CO-FOUNDER

DAVE STEWART

Dave is one of the most successful musicians over the past three decades. As part of pop duo Eurythmics and through his collaborations with artists like Bono, Bryan Ferry, Gwen Stefani, Tom Petty, Katy Perry, Mick Jagger and Sinead O’Connor, Dave has sold over 100 million albums, racking up numerous Producer, Songwriter, Golden Globe, and Grammy Awards along the way. Beyond his creative work as a musician, Dave is a renowned innovator, producer, author, director, photographer, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Bob Dylan described Dave as “a fearless innovator.” He is a serial entrepreneur and co-author of business book The Business Playground: Where Creativity and Commerce Collide.’

CO-CHAIRMAN

MICHAEL PHILLIP

Michael has had a successful 25-year career in global investment banking, including board level roles at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank. He was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse Europe, Middle East and Africa, and a Member of the Group Executive Board of Credit Suisse from 2005 to 2008. Michael was CEO of Deutsche Asset Management from 2000 to 2002 and was a Member of the Board of Managing Directors. Michael started as a potter and clearly remembers what life was like as a struggling creative entrepreneur, trying to help support a family with his wife Sherry. Michael and Dave have been friends for over 15 years and have always dreamed of creating a fair playing field for artists. FAB is the realization of that dream.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

KYLE PHILLIP

Kyle is responsible for the overall strategy and management of FAB. He started his career working at Deutsche Bank, but quickly struck out on his own with his startup Vision Fuel, an “idea hub” for the Deutsche Bank Angel Fund. Kyle’s investment in early stage ventures, notably PayPal, gave him a view of emerging business models for the banking industry. He formed Gyre Capital, which included a broker-dealer operation, where he worked with startup companies and investors and managed a series of investment funds for major global investment banks. A common theme in Kyle’s career has been his passion for using creativity to solve difficult funding problems, with FAB offering an unrivaled opportunity to work with the next wave of entrepreneurs and redefine the Creative Economy.

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

MARK SIMMONS

Mark is responsible for the FAB brand and for all FAB marketing. He started his career in finance as a futures broker in London for Cargill and Bank of America, before moving into marketing and advertising. He has been a global marketer at The Coca-Cola Company and an advisor to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He was the co-fouder of marketing agency Anti-Corp and held senior roles at advertising agencies in the UK and US. Mark has co-authothered two business books – Punk Marketing: Get off Your Ass and in the Revolution, and with Dave Stewart, The Business Playground: Where Creativity and Commerce Collide – and is a keen but tortured amateur artist, working in acrylic, inks and mixed media.

CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER

ANGIE ZOROTHEOS

Angie is responsible for the day-to-day legal and operational aspects of running FAB. Prior to joining FAB in June 2015, Angie led the restructuring of XO Group’s eCommerce platform. She has served as the General Counsel at Quidsi Inc., where she oversaw all legal matters during the company’s growth from Diapers.com to 10 online retail sites and its acquisition by Amazon in 2010. Angie was also Vice President and Assistant General Counsel in the Investment Banking division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. where she founded their worldwide Pro Bono Program and served on the Environmental Policy Task Force. She has been a Legal Consultant for the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and is a board member for Ubuntu Africa, NFP, an organization providing care to HIV-positive children in South Africa. Angie is an art gallery junkie and has a secret desire to be reborn as a dancer.

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

BENJAMIN RUTLEDGE

Benjamin is responsible for all technical, technological, and trivial functions at FAB.  He started his technology career at IBM, quickly moving from roadshows and inside sales to product development of massively-parallel processing (MPP) supercomputers and grid/utility/cloud computing products at IBM. He has also founded and helped grow several IT services and consulting companies. Most recently, Benjamin was CTO at Ambata Services, providing FINRA and SEC compliant infrastructure, services, consulting, and support to multiple broker dealers. In search of his medium, Benjamin has tried his hand at songwriting, the penny whistle, knitting, and is now learning to play the ukulele and the synthesizer products from the geniuses at Artiphon and Teenage Engineering (because who doesn’t love the visuals of a sewing machine, a submarine, or a cow when making music).

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER – BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

DONNA MASTROPASQUA

Donna is responsible for forging the strategic partnerships that build the FAB community, and she is leading the charge on the development the First Artist Foundation. Prior to joining FAB, Donna was responsible for the creation and fundraising for 1love.org, the charitable giving platform for the Marley family and affiliated brands. Donna is a serial entrepreneur whose 30-year marketing and media career has been about channeling her creativity and passion, connecting people and working on really cool projects. Donna is a creative problem solver with an expertise in designing, creating and executing loyalty and affinity programs that motivate consumer behaviors. Startups she has founded include perks.com, my concert concierge, and ecoperks. Donna is a frustrated artist who loves to cook and travel; and revels in the abundance of creativity with which she surrounds herself, especially the artistry of her talented children.