His extensive international career has covered Education, Financial Services, Technology, Hospitality, and Pharmaceuticals. He has taught at both High School and University levels; managed multiple data centers for what is now the second largest bank in the United States; run two multi-billion-dollar divisions for a technology and services company; managed the diverse business portfolio of one of Britain’s wealthiest families; been CEO of a software development company and C level officer in the pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, he has also provided advisory services to prestige marques in the automobile industry and major organizations in the financial services sector.
In these capacities he has managed workforces ranging from several hundred to several thousand employees.
Also, he has served on the MBA Advisory Board of a large UK university and lectured on The Experience Economy and Corporate Social Responsibility at two of Britain’s main Business Schools. His charity work is equally varied covering diversity issues, conservation, animal welfare, carers, children in need and anti-human trafficking.
Currently, Alex has invested in a variety of businesses within the prepaid and robotics space. Previously, Alex was responsible Blackhawk Networks (SilverLake Partners) $15B+ gift card US retail business including digital, physical and SaaS based products. In this capacity, he forged relationships with key 3rd party retailers including Kroger, Albertsons, Target and managed the gift card technology platform for Starbucks, Nordstrom and Lululemon and drove 20% growth YoY. Alex was previously head of Original Content where he launched new products, including Happy Cards, that became the most successful product in company history, driving $300M in sales within 2 years. Prior to Blackhawk, Alex founded Samba Connects which specialized in selling gifting and incentive solutions to over 15,000 SMB’s across Canada, US and the UK including processing, gift cards, production etc. He took the business to over $60M in revenue and sold it to Blackhawk in 2016.
He is also the author of Localmotion, a best selling book on Amazon about how technology is enhancing the interaction with Local commerce. Alex has sold 3 successful businesses and at his best when scaling businesses. Previous to launching his own businesses, he was a senior marketing leader for various publicly traded companies, including Aeroplan, MDS and Royal LePage.
Jack is responsible for corporate development and financial management at The Audio of Things, LLC. In his 25-plus years as an entrepreneur, operator, executive and advisor in international electronics, technology and energy sectors, he has led early-stage growth initiatives with branded consumer and industrial corporations (Klipsch, Shaw Industries), multiple start-ups (Jaybird, Audera, Sentient, Wavelock, Hyun Won), and ODM manufacturers (Eastech, Audiosphere).
Jack has particular expertise in technology licensing programs, establishing global product distribution channels and developing supply chain networks.