Michael A. Braun -- Chief Executive Officer

Mike Braun retired from IBM in August 2000. During his thirty-year career in the information technology industry, he has been CEO of two Silicon Valley software companies and General Manager of four major businesses at IBM.

Most of Mike's experience has been working in businesses based on advanced technology in the early stage of market adoption or with businesses needing substantial restructuring around a new vision. Most recently, he returned to IBM in late 1998 to restructure its $3 billion Consumer Division. As part of this project, he divested several businesses, exited the retail channel, built a direct channel, and focused the company on the fast growing market for small business IT services delivered over the web. He purchased Whistle Communications and then ran the $3.5 billion Global Small Business Division until his retirement.

Prior to IBM, Mike was CEO of Blaze Software, the leader in business rule automation software for applications with advanced personalization needs. Blaze was created and taken public by completely restructuring and retargeting Neuron Data, an eleven year old maker of client server tools, which Mike joined in 1996. Mike served as CEO of Kaleida Labs, the high profile multimedia joint venture of Apple and IBM from 1993 to 1995.

Habitually "on the edge" of new trends like The Interim CEO Network, Mike also was a founder and VP of IBM's Multimedia Division in 1990 and started its Fireworks Partners venture fund in 1992. He formed the Interactive Multimedia Association in 1991 and served as its chairman until merging with the Software Publishers Association in 1996. He helped launch SNA in 1977 and the original IBM PC in 1981. He has also been a guest lecturer in the entrepreneurship programs at Stanford's Graduate School of Business and Santa Clara University.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Callidus Software (NASDAQ: CALD) and on the board of TheatreWorks. He has a BA in Psychology from the University of Rochester and also an MBA from its Simon School.

David L. Powell Sr.-- Chairman

In September 1959, Dave joined the United States Marine Corps and was an Officer for the next four years, progressing to the rank of Captain, a company commander, having tours of duty in Southeast Asia and Cuba, as well as stations in the United States.

In 1966, he joined Fairchild Semiconductor in technical recruiting and in 1968 was named Director, Human Resources at National Semiconductor Corporation. In 1972, Dave joined a New York executive search firm and ran their San Francisco office, later opening an office in Chicago as well, becoming the President of Western Operations for this multi-national organization.

In 1976, he founded David Powell, Inc. (DPI), an executive search firm, to provide senior-level search to the Silicon Valley market. Over the past twenty-five plus years, the firm has become one of the most respected executive search organizations in the United States, well-known for conducting CEO searches for early stage, high technology companies.

The primary source of business has been through the venture capital community and founder groups with new ideas. In 1988, addressing the same market, the firm created a Financial Services Division (FSD), which provides the finance function to early-stage companies and other organizations requiring outsourced financial activities.

In addition to his advisory role as a limited partner with several venture funds, Dave has been a guest lecturer at the Kellogg School at Northwestern University, the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, and the Haas School at Berkeley addressing the creation of management teams for technology start-ups and other executive career subjects.

Stephen S. Smith -- Managing Director

Steve Smith joined The Interim CEO Network in 2002 and is active in all aspects of serving ICN clients. Previously, Steve was a Managing Director of Broadview International, a leading global M&A advisor and private equity investor in the IT, communications, and media industries. Steve is widely known for leading the development of Broadview's Silicon Valley practice. He joined Broadview in 1989 after seventeen years in executive roles in management consulting and with leading companies in the components and computing markets, including McKinsey, Fairchild, Amdahl, and as CEO of Reference Technology, the world's first CD-ROM applications company. Steve served as a Managing Director of Broadview until being named Vice Chairman in 2000. He became an Advisory Director in 2002 and retired after the firm's sale in late 2003 to Jeffries & Co.

Steve is an acknowledged thought leader on topics relating to growth and shareholder value creation through external corporate development. He has made frequent public appearances as a moderator, speaker, and panelist in IT industry events. He has been a guest lecturer at the Harvard Business School, the Graduate School of Business at Stanford, and the Haas School of Business at Berkeley.

Steve is on the boards of Sendmail, Inc.; That Man May See (an organization affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco supporting research in advanced diagnosis and treatment of ophthalmologic diseases); The American Leadership Forum; and the Computer History Museum. He has served on the boards of E-Tek Dynamics, a leading manufacturer of optical components that merged with JDS Uniphase in 2000; the Information Industry Association; the Association for Corporate Growth - Silicon Valley chapter; as well as the Peninsula Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Steve holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar and an engineering degree with high honors from Oregon State University. He is an accomplished golfer and is a member of Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, Cabo del Sol Golf Club, and Querencia Golf Club.

Michael J. Burkland -- Managing Director

Mike Burkland joined The Interim CEO Network in 2005 as Managing Director heading up the firm’s Strategic Advisory Practice.

Mike is a seasoned executive with a track record of driving growth and bringing strategic focus and operational excellence to high growth technology companies. Over the past 11 years, Mike has been CEO of a handful of enterprise software companies in market segments ranging from systems management and content management to security and CRM. He has led three private companies through successful acquisitions by larger public companies. Prior to joining ICN as Managing Director, Mike was a member of The Interim CEO Network and completed two successful interim CEO assignments.

Most recently, Mike was Interim CEO of Hipbone, Inc., a web collaboration software company that was acquired by Kana Software. Mike was hired into Hipbone by the Board to operate the company while identifying and evaluating strategic alternatives. He successfully positioned the company for acquisition receiving multiple offers and completing the sale of the company to Kana. Prior to Hipbone, Mike was Interim CEO at White PJ, Inc., a provider of hosted contact center automation solutions. At White PJ, Mike led the company through a successful shift in its marketing strategy to focus on the small and medium business market. Prior to that, Mike was CEO of Omniva Policy Systems, a pioneer in enterprise policy management and email security, where he built and implemented the company's initial go to market strategy for the enterprise market.

Mike spent four years as CEO of Eventus Software, a leading provider of enterprise content management software that was acquired by Segue Software. Mike grew Eventus from pre-revenue stage to over 150 enterprise customers and successfully repositioned the company from being a reseller of systems management products to a leading developer of enterprise content management software. Prior to Eventus, Mike held various sales, business development, and management positions with Patrol Software, a leader in systems management software that was acquired by BMC. Among his other duties at Patrol, Mike was responsible for negotiating the sale of the company to BMC. Prior to Patrol, Mike was a sales executive with Oracle.

He holds MBA and BA degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. Mike and his wife, Kathy, live in Alamo with their three children. Mike enjoys coaching youth sports and in his spare time he likes to golf, play basketball, and jog.