Rafat Ali
Editor & Publisher
paidContent.org

Rafat Ali, Founder, Editor and Publisher Since founding the Company in 2002, Ali has overseen the rollout to three new verticals and the expansion into revenue generating events. Before ContentNext, Rafat was managing editor of the Silicon Alley Reporter. Editor & Publisher has called Rafat "journalism's poster boy for career independence from news companies," and CBS MarketWatch has called him "a pioneer in using the Web for an almost real-time business news feed." Rafat was the Knight Foundation Fellow at Indiana University, his alma mater, in 1999-2000.

Bruce Eatroff
Founding Partner
Halyard Capital

Mr. Eatroff is a founding partner of Halyard Capital, a New York based private equity fund with over $600 million of assets under management focusing on investments in the Media, Communications and Business Services industry. Mr. Eatroff has a broad spectrum of private equity investing experience including telecommunications, cable, publishing, broadcasting, traditional and interactive marketing services, IT services and Education. He represents Halyard on the Boards of Education Dynamics, Engauge, Impremedia, NuLink and Presidio Networks and previously sat on the Boards of Hanley Wood and TRANZACT. Mr. Eatroff has been a featured speaker and panelist at over fifty industry events and conferences. He has over twenty years of Wall Street experience including senior positions at Goldman Sachs, UBS Securities and CIBC World Markets. Mr. Eatroff received an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and a B.A. with honors from Lafayette College.

Scott Kessler
Senior Director, Information Technology
Internet Software & Services and Internet Retail
Standard & Poor's Equity Research

Scott Kessler is a Senior Director with Standard & Poor’s, heading up Information Technology sector equity research efforts and covering individual stocks. Since mid-2004, Scott has directed Technology sector strategy and recommendations on over 250 stocks. From March 2000, he has personally covered Internet Software & Services and Internet Retail companies, including bellwethers eBay, Google, IAC/InterActiveCorp and Yahoo. He also authors the bi-annual industry survey entitled “Computers: Consumer Services & the Internet.” Scott received the S&P Analyst of the Year award in 2006, and a Gold SPARC award for innovation in 2007.

Scott was also recognized by The Wall Street Journal in its Best on the Street 2003 Analysts Survey as the top analyst covering General Industrial Services for his work on data-processing technology stocks. He is regularly relied upon as an expert by media including Barron’s, Bloomberg Radio and TV, CNBC, CNN, The Financial Times, Investor’s Business Daily, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as numerous local U.S. periodicals and international outlets.

Prior to becoming an equity analyst, Scott worked as a legislative fellow to the Vice Chairman of House Telecommunications & Finance subcommittee, handling issues related to technology and telecommunications. Thereafter, he worked for a law firm in Washington, D.C. as a telecommunications attorney, representing clients including Time Warner and The Walt Disney Company.

Scott graduated from Brandeis University in 1992 and received a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1995.

Jordan Rohan
Founder and Partner
Clearmeadow Partners

Jordan Rohan is a Founder and Partner of Clearmeadow Partners. Jordan is the former Managing Director and Internet Analyst at RBC Capital Markets. The Wall Street Journal acknowledged Jordan's work in the Advertising & Publishing sectors, awarding him "The Best of the Street" in 2005 and 2007. He has been covering the media, online media, search and e-commerce sectors since 1999, and has developed an in depth understanding of the convergence of media and technology, and a reputation for bold, non-consensus research calls. Jordan's experience also includes research analyst positions with Soundview Technology Group, SG Cowen, and UBS Securities, where he was often the top-ranked analyst at the respective firms. Jordan also held business development and financial analyst positions with the Walt Disney Company and Intel Corporation. Jordan is a frequent speaker at digital advertising, lead generation and internet search conferences.

Jordan earned a Bachelors degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, as well as an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business.