Israel Ganot

CEO & President

Israel's the stoic general, firmly holding the reins of Gazelle's daily execution and hell-bent on writing a west coast-style success story on the east coast. His devotion to instilling a metric-based culture continually inspires the Company's operations to be fine-tuned and focused. Israel's background is seasoned over 19 years in e-commerce and offline retail. Israel spent six years at eBay and PayPal, where he was instrumental in the company's international expansion in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Israel also served as Director of Finance & Operations at eBay UK Ltd., where he helped scale the local business to $300 million. He started his career as a retail analyst with Goldman Sachs, and he holds an MBA from Harvard and a bachelors from NYU's Stern School. Israel's favorite gadget: 3G iPhone.

Rousseau Aurelien

Founder

Rousseau wants a revolution: to dramatically change consumers' end-of-use habits and to keep Gazelle the verb it is. As Gazelle's founder and the face of the Company, he plots the course and thinks the "thinks" that take it to new places. A serial entrepreneur with expertise in business development and technology applications, Rousseau has won Ziff Davis' "Sm@rt 50" and "Sm@rt 100" awards numerous times. Earlier in his career, he held senior positions at Signiant, State Street Bank, Teradyne, and was the co-founder of Internet consultancy Cambridge Information Systems. He is also an established eBay power seller, and his frustration with some friction-points of the eBay transaction was an inspiration for Gazelle. Originally from Haiti, Rousseau is a veteran in the kitchen, a dedicated family man, and a highly overrated ping-pong player. Rousseau's favorite gadget: iPhone 8GB (a real classic).

Ed Finn

Vice President, Finance and Revenue

Ed's not a finance guy… but he is. “Gazelle's such a simple concept and makes so much sense… but it'll take a lifetime to master… in that way it's like Othello,” is Ed's reply to why he Gazelles. Ed is the Company's financial conscience, driving finance, human resources, administration as well as general strategy. He's also in command of crack squad of merchandisers who optimize the product the Company acquires. He's a Georgetown grad, and his 10+ years of experience include audit with Ernst & Young, investment banking, and financial leadership at GetConnected. He's a CPA and holds the CFA charter, but when not adding stuff, he's breaking ankles (or his own) on local basketball courts, swinging the golf club, or working on his place in Boston's North End. Ed's favorite gadget: iPhone 3G 16GB (it's about time).

Dan Smith

Vice President, Interactive Marketing

When not snacking on the best apples and peanut butter that organic money can buy, Dan masterminds Gazelle's marketing edge and shepherds the Company's growing partnership base. He prides himself on seducing existing and potential customers, devoted to expanding the Company's marketing portfolio in creative, cost-effective ways. Dan's mastery of that craft most recently developed at BuyerZone.com, where he ran search engine marketing, and he has held other posts with Ford Motor Company, New Balance, and Liberty Mutual. Dan earned an MBA from MIT Sloan and a BA in Quantitative Economics from Tufts University. He's a proud Vermonter, an avid basketball player, and a long-suffering Buffalo Bills & Scott Norwood fan. Dan's favorite gadget: Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 Waterproof Digital Camcorder.

Wayne Deer

Vice President, Operations

Wayne's pickin' it up and puttin' it down. Commanding the troops, the systems, and the processes that are Gazelle's Combine (get there… One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest), Wayne touts, "Let's do it right the first time." Wayne's 20 years of experience in service parts fulfillment, reverse logistics and sustainable green initiatives with companies such as GreenSight, Suzuki and Rand McNally have helped him pave new roads at Gazelle to ensure every trade is a fast, rewarding experience. As proverbs go, Wayne's favorite is Chinese: "If you want happiness for an hour — take a nap. If you want happiness for a day — go fishing. If you want happiness for a month — get married. If you want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else." Beyond stunt-doubling for Jeff Daniels, he is an avid music lover & musician (with 4 years of music theory) and enjoys trying to beat his daughters at Nintendo Wii tennis. His favorite gadget: the 1983 Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, the first cell phone.

Thos Niles

Senior Director of Customer Experience

"Everyone gets to go home happy," quips Thos on why Gazelle makes sense. Evangelizing, "dissatisfaction with the status quo drives me to create a consumer experience that helps people achieve things they'd never thought of…in ways they hadn't thought possible." To achieve this, Thos drives the experience's evolution, ever striving to make every customer a promoter. Thos' accomplished this in the past at Firstgiving, and he also caught the start-up bug at Fairmarket. His alma mater is Emerson College (just like Fonzie), and his passion – beyond argyle socks and his family – is strong, strong coffee. Thos' favorite gadget: Flip Video Ultra.