ONVIA MANAGEMENT TEAM

Mike Pickett
President and Chief Executive Officer

Mike Pickett serves as president and chief executive officer of Onvia. Over the last 5 years, he has managed, counseled, and served on the boards of various Internet and technology-based startups, including ZDTV, College Club, and Digital Archaeology. Previously, Pickett was chairman, CEO, and president of Merisel Inc. Under his direction, the company grew from a $200 million regional distributor of computer products into a $6 billion global corporation. Pickett also spent 14 years at Deloitte & Touche, rising to partner-in-charge of the emerging businesses practice. He has been named 5 times to the CRN list of the 25 most influential executives in the high technology industry. Pickett holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.

Irvine Alpert
Executive Vice President, Founder, Onvia Guide

Irvine Alpert, executive vice president, leads Onvia's business development efforts. Alpert was previously CEO of ProjectGuides, a customized information service that delivered leads to the architecture engineering and construction (AEC) community. Alpert grew the company from a home business to one of the top AEC market information sources in the country. Prior to starting ProjectGuides, Alpert was president of RCI Environmental, an environmental remediation-contracting firm, where he grew sales from $100,000 to $12 million in three years. Alpert also served as vice president of sales and marketing at Hart Crowser, Inc. one of the largest environmental services firms in the Pacific Northwest. Alpert has an undergraduate degree in social sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a master's degree in city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mike Tannourji
Senior Vice President of Sales

Mike Tannourji joined Onvia in November, 2007 as senior vice president of sales. He brings nearly 20 years of sales, marketing and operational experience in the information industry, most recently at Experian, a $3 billion global information service company, where he was vice president of sales for its Business Information Solutions (BIS) group. Tannourji has also held executive positions at Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) and Ernst & Young, where he consistently grew vertical industry sales by double digits. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from University of California at Irvine.

Eric Gillespie
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Eric Gillespie joined Onvia in 2007 as its chief information officer and became senior vice president in 2008. He leads marketing, human resources, products and services, as well as technology, content and research for the company. In addition to developing and deploying new strategic platforms, his teams also support existing Onvia services, including the new Onvia Online Database, the award-winning Onvia Guide, and the Onvia DemandStar eProcurement platform. Prior to Onvia, Gillespie served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at The Patent Board. His experience also includes senior positions at Scient, Computer Sciences Corporation, and IBM. Gillespie's views on creating value through innovation and technology have been featured on National Public Radio, The Economist, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post among other leading publications, and in testimony before the U.S. Congress.

Michael Balsam
Chief Solutions Officer

Michael Balsam, chief solutions officer, leads Onvia's product strategy & development effort. Balsam came to Onvia as part of the ProjectGuides acquisition in 2001 with over 10 years of experience in bringing products to market. At ProjectGuides, Balsam was responsible for product design and product marketing. Prior to that, Balsam was founder and general manager of the catalog sales group at Foss Environmental where he grew the new business unit to a recognized national brand. His experience also includes several startups ranging from technology to manufacturing. Balsam teaches business development at the University of Washington and graduated from University of New Hampshire.

Cameron Way
Chief Financial Officer

Cameron Way joined Onvia in August 1999, became chief accounting officer in 2003 and was named chief financial officer in 2008. At Onvia, Way provides financial and operational leadership in growth management, corporate development, and strategic planning. Prior to Onvia, his early career was spent with the public accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP from September 1994 to August 1999. His professional focus was on companies in the high tech and investment services industries, and he was involved in a number of initial public offerings. Way holds a bachelor's degree from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif.

SoYoung Kwon
General Counsel

SoYoung Kwon serves as general counsel of Onvia, Inc. and oversees its legal and corporate governance activities. Kwon was previously senior corporate attorney at Safeco Corporation, where her responsibilities included securities compliance, corporate governance, and employment and benefits matters. Kwon received a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington and a law degree from the Willamette University College of Law. Prior to joining Safeco, Kwon was an associate at the law firm of Graham & Dunn, PC.