board of directors
Pat Gross
Mr. Gross is a founder of American Management Systems, Inc. (AMS) and was Chairman of its Executive Committee. AMS, a publicly owned NASDAQ company with 2001 revenues of $1.2 billion, is an international business and information technology consulting firm whose customers include hundreds of Fortune 500 and major European companies, most of the 50 states, and many federal agencies. Mr. Gross served as a principal executive officer of AMS since founding the firm with four others in 1970 and earlier this month he became a senior advisor to the firm.
Mr. Gross is Chairman of the Board of Baker & Taylor, Inc., a private distribution company with annual revenues of $1 billion. Mr. Gross is the Chairman of the Board of Aegis Communications Group, a publicly traded company with 5,500 employees that provides multi-channel customer relationship management and marketing services.
Mr. Gross also serves on the Boards of Directors of Capital One Financial Corporation, Computer Network Technology Corporation, and Mobius Management Systems, Inc. Mr. Gross is active in a number of public policy and community service leadership roles including Chairman of the Committee for Economic Development Research and Policy Committee, and Chairman of the World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C.
Mark Levine
Mark Levine is the Managing Director of Core Capital. He joined the firm in 2000 from GCI Venture Partners, an early stage technology venture capital fund, where he was a managing member focused on Internet infrastructure technology, software, telecommunications, and biotechnology investments.
Previously, Mr. Levine was a senior executive with GEO-CENTERS, a technology services firm with more than $200 million in revenue and 1,200 employees when it was acquired by SAIC. He was responsible for corporate development, government and industry relations, management of the firm's intellectual property portfolio, licenses and joint ventures, investment banking relationships, and senior executive recruitment. Prior to that, Mr. Levine was a Subcommittee Staff Director of the Small Business Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and was involved in several successful legislative and regulatory initiatives including The Small Business Innovation Development Act (SBIR) and the Small Business and University Patent Act.
His other activities include serving on the Boards of Trustees of the Mid-Atlantic Venture Association (MAVA) and the Maret School, the Board of Advisors of The George Washington University Business School and the Dingman Center, the Advisory Board of Marshfield Associates, and as Vice Chair and Executive Committee Member of the Professional Services Council.
Mr. Levine received his M.B.A. from The George Washington University and lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two children.
In addition to buySAFE, Mr. Levine also represents Core on the Boards of Directors of Roundbox, FreedomPay, and Valen Technologies. He has also served on the Boards of Directors of InPhonic (NASDAQ:INPC) and VocalData (acquired by TKLC).
Chuck Cullen
Chuck Cullen joined Grotech in 2000 and is a General Partner. Mr. Cullen's investment activities focus on technology-leveraged services, e-commerce and healthcare IT. Mr. Cullen is active on several portfolio company boards, including buySAFE and Pelican Life Sciences. He previously served on the boards of MEDecision (Nasdaq: MEDE), Brandywine Senior Care and Entek. He has also worked closely other portfolio companies, including HealthScribe, First Service Networks and SimonDelivers.
Prior to joining Grotech Ventures, Mr. Cullen served as the Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of Avatech Solutions, Inc., a growing IT solutions provider serving the design automation market. He previously worked as a management consultant on Fortune 500 engagements for A.T. Kearney, Inc., practiced law with Hogan and Hartson and began his career in public accounting as a CPA with Ernst & Young.
Mr. Cullen received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting (Magna Cum Laude) from Loyola College. He received his Juris Doctor (Magna Cum Laude/Notre Dame Law Review) from the University of Notre Dame Law School and his Master of Business Administration (Beta Gamma Sigma) from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Mr. Cullen is a past member of the Maryland State Bar Association and the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants. He currently serves on the board of Mount Saint Joseph High School.
Steven L. Woda | Founder, Chairman, & Senior Vice President for Strategy & Product
Steve fell victim to online auction fraud in 1999 when he purchased a PDA on eBay that never arrived. Recognizing the need for a better trust and safety model for online shoppers, Steve turned his frustration into inspiration by developing the concept and vision for buySAFE, marking the first time surety bonds would be successfully used for e-commerce. He further developed and refined the business plan and product prototypes for buySAFE while earning his MBA at the Wharton School, where the venture became a finalist in the School's prestigious business plan competition.
As founder, chairman and senior vice president for strategy and product, Steve has been a driving force behind the company's rapid ascent, and he is responsible for leading its business intelligence, strategic planning, and product management teams. He is a recognized expert in the area of online transaction risk management and information economics, and has given speeches on the topics of e-commerce, Internet safety and entrepreneurship to numerous industry groups and educational institutions, including The Wharton School, University of Maryland, Rutgers University, and Professional eBay Sellers Alliance, among others. Additionally, he was recently appointed to the Virginia Joint Commission on Science and Technology's Cybercrimes Advisory Committee.
Prior to founding buySAFE, Steve was both a vice president of Assurance Capital Corporation and a director of the Financial Risk Solutions practice within the Rutherfoord Companies, one of the largest privately-held insurance brokerage firms in the United States. At USF&G Insurance, he managed a $1.5 billion portfolio of surety bond guarantees and built the business from $3 million to more than $12 million annual revenue in two years. Steve began his career at Travelers Property & Casualty, and also worked at PayMyBills.com, an online bill management service and idealab! company.
Jeffrey E. Grass | President & CEO
Jeff is an experienced entrepreneur with a successful track record in bringing ideas to market. He joined buySAFE as the second member of the company’s founding team and has been instrumental in shaping its direction. Today, as President and CEO, Jeff leads the company in executing against its strategic vision and oversees day-to-day operations of the business.
Prior to joining buySAFE, Jeff co-founded PayMyBills.com, an online bill management service. The company was an early success story in the dot com era, growing to more than 200 people and raising more than $35 million in venture capital prior to its sale. Before this, Jeff worked at Travelers Property Casualty Co., where he managed a $350 million book of surety guarantees and co-led the development of a new organization within Travelers Bond that wrote large surety guarantees for technology-based companies. His experience also includes serving as a strategy consultant with a focus on high tech companies at McKinsey & Company and as a visiting professor in managerial finance and business plan writing at James Madison University.
Jeff earned his Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Business Administration from James Madison University, where in 1992 he was the youngest person in the school’s history to win James Madison University’s Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.
