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Key People

Management

Scott Jones, CEO & Co-Founder

Scott brings over two decades of experience and achievement to ChaCha as a veteran entrepreneur, inventor, strategist, and venture capitalist. His well-seasoned perspective and pioneering instincts provide unique direction for the gifted team that ChaCha continues to assemble.

At age 25, Scott invented the massively scalable, easy-to-use voicemail system that has been used by over a billion people around the world. Subsequently, he built Gracenote, the company that supplies Internet-based music services for companies including Apple, Yahoo, and Sony. Gracenote services are being accessed globally at the rate of 24 billion times per year by applications such as iTunes.

Two decades ago, Scott described publicly, during speeches in Hong Kong and London — well before desktop search engines and the Web were born – a vision of people having access to all of mankind’s knowledge, from anywhere, and at anytime. In late 2005, Scott realized that the enabling technologies of the Web and the ubiquity and portability of mobile devices finally provided the necessary pieces of the puzzle to manifest the dream. Hence, ChaCha was born. Scott is now driven by the singular focus of making ChaCha the world’s easiest-to-use and most comprehensive way to access information and answers while people are on the go.

In addition to his focus on changing the world, Scott has traveled the globe with his family, loves to find great hole-in-the-wall eateries with Vee and enjoys time with his sons playing basketball, blowing up things in kitchen science experiments, and watching random YouTube videos.

Chris Brown, President, CFO

Chris leads ChaCha’s dynamic team in its daily quest to build the world’s leading mobile answers service and advertising platform. Chris is leading the effort to build and launch innovative products that delight both customers and advertisers by delivering fast, accurate answers and mobile advertising solutions that drive real results.

Prior to joining ChaCha, Brown played an instrumental role in building Nextel into a $15 billion business and worked on all facets of the Sprint-Nextel Communications merger, one of the largest merger and integration efforts in U.S. history. Chris brings over 20 years of wireless industry experience to ChaCha, including eight years with Verizon Wireless before serving in a variety of executive roles with Nextel. As Nextel’s Vice President of Customer Operations, Chris led the company’s “Service Done Right” program which garnered Nextel the JD Powers “No. 1 in Customer Satisfaction” award.

Chris also has a passion for fine wine, soccer and travel. In fact, Chris’ taste for red wine led him to co-found Dogwood Cellars and Three Families winery in Healdsburg, California. A glass of handcrafted Cabernet Sauvignon at the end of a sunny day with his wife, and sons, is the perfect complement to Chris’ tenacious focus on building ChaCha into one of the world’s great companies.

Tom Cooper, CTO

As the first key executive to join up after the company was founded, Tom plays the critical role of designing and developing ChaCha’s groundbreaking, patents-pending architecture to ensure millions of mobile questions can be handled smoothly.

Tom’s experience as CTO at Bostech Corporation and as creator of more than 20 highly scalable commercial software applications provides essential background for building sophisticated, scalable technology infrastructure for ChaCha. His calm, quiet confidence and off-the-charts intellect combine to continuously drive the ChaCha team to new heights. Tom is known for establishing strong loyalty with world-class engineers and doing whatever it takes to succeed in building robust technology platforms.

In addition to driving ChaCha’s rapid technology ascent, Tom’s passion for flying takes him thousands of feet above the earth whenever he can make it to the airstrip on a cloudless day. With his wife, Pam, at his side, Tom pilots a Piper Cherokee Six at 150 knots. While gliding toward the endless horizon, Tom’s mind is clear to contemplate the next big leap required for ChaCha to continue developing products that deliver the optimal blend of human intelligence and cutting-edge technology.

Board of Directors

Scott Jones

View bio above.

Brad Bostic

Brad is laser-focused on driving ChaCha’s commerce strategies. Brad is a frequent speaker at conferences regarding mobile search, an active blogger at blog.bradbostic.com, a dedicated participant in online communities, and a consummate evangelist of ChaCha. Brad is leading a team that is working to make ChaCha a well-known commerce platform throughout the United States and ultimately around the globe.

In addition to co-founding ChaCha, Brad has founded and led multiple web-based technology companies. Brad founded Bostech Corporation, a pioneer in the open source software market with nearly 10,000 customers around the globe spanning the healthcare, energy, and retail markets.

When he isn’t building cutting-edge technology companies or scaring his white-knuckled car passengers by showing his dance moves while driving through ice storms, Brad loves to push his limits snowboarding through the trees in the Colorado Rockies. Brad also enjoys skateboarding, football, Guitar Hero III, and sharing time with his wife, Amy, and their three young children.

Rod Canion

Rod Canion has been a leading figure in the technology industry since co-founding Compaq Computer Corporation in 1982 and serving as its Chief Executive Officer through a decade of unprecedented growth. During his tenure as CEO, Compaq set records for the largest first-year sales in the history of American business and reached the Fortune 500 and the $1 billion revenue mark faster than any other company in history. By 1991, Compaq employed more than 10,000 people and operated in 65 countries worldwide. In September 1999, Rod led the initial investment round for Questia Media, Inc.; became chairman of the board and later helped the company raise $150 million. Questia provides the world’s largest online library of liberal arts books and journal articles for high school and college students doing research. In 1992, Rod founded Insource Technology Group and served as its Chairman until September 2006.

A native of Houston, Rod graduated from the University of Houston in 1966 and 1968 with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in electrical engineering with an emphasis on computer science. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Invesco Ltd., Physician Capital Group, Auditude and ChaCha Search, Inc., and is a director of the Houston Technology Center.

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