As a Telecommunications/Media Management Major at Pepperdine University, Mara first got the “bug” to explore the entertainment industry hands-on.  In her sophomore year, she accepted an internship at RCA Records, located in Beverly Hills in the Promotions Department.  There, she was responsible for tracking spins of each of the label’s artists, monitoring Billboard charts, building relationships with Program Directors, as well as gaining insight of how artists such as Dave Matthews Band, Christina Aguilera and the Foo Fighters are “sold” to radio stations nationwide.  Mara then accepted a position at the Orange County label Time Bomb Recordings, a sister company of RCA under the BMG umbrella.  As a College Marketing Representative, Mara promoted tour dates and new releases to retail stores and other lifestyle markets, as well as managed local promotional events and in-store “meet and greets” for the label’s artists.   From there, Mara moved to the Promotions Department at Interscope Records, hyping new releases from artists such as Eminem, No Doubt, U2 and Jurassic 5 to alternative-specific radio stations.

After working at various labels for two years, Mara decided to focus her energy and experience on a different industry.  While still in her senior year, Mara accepted a position as an Account Planner with the advertising agency Foote, Cone, and Belding (FCB-Irvine) where she analyzed consumer trend data and facilitated focus groups for clients such as Vans, Kawasaki and Amtrak. Upon graduation from Pepperdine University in April of 2001, Mara knew that the marketing industry was the prefect fit and accepted a position at Strottman International, a promotional marketing agency in Irvine, California.  Currently an Account Executive at Strottman, Mara develops and fulfills all promotions for Pepsi Bottling Group Southern California (sweepstakes, retailer events, concerts and team sponsorships) as well as promotions for Disneyland, Radio Disney, and launching new “kid-focused” products for Stouffer’s.

Mara currently resides in Newport Beach, is a member of American Marketing Association - Orange County, and is planning to attend graduate school in the fall of 2004.

MATT HARRIS ~ President and Chief Executive Officer, ExamWeb

ExamWeb is a software company that specializes in online assessment technology. After working with a variety of consumer product companies, Matt joined Warner Brothers in 1991 to help them launch their Studio Store division. As Western Regional Gallery Operations Manager he was responsible for operational growth and development as well as management and training of a gallery sales force in 25 stores generating over $20 million in revenue.

In 1995, Matt received his MBA from Pepperdine University’s Executive Program. He left Warner Brothers and spent a few years investing, consulting on strategic planning, and speaking to investors and entrepreneurs. He has been profiled on the CNN - Fortune Newsstand Show, in Business Week, and in Young Money Magazine. He has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Money Magazine, and San Francisco Chronicle discussing IPO’s and investment strategy.

In 1997, while studying for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam, Matt founded ExamWeb to meet the needs of people studying for professional certification exams. His vision was to move exam preparation online where he thought study time could be more personalized and effective.  Since then ExamWeb has grown to become a leading assessment technology company, providing a wide range of online exam preparation services and corporate training as well as licensing its software to leading education companies like Kaplan and McGraw-Hill.  Their most recent release, called GradeSummit, is being bundled with college text-books to help students in over 100 disciplines score higher on course specific tests. ExamWeb’s presence can be found in over 1,000 bookstores across the U.S. and ExamWeb’s courses are currently helping students, employees and exam candidates in over 30 countries to become successful in school and advance in their careers.

Since graduation, Matt has continued to stay involved with Pepperdine and the Graziadio School of Business Management (GSBM). In addition to teaching entrepreneurship in the fully-employed MBA program, he serves as President of Pepperdine’s University Alumni Association, Chair of The Graziadio School’s Management Partners, is a member of the Graziadio School Board of Visitors, and is constantly involved with a variety of supportive efforts both at the University and business school level. He was also the recipient of the Graziadio School’s Distinguished Alumnus award in May 2002.

SCOTT PAINTER ~ Co-founder & former CEO, CarsDirect.com

With more than a decade of experience starting and building companies, Scott Painter is truly a “serial entrepreneur.” Prior to joining Flint and BTO, Scott co-founded CarsDirect.com™, the first nationwide automotive e-tailer allowing consumers to purchase cars directly online. As CEO and co-founder, Scott led CarsDirect.com to motivate the first generation of online car sites – dealer referral sites – to incorporate the direct sales model into their businesses; propel the world’s major automotive manufacturers and their franchised dealers to embrace the Internet; and open the floodgates to a host of imitators. Under Scott’s leadership, CarsDirect.com secured over $350 million in funding and played a principal role in transforming the automotive retail industry into one driven by consumer expectations, customer service, and trust.

Prior to CarsDirect.com, Scott leveraged his expertise in direct response marketing and advertising as the innovator behind several well-known successes, including 1-800-DENTIST™ and 1-800-CAR-SEARCH™. Scott was also founder and CEO of INFOAccess™, Inc., an electronic classified service.   

Scott currently serves on the Board of Governors of Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and is on the Board of Directors of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), which is the organization that governs and promotes professional beach volleyball. Scott has been nominated twice for “Entrepreneur of the Year,” and is a regularly scheduled speaker at venture capital conferences and business schools, as well as an expert witness, having testified before the Federal Trade Commission.

Scott was educated at the United States Military Academy, where he majored in political science and systems engineering. He also attended the University of California at Berkeley, majoring in economics.

Bill brings to BTO a broad range of experience he amassed during several global assignments in the automotive sector. During his career at Ford Motor Company, Bill held over a dozen business and technical positions focused on four different continents. These positions ranged from component and vehicle engineering work with Visteon, Mazda, and Lincoln; to business & product strategy with the US youth market, India, and the emerging markets; as well as the turnaround of Ford of Europe. In addition, he was part of the key management team of the Amazon program, which established an all-new modular plant in Brazil in cooperation with the Tier 1 supply base. In 1998, Bill founded and subsequently served as Chief Operating Officer of GreenLeaf LLC, a Ford Motor Company start-up enterprise that became a leading automotive recycler. Under his leadership, GreenLeaf LLC grew to over a 600-employee operation with 20 locations worldwide.

Immediately prior to joining BTO, Bill was Founder and CEO of Model E Corporation where the "Subscribe and Drive" philosophy was first pioneered and implemented in California. He affords BTO a holistic understanding of automotive past, coupled with a powerful vision for the future.

Bill earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Detroit Mercy--in addition to studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, and Oxford University.