Board of Directors

Michael Blend is System1’s co-founder and has served as System1’s Chief Executive Officer since February 2021, and Chairman of the Board since 2013. Prior to System1, Mr. Blend was President/COO of Leaf Group Ltd., which he joined when Leaf Group acquired his data company, Hotkeys, in 2006. Prior to Hotkeys, Mr. Blend was Vice President, Corporate Development for Jawbone from 2001 to 2003 and for Wedding Channel (acquired by The Knot) from 1999 to 2001. Mr. Blend currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Stephenson­­ Global­ Pancreatic­ Cancer­ Research­ Institute and Wellful, Inc., and previously has served on the Board of Directors of leading digital marketing and technology companies, including Dynata, Data Axle, among others. Mr. Blend was also the Chairman of the Board of Stuff Media from 2016 until it was acquired by iHeart Media in 2018. Mr. Blend was the EY National Entrepreneur of the Year for Media, Entertainment & Communications in 2018, together with System1’s other co-founder, Charles Ursini. Mr. Blend received his JD from The University of Chicago and holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Duke University.

John Civantos has been a member of our Board since February 2022. From August 2020 to March 2022, Mr. Civantos served as Co-Head of Private Capital Group at MSD Partners, L.P. Prior to MSD Partners, Mr. Civantos served as a Managing Partner and was a member of the Investment Committee at Court Square Capital Partners, a U.S. middle market private equity firm, where he worked from April 2004 to March 2019. At Court Square Capital Partners, Mr. Civantos was primarily involved in the firm’s efforts investing in the Business Services and Technology sectors. Mr. Civantos received his BA from Duke University and his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds an M.A. in International Affairs from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Caroline Horn has been a Partner of Andreessen Horowitz since April 2012 where she provides strategic advice to portfolio founders and CEOs on how to assess, hire, develop and retain the best executive talent. Ms. Horn also runs Andreessen Horowitz’s Guide to Venture-Backed Board Membership program that prepares Board-ready underrepresented executives to serve as board directors in venture-backed companies. Additionally, Ms. Horn has served as an advisor at Strava since April 2014 where she provides strategic advice on hiring and people related issues. Previously, Ms. Horn served as an Executive Recruiting Manager and Executive Recruiter for Global Leadership for Google, Inc. from September 2004 to April 2012. She began her career at a retained executive search firm in San Francisco. Ms. Horn holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Dartmouth College.

Moujan Kazerani has been a Founding Partner of Stibel Investments since co-founding it in December 2010, and Bryant Stibel since co-founding it in November 2013. Previously, Ms. Kazerani served as General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer & Head of HR and Culture at Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corporation and later as Leader of Global Corporate Strategy for D&B from September 2010 to July 2017. Prior to D&B, Ms. Kazerani served as General Counsel & Secretary at Zag.com which launched and merged with TrueCar, Inc. from November 2006 to September 2010 and advised on the company’s compensation and audit committees of the board. Ms. Kazerani started her career as a corporate associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Ms. Kazerani currently serves on the board of directors of RingDNA, and Tailwind International Acquisition Corp. where she also serves on its audit committee. She received her JD from The UCLA School of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from U.C. Berkeley.

Tanmay Kumar has over 12 years of investment and financial experience, and is currently an investment professional and Partner at Bridgeport Partners. Prior to Bridgeport Partners, Mr. Kumar was a Principal on the investment team at Motive Partners. Prior to Motive Partners, Mr. Kumar was an investment professional at Wafra, Inc., in the Alternative Investments Division. Prior to Wafra, Mr. Kumar was an investment professional at Phillips Academy Andover in the school’s Investment Office. Mr. Kumar serves as an advisor to Jiko Group, Inc., a technology company that owns and operates an OCC-chartered national bank and a registered broker-dealer. Mr. Kumar received a bachelor of arts in economics from New York University and is a CFA charterholder.

Taryn Naidu brings more than 20 years of entrepreneurial and executive experience across multiple technology-based industries serving as both CEO and COO. Mr. Naidu currently serves as a Partner & Executive Officer at Arrington Capital, which he has served since 2023. Prior to Arrington Capital, Mr. Naidu served as the COO at Rigetti Computing from 2019 to 2022, where he was instrumental in the business operations as well as leading multiple financing rounds for the company, including its public offering through a deSPAC merger. Prior to Rigetti Computing, Mr. Naidu was the CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Rightside Group Ltd. upon its business separation from Leaf Group Ltd. in 2014, where he led one of the leading domain services companies until its sale to Identity Digital in 2017. Mr. Naidu received a B.Sc. in computer science from the University of Regina.

Robert Sharp has been a leading private equity investor for over thirty years, and combines this with being a proven operator. Mr. Sharp was Chairman of Thomas Scientific, the third largest distributor of laboratory products which he acquired with The Carlyle Group, until its sale, and is Co-CEO of Ramy Brook, one of the leading women's contemporary fashion brands.

Mr. Sharp was a founding partner at MidOcean Partners, where he was one of three members of the firm's Executive Committee. Prior to MidOcean he was a partner at its predecessor DB Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Deutsche Bank. Previously, Mr. Sharp was a partner at Investcorp International, a global private equity firm. Mr. Sharp started his career in the mergers and acquisitions group at Drexel Burnham Lambert, and the corporate finance group of Bankers Trust. Mr. Sharp received his MBA from Columbia Business School, where he was a Samuel Bronfman Fellow, and his BA summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Union College. Mr. Sharp currently sits on the Advisory Board at Mount Sinai, completed a seven-year term on the board of Duke's Financial Economics Department, and is involved in many charitable endeavors.

Mr. Ursini is a Co-Founder of the Company’s predecessor business, and currently serves as a member of its senior management team. Previously, Mr. Ursini served as the Company’s first chief executive officer from its initial founding as OpenMail in 2014 until 2020, and also served as a Director of OpenMail/S1 Holdco until January 2022, when the business combination with Trebia Acquisition Corp. was consummated. Prior to System1, Mr. Ursini served in various roles at Leaf Group Ltd. (formerly Demand Media, Inc.) where he oversaw several business units including B.I., Analytics, Monetization & Optimization, and Demand Studios, and most recently held the position of Executive Vice President, Platforms. Prior to Leaf Group/Demand Media, Mr. Ursini was an analyst at Amazon, and started his career as a bond trader at Morgan Stanley and UBS. Mr. Ursini received a BBA in Finance & Accounting from Washington State University and his MBA from the University of Southern California.