leadership development. Mr. Alter is a member of the Real Estate Roundtable, The Economic Club and Urban Land Institute. He is a board member of City Year Chicago, Metropolitan Planning Council, Roosevelt University School of Real Estate and Rush University Medical Center

Mr. Alter and his wife are north suburban residents and are the parents of three children. Mr. Alter has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Harvard University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Chicago.

Lon Chow  General Partner, Apex Venture Partners

Lon Chow is a general partner with Apex Venture Partners, a Chicago-based venture capital firm. Prior to joining Apex in 1997, Lon was a partner with Mercer Management Consulting (formerly Strategic Planning Associates), where he developed and implemented growth strategies for clients in computing, media, and telecommunications industries. He also held various operating management positions with Pacific Telesis. Lon received an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from the University of California, Davis.

Lon serves or previously served as director of Advanced Equities, Austin Logistics, Bellamax, CrowdBurst (acquired by Informative), Current Analysis, ICON Solutions (acquired by AnswerThink), KnowledgeStorm, Inc., PlaceWare (acquired by Microsoft), Shoebuy.com (acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp), Thinque Systems (acquired by MEI), and Xperex Corporation. He served as board observer of, and worked extensively with the management teams of TRADEX Technologies (acquired by Ariba) and WorldPrints (acquired by At Home)

Matt Moog  Founder & CEO, Viewpoints Network

Matt Moog is the founder, Chairman & CEO of Viewpoints Network. Prior to founding the company Moog spent 10 years at Q Interactive (aka CoolSavings), a leading interactive marketing services provider. As the Company's fifth employee, Moog joined Q Interactive in October of 1996 as Vice President of Sales. Moog was later promoted to EVP of Sales and Marketing and to President and to CEO in August of 2001. The company went public in May 2000 and was taken private in a sale to Landmark Communications in December 2006. During Matt's five years as CEO, he transformed the business model so that revenue grew by more than 300%, reach grew to 15 million unique users, while the staff only grew by 40% to 160 employees. The company was twice recognized by Delloite & Touche as one of the fastest growing companies in the US.

Mr. Moog has been cited as an industry expert in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Financial Times and a variety of other national and regional publications. He has also appeared on Fox News, CNN, CNBC, WGN and WTTW to discuss the potential and future of marketing on the Internet. He has been twice nominated by Ernst & Young as entrepreneur of the year. He also sat on the board of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, Direct Marketing Association and is a member of the Chicago Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).

Prior to joining Q Interactive, Moog worked for Microsoft Corporation in various capacities from June 1992 to September 1996. He holds a BA in Political Science from the George Washington University. He is a father of three young boys.

J.B. Pritzker  Founder & Partner, New World Ventures

Mr. Pritzker is a Partner of and founded New World Ventures in 1996, which has become one of Chicago's prominent early-stage technology fund managers. He is also Managing Partner of The Pritzker Group. A founding board member of the Illinois Venture Capital Association, a founding director of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, and a member of the Young Presidents' Organization, Pritzker has been a forceful and active proponent of a stronger technology base in the Midwest region. He also continues to serve on a variety of other private corporate boards.

Crain's Chicago Business honored Mr. Pritzker with the designation as a business leader in its "40 under 40," and "Who's Who of Chicago Business." The Chicago Sun-Times named him to their "Hot 100" most prominent members of Chicago's technology economy. The City Club of Chicago awarded him Citizen of the Year, and he received the Humanitarian Award from the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois for his philanthropic activities.

Pritzker is a trustee and serves on the investment committee of Northwestern University and is a member of the Board of Governors of the Northwestern University School of Law. Appointed by the Governor of Illinois, he serves as Chairman of the Illinois Human Rights Commission and was co-Chairman of the Governor's Transition Committee for Civil Rights. He is also Chairman of the Illinois Holocaust Museum Campaign. Pritzker is an attorney and a member of the Illinois and Chicago Bar Associations. He graduated with an A.B. in political science from Duke University and earned his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. He lives in Evanston, Illinois with his wife and family.

Brian Hand Co-Founder and CEO LifeSnapz

Brian brings over 20 years of entrepreneurship and venture capital experience to his role as CEO at LifeSnapz. Prior to founding LifeSnapz, Brian founded ShopLocal (formerly known as SalesHound) in 1999. ShopLocal helps advertisers use the Web to promote local, in-store sales and deals. ShopLocal was acquired by Gannett, Tribune and Knight Ridder in 2004. ShopLocal is now the leader in multi-channel marketing and advertising services and provides innovative media solutions to nearly all major US retailers, including Target, Sears, Best Buy, CVS and Home Depot.

Prior to founding ShopLocal, Brian spent 16 years in the venture capital and investment banking industry with First Analysis Corporation. As Vice Chairman of the firm for the last three years, he was responsible for co-managing day-to-day activities of the company’s investment research, investment banking and venture capital activities. He was also responsible for identifying, investing in and managing portfolio companies as part of the firm’s $500 million family of venture capital funds.

Brian received his BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an MBA from the JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.