Senior Advisors
Bernie Andrews
Bernie Andrews served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Eyecare Centers of America (“ECCA”), a retail optical chain of 380 stores, from March 1996 until July 2001, and continued to serve as Chairman of the Board until December 2003 (ECCA was an investment led by Renny Smith at Thomas H. Lee Partners). From January 1994 to April 1995 Bernie was President and Chief Operating Officer and as a Director of Montgomery Ward-Retail. He was Executive Vice President of Store Operations and Marketing and as a Director of Circuit City Stores, Inc. from October 1990 to January 1994. Bernie was with Montgomery Ward-Retail from October 1983 to May 1990, serving as President-Hardlines, Executive Vice President-Marketing and Vice President-Home Furnishings. Prior to 1983, Bernie spent twenty years with Sears, Roebuck & Co. in a number of field and headquarters merchandising, marketing, and operating positions.
Bernie currently serves as a Director of Parago, a marketing services company, with Renny Smith and Phillip Riese; Sunflower Farmer’s Market, a Phoenix-based 15-store chain of value-priced markets specializing in natural and organic foods; Sentient Medical Systems, an out-source alternative for inter-operative monitoring services; and B&M Racing, a manufacturer of automotive parts for high performance and racing vehicles.
Alfredo Ayala
Fred Ayala is the Chief Executive Officer of LiveIt and has invested in and led companies in Asia and the U.S. for twenty years. He served as Chairman of the Board of eTelecare (Nasdaq: ETEL), a leading customer care BPO company, from February 2000 to February 2008. From February 2004 to March 2006, Fred also served as eTelecare’s Chief Executive Officer. From 1998 to 2004, Fred served as Chairman of SPI Technologies, Inc., a leading non-voice BPO firm. Prior to founding LiveIt in June 2006, Fred was a Managing Director at Crimson Investment and a Co-Founder of MBO Partners.
Fred is Chairman of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P). He holds a B.A. from Brown University and a M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.
Phillip Riese
Phillip Riese is currently President of RIESE & OTHERS, which provides advisory services to CEOs and their teams in developing and executing market share and revenue growth strategies. Prior to forming the company, Phillip spent 18 years at American Express, ultimately as President of the Consumer Card Group leading the teams that turned around American Express’ core business. Before American Express, Phillip was a Division Executive at Chase Bank and a partner at M.C. Geffen, a consulting firm in South Africa.
Phillip has also served as CEO of two early stage companies. He currently serves on the board of Aspen Marketing Services (with Renny Smith), Hypercom (NYSE:HYC), Parago (with Renny Smith and Bernie Andrews) and Zopa. Phillip holds a B.Com (Hons.) from Leeds University in England, an M.B.A. from the University of Cape Town in South Africa and an M.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.