Our team

Founded by analytics experts. Managed by industry veterans.

 
Brad Peters
CEO and Co-Founder

Brad Peters is the CEO and co-founder of Birst. Brad has spent the last 10 years building analytics products and solutions. Prior to working at Birst, he helped found and later led the Analytics product line at Siebel Systems which forms the basis of Oracle’s current OBIEE product family. Recognizing the limitations of enterprise analytics offerings and the revolutionary power of Cloud technologies, Brad founded Birst in 2005. Brad started his career as an investment banker for Morgan Stanley in the New York M&A practice. Brad regularly blogs for Forbes.com where he writes about Cloud and business software related issues.

Brad received a BS and MS in electrical engineering and computer science from UC Berkeley, where he was a National Science Foundation Fellow. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School.

 
 
Paul Staelin
Vice President of Customer Success and Co-Founder

Paul Staelin is the Vice President of Customer Success and a co-founder of Birst. He is responsible for ensuring customer success across the customer lifecycle and oversees Birst's Product Management, Professional Services, Support, Education, and Operations. Before working at Birst, Paul built and managed Siebel's Sales Analytics product line, overseeing its growth from start to over $40 million in annual license revenue. Earlier in his career, Paul co-founded emPower Corporation and served as its President for several years prior to its sale in 1999. Paul has also served Sun Microsystems and PictureTel in various product and technical roles. Paul enjoys spending time with his family, playing tennis and rooting for the Red Sox.

Paul holds a BS from Yale, an MS from MIT in Electrical Engineering, and an MBA from Stanford University, where he was an Arjay Miller scholar.

 
 
David Kaplan
Chief Financial Officer

David Kaplan is Birst's Chief Financial Officer. David was previously CFO at Arcot Systems, a leading SaaS provider of online identity authentication solutions, which was acquired by CA Technologies. During his tenure at Arcot, David led the finance & administration, human resources, and legal organizations and oversaw 400% growth in Arcot’s revenues and shareholder value. In 2010, he was a finalist for the “Bay Area CFO of the Year” awards presented annually by the San Francisco Business Times and Larkin Street Youth Services. David has over two decades of financial and operational management experience in emerging growth companies and Fortune 500 corporations. He enjoys family time by rooting on Stanford sports, officiating local swim meets, hiking, skiing, and camping whenever possible.

David holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geophysics from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

 
 
Ryan Ried
Vice President of Worldwide Sales

Ryan Ried is Vice President of Worldwide Sales. Ryan joins Birst from Adobe Systems where he led Eastern Major Accounts. Previously he served as Vice President of Healthcare Sales and Vice President of Global Strategic Business Users at SAP Business Objects. Ryan joined SAP via the acquisition of Business Object where he was responsible for the company’s northeast sales teams. During his tenure he was instrumental in building a team that helped make Business Objects among the fastest growing enterprise software companies of the past decade. Previously he held sales and leadership positions at Oracle, Akamai and Siebel Systems. Ryan enjoys sports and spending time with his family and friends.

Ryan holds a BA from the University of Missouri.

 
 
Rick Spickelmier
CTO and Vice President of Engineering

Rick Spickelmier, CTO and Vice President of Engineering, is responsible for engineering, security, and big ideas for Birst. Rick brings over 17 years of wide-ranging software development experience, including experience in enterprise architecture, databases, and on-demand applications. Rick has been Senior Director of Technology at Geac, CTO at Extensity, and has also worked in a number of management, architecture, and development roles at Objectivity. Rick has participated as a panelist and presenter at numerous conferences and industry events and has authored several books and publications. Rick enjoys gaming, biking, and traveling to places that scare his family.

Rick holds a Ph.D. and an MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley.

 
 
Wynn White
Vice President of Marketing

Wynn White is Birst's Vice President of Marketing. Wynn joined Birst from Dell where he was Vice President of Dell KACE Worldwide Marketing, overseeing the marketing of the Dell KACE product family. Prior to its acquisition by Dell, he led KACE's marketing and product management and was instrumental in driving the company's growth from 300 to more than 3,000 customers. Wynn has two decades of marketing and product management experience in the areas of business intelligence, system management, security, and networking. Previously he was Vice President of Security and Systems Management Marketing at Oracle and has held senior marketing roles at Oblix and BEA. Wynn enjoys cooking with his family and friends and mountain bike riding whenever he gets the chance.

Wynn holds a BA and MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.

 
 
Sharon Gordon
Vice President of Birst Alliances and Technology Partnerships

Sharon Gordon is Vice President of Birst Alliances and Technology Partnerships. Sharon joined Birst from QlikTech where she ran Solution Provider Alliances, growing partner revenue contribution by more than 140 percent in less than a year. Previously she spent nine years at SAP, with her last role as Global Sales and Strategy Leader for Business Intelligence and Social Networking OnDemand solution offerings. Sharon joined SAP via the acquisition of Crystal Decisions and Business Objects where she led the North America Solution Provider Program. Sharon has additionally held channel and sales roles at Actuate and Wyse Technology. Sharon loves indulging in food and wine in the company of good friends and family as well as exploring the world with her husband of 24 years.

Sharon received her BA in Marketing from the University of Colorado at Boulder and studied for her MBA at Babson College.

 
 
Manish Jani
Managing Director of Birst India Private Limited

Manish Jani is the Managing Director of Birst India Private Limited; he is responsible for Birst's India operations located in Ahmedabad, India. He has over 18 years of experience in wide array of technologies working on several consulting projects as well as product development. He previously held engineering and management positions in Extensity, Enherent and Tata Consultancy Services. In his spare time, Manish likes to watch movies from different parts of the world and read fiction.

Manish received his Bachelors in Computer Science from Gujarat University, India.

 
 
Mandeep Singh
VP, Operations & IT

Mandeep Singh is Vice President of Operations and IT for Birst. In this role, Mandeep is responsible for vision and strategic development, management, planning and implementation of all Birst Cloud Operations and Information Technology projects, processes and practices. Mandeep has over 15 years of Operations leadership and management experience. Prior to joining Birst, Mandeep held Operations leadership roles at companies such as Cashedge (acquired by Fiserv), Zing (acquired by Dell) and Kaleidescape. Mandeep enjoys hiking and mountaineering.

Mandeep received his BSc in Computer Science from the University of California, Davis.

 
 
Andrew Marks
Vice President of Professional Services

Andrew Marks is Birst’s Vice President of Professional Services encompassing both Consulting Services and Education and brings more than a dozen years of experience in professional services implementation, customer support, and management. Prior to joining Birst, Andrew was Vice President of Global Client Services for Intacct where he was responsible for Professional Services, Education, and the Customer Support organizations. Previously he worked for SAP, via its acquisition of business intelligence leader Business Objects, where he grew and managed one of the most successful professional services divisions in the company. Andrew has held various senior professional services positions at Savvion , Genesys Telecommunications and Scopus Technology. Andrew started his career at Apple Computer in customer support. In addition to being an avid football and hockey fan, Andrew enjoys spending time with his wife and kids.

Andrew received his BS in Business Administration from California State University-Chico.