Formerly Zya’s President and Chief Operating Officer, Bo Bazylevsky co-founded the company with CEO Matt Serletic while still on Wall Street. The two started the endeavor given their shared passion for music, and a belief that every consumer should be able to express themselves musically. With a well-honed ability to map risk, Bazylevsky was a creative partner as well as the financial strategist behind the Calabasas, Calif.-based, venture-backed start-up, which he originally seeded with Serletic. Bo was instrumental in securing several rounds of angel and VC investments for the company, most notably from VCs Intel Capital, Liberty Global, and Shea Ventures. With a 20-year track record in trading and investing, Bazylevsky has successfully managed several multi-billion dollar portfolios throughout the most volatile periods in emerging markets history for Credit Suisse-First Boston, Bear Stearns, and JPMorgan. He served as Global Head of Emerging Markets Corporate Trading at JP Morgan, and then joined hedge fund Moore Capital/James Caird Asset Management as partner and Senior Portfolio Manager until joining Zya full time in 2010. Bazylevsky has been recognized by The Wall Street Journal and Asset Magazine as one of the Emerging Markets’ most influential traders and portfolio managers, and served as Co- Chair of The Emerging Markets Traders Association (EMTA). Bazylevsky returned to Wall Street in September 2014, as a Managing Director in Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Emerging Markets bond trading division. He now serves as Zya’s Lead Board Director and resides in NYC with his wife and two daughters. Bo Bazylevsky received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University.
Joanne McKinney is Chief Strategy Officer for the Burns Group, an independent Branding and Advertising Agency based in NYC. She has worked in innovation, advertising and marketing on diverse and global brands both in the U.S. and abroad. Joanne started her career at Grey Advertising, and joined the Burns Group following her role as Interim Director of Integrated Marketing for Kraft Europe. Joanne McKinney received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University.
Steve Shapiro is the CEO of Academic Merit. Prior to this role, Steve had launched four different successful start-ups, ranging from K-12 intervention in urban school districts, tutoring and test prep, adult workforce development and international student exchange. In addition to his numerous entrepreneurial ventures, Steve is an adviser and angel investor for a number of other EdTech start-ups. Steve guides Academic Merit’s strategy and business development so that more K-12 districts can reap the benefits of our virtuous cycle of tools. Steve Shapiro has both a BS and MBA from Cornell University.
Brian Bauer is an Executive-in-Residence at Rev Ithaca Startup Works. He comes to the position with 30 years in the global energy industry. Brian Bauer received an undergraduate degree in engineering from Cornell University and a MBA from the University of Chicago.
Vanessa Morse is the Director of Human Resources at Net Direct Merchants. Vanessa Morse is a graduate of Cornell University.
Rick Morse is the CEO at Net Direct Merchants. Rick Morse is a graduate of Cornell University.
Jacqueline Buffon is a VP/GM at Donna Karan. Jacqueline Buffon is a graduate of Cornell University.
<p>Over the past decade, Kimberly Yorio has forged a reputation as a keen marketer specializing in the development of strategic publicity and promotions campaigns for cookbooks, restaurants, chefs, and other food-related personalities and products.</p> <p>As the founder of Yorio, Inc., which she ran for three years beginning in 1998, Yorio represented a range of publishers including Hyperion Books, William Morrow & Company, Marlowe & Company, ECW Press, Dorling Kindersley, and Houghton Mifflin. The impressive media placements she secured for them included author appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Emeril Live!, Live! with Regis & Kelly; and CBS This Morning as well as print placements and reviews in national magazines such as Time, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, People and Entertainment Weekly.</p> <p>Prior to forming her company, Yorio was Director of Marketing for Artisan Books, an imprint of Workman Publishing, and a publicity consultant for Workman Publishing. In those capacities, she worked with leaders in grassroots publicity and promotion on projects including Sheila Lukins' USA COOKBOOK (40-city tour), the "25 Years of Workman Cookbooks" promotion (25-author, 100-city tour), and tours and special events supporting Barbara Kafka's SOUP, A WAY OF LIFE, and Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid's SEDUCTIONS OF RICE, both of which boasted more than 75,000 copies in print.</p> <p>Yorio gained her experience in cookbook publishing as Director of Cookbook Marketing/Special Sales Manager for William Morrow where she designed and implemented the marketing and publicity plans for 150 cookbooks representing the full range of cuisine, aimed at all segments of the market. Among the books she successfully promoted were such best sellers as BAKING WITH JULIA by Julia Child and LOUISIANA REAL AND RUSTIC by Emeril Lagasse. She developed catalogs and strategies to promote the Morrow line -both in the book trade and specialty markets.</p> <p>Prior to working for these publishing companies, Yorio was an Account Executive at Kratz & Company Public Relations representing chefs, restaurants, and food products including Gotham Bar and Grill (Chef Alfred Portale) and Mesa Grill (Chef Bobby Flay). She also worked on large-scale special events including fund-raisers for the Design Industries Foundation for AIDS. Prior to that, Yorio was Director of Marketing at Tihany International, a design firm and restaurant management group responsible for such milestone destination restaurants as Le Cirque 2000 and Jean Georges.</p> <p>Yorio began her career in publicity and promotion at the Children's Television Workshop where she arranged personal appearances for Sesame Street characters as well as special events for the media.</p> <p>In 2001, Yorio began seeking a partnership that would complement her talents and client portfolio. She entered into talks with a longtime professional acquaintance, Caitlin Friedman that eventually led to the formation of YC Media.</p>
<p>Caitlin Friedman is a public relations and marketing professional with more than ten years of consumer, food and beverage, publishing, and television-production experience.</p> <p>In July 1999, Friedman formed Caitlin Friedman Communications, a lifestyle public relations and marketing agency. Soon thereafter, Amazon.com enlisted Caitlin Friedman Communications to launch their new Kitchen Store. The public relations campaign for the Kitchen Store included a launch event in New York City, media lunches in major markets across the country, and nationwide press tours for Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and Senior Editor Rebecca Staffel.</p> <p>In addition to AMAZON.COM, Caitlin Friedman Communications clients included TIME-LIFE TRADE PUBLISHING, TOSCORP, INC. (Pino Luongo's restaurant and retail group), UNION PACIFIC RESTAURANT, BROADWAY-DOUBLEDAY PUBLISHING GROUP, and HARPERCOLLINS/WILLIAM MORROW. Among the cookbooks Caitlin Friedman has publicized since 1999 are SIMPLE TO SPECTACULAR by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman, COMMANDER'S KITCHEN by Ti Martin and Jamie Shannon, COOKIES UNLIMITED by Nick Malgieri, and ROOM FOR DESSERT by David Lebovitz.</p> <p>Prior to launching her company, Friedman served as the Publicity Manager for Broadway Books' Cookbook Program for two years, leading the publicity efforts for all of the company's culinary titles, including the best-selling (and, in some cases, award-winning) VEGETARIAN COOKING FOR EVERYONE by Deborah Madison; JEAN-GEORGES: COOKING AT HOME WITH A FOUR STAR CHEF by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Mark Bittman; LaBELLE CUISINE by Patti LaBelle; and TENDER AT THE BONE by Ruth Reichl. While at Broadway Books, Friedman was instrumental in orchestrating strategic partnerships with such companies as Jell-O, Williams-Sonoma, and Cervena Venison to help support campaigns for titles such as THANKSGIVING 101 and WILD ABOUT GAME.</p> <p>Before joining Broadway Books, Friedman was an Account Executive at Kratz & Company, a New York City public relations firm, where she led public relations efforts for Rémy Martin Fine Champagne Cognac and The Macallan Single Highland Malt Scotch Whiskey. For these clients, Friedman created and executed strategic media and consumer outreach campaigns, which included a series of multi-city events and sponsorships in the film and culinary industries.</p> <p>Friedman's professional experience in the food industry extends beyond publicity. She was also a Segment Producer at the Television Food Network where she produced daily studio segments as well as field pieces for "Food News & Views," "In Food Today," and "Cookbook Corner."</p> <p>In 2001, seeking to expand her range of clients and grow her business, she partnered with Kimberly Yorio to form YC Media, a full-service public relations and marketing firm based in downtown Manhattan.</p> <p>Friedman is a graduate of University of Massachusetts.</p>