SproutLoud Leadership

Anjan Upadhya is the chief technology officer, CIO and a managing partner at SproutLoud. As the chief architect of the SproutLoud SaaS marketing platform, he oversees all technology and product development for the company. Anjan, who was named 2018 CIO of the Year by the South Florida Business Journal, has been a part of SproutLoud since its inception. He has over 18 years of experience building technology teams and platforms in fast-paced, startup environments for a broad range of industries including education, veterinary and medical sciences, and marketing technology.

Before joining SproutLoud, Anjan held similar positions in a number of startup companies. He was the lead architect for StudyNet, a leading platform for online education. For his work at Turkel Schwartz and Partners, Anjan won two silver Addy Awards in the advertising field. He also won an additional Addy for his collaborative work with Cave Design, a leading graphics communication company.

Anjan’s background has given him exposure to biological sciences, arts, advertising, programming and internet technologies. This breadth of experience allows him to problem solve with a broad and unique range of perspectives. He loves taking ideas from inception to working business software solutions. Anjan is also a published photographer. He has a deep passion for open-source software and loves the innovative thinking and inspiration that comes from it. Anjan holds a degree in Web & Interactive Media from The Art Institutes and a degree in Botany from Delhi University, India.

Bill Cronic is vice president of People and Organizational Development at SproutLoud. Bill has spent the last 15 years working in the area of performance and talent management (in areas such as staff development and human resources) with companies such as Liquidity Services and GEICO Auto Insurance. He also has a strong background in operations. After doing door-to-door sales for an independent agency, he began his career with GEICO as a sales agent in their San Diego call center. After working as a sales agent for about a year, he became a front-line sales supervisor and then went on to become a service manager with responsibilities for 100+ employees.

Bill grew up in a small town in Georgia and received his B.A. in both psychology and religion from Emory University in Atlanta. After doing some graduate studies in Israel, he completed his Masters of Divinity at Lexington Theological Seminary in Lexington, Kentucky and became an ordained minister. His experience and work as an ordained minister have contributed greatly to the work he now does in the corporate HR world.

Carlota Lou Nasti serves as controller at SproutLoud, overseeing accounting for the company — both in the Florida and Colombia offices. Carlota is an accountant with strong knowledge of corporate tax and GAAP policies. She joined SproutLoud in 2013 as a staff accountant and used her previous experience to grow within the company. Carlota now works alongside the CFO, overseeing company finances and accounting functions.

She has excelled as a remote manager, and she received the SproutLoud DRI Inspirational Leader Award in 2020. She also earned the company’s Most Accountable Award in 2016 and the Team Player Award in 2015 for her ability to work across different departments.

Carlota graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in accounting, and she later earned a Master’s degree in Finance. Carlota is a mom of two and notes that she is currently mastering being a boss both at home and at work.

Dave Kinsella, managing partner and COO at SproutLoud, is an experienced CFO/COO. Dave has developed his strengths over the past 25+ years as the lead financial, accounting and operations manager for distributed marketing, retail, service and manufacturing corporations. Dave uses his analytical and management skills to strategically identify and create opportunities for growth and performance of companies.

Dave has a focus on process and operations improvement. He has the ability to see the big picture while maintaining a hands-on detail-oriented approach. He has extensive experience in turnarounds, acquisitions, divestures and high-growth environments. Dave also has extensive experience in managing operations, warehouse, retail, HR and IT functions.

Prior to joining SproutLoud in 2007, Dave led operations, finance and accounting for Slifer Designs, Inc. (Design & Retail), Medix Resources, Inc. (Medical Staffing & Medical Software Startup), Simonton Windows (Vinyl Window Manufacturer) and Woodcraft Supply Corp. (Catalog Retailer). Dave has also performed various consulting roles for MacDermid, Inc., Vail Resorts, Inc. and Executors’ Resource.

Dave holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting and finance from the University of Colorado.

As President of SproutLoud, David Spinola supports SproutLoud’s growth plans by overseeing and integrating all operating functions of the business, including Finance, Growth, People, and Operations. He joined the company in 2016, as Chief Financial Officer, overseeing all the finance and accounting functions at SproutLoud. As CFO, he also held supervisory responsibility over human resources, local user engagement and Latin America operations. David brings to SproutLoud over two decades of experience working with fast-growing businesses in operating, investment, advisory and board-level roles across a number of industries, with particular expertise in setting growth strategies, forecasting and analyzing financial performance, driving operational execution, and managing operating costs.

Prior to joining SproutLoud in 2016, David spent 10 years pursuing investments in high growth, lower middle market businesses at leading private equity firms, including Code Hennessy & Simmons, Brockway Moran & Partners, and Millpond Equity Partners. David also previously served as Chief Financial Officer at Academy Medical, LLC, a medical sales and services business. While at Academy Medical, David helped set and execute the company’s growth strategy, improved financial reporting and oversaw all functional areas at the company. He began his career in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Salomon Smith Barney, the investment banking division of Citigroup. He earned a BBA from the University of Notre Dame, where he majored in finance and sociology, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. David is also a CFA Charterholder.

Erik Halber is the Director of User Experience at SproutLoud. He is a technology enthusiast with more than 15 years of experience in design, engineering and product development. Erik joined SproutLoud in 2008 as an engineer before moving on to lead the design team and drive the transformation of the customer experience. Today, Erik is focused on supporting the development of new products while overseeing advancement of current systems to ensure customers are continually engaged and energized by their experiences with the SproutLoud platform. Erik graduated from the University of Maine with bachelor’s degrees in English and in Psychology.

When not at the office, Erik enjoys spending time with his family, fitness, and outdoor adventures. At work, at home and on the trail, he passionately pursues connecting with others and seeing what he can do to make their experiences even better. Erik lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine with his wife and best friend, Allison, and their two boys, Christopher and Alexander, and their cat Ninja.

Gary Ritkes is Founding Partner and Chief Revenue Officer at SproutLoud. He previously served as President of SproutLoud, overseeing partnerships, client services and marketing. He has been a pioneer in the software vertical of Distributed Marketing, a.k.a. Through Channel Marketing Automation. Prior to joining SproutLoud, Gary was vice president of marketing for Rex Three, Inc., SproutLoud’s first and largest vendor among its network of over 100 best-in-class marketing service providers. Gary has worked with hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies and worldwide advertising agencies in providing marketing technology implementation and optimization. He was an original founder of U.S.-based Earth Color Group and a co-founder of Advanced Digital Services (ADS), which was sold in 1996 to publicly traded Katz Digital Technologies. Gary has served as a board member for the local chapter of the American Advertising Federation, and for other national industry associations, including the DMA and AGA.

Holly Dennis is Vice President of Client Services at SproutLoud. She previously served as a senior manager of Client Services. She is a marketing professional with 10 years of experience, dedicated to offering support to both brands and partners. Holly joined SproutLoud in 2013 as a marketing assistant, using her previous experience at different advertising and marketing agencies to grow with the company.

Today, Holly oversees change management for brands in various verticals and she leads a team of client relationship managers in delivering the best in customer service, providing strategic guidance and account management services to Fortune and mid-market product marketers. Holly was awarded SproutLoud’s Inspiration Award in 2017 for recognizing others and inspiring team members to achieve great heights. She graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor’s in Advertising and Marketing Communications.

Jared Shusterman is the founder and CEO of SproutLoud. Since 2005, he has been primarily responsible for strategic direction of the company, as well as the oversight of SproutLoud’s partner ecosystem. Prior to SproutLoud, Jared worked in Thomas Weisel Partners internet and online advertising investment banking practice in San Francisco. He served as the lead analyst on a number of Corporate Finance and M&A deals including News Corps’ buyout of Intermix Media (Myspace.com).

Jared graduated with a B.A. in Finance and Marketing from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia. Jared has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and he is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). Jared has been honored as one of the Top 40 under 40 entrepreneurs by South Florida Business Journal and among the Top 50 Entrepreneurs by Business Leader magazine.

Jorge Tite is the Vice President of Engineering at SproutLoud, responsible for the software development team and architecture of SproutLoud’s application. He joined SproutLoud in 2008 as a senior developer and has enjoyed growing along with the company and its team members.

Originally from Ecuador, Jorge moved to the U.S. in 2004 when he joined LatPro Inc., an online job board focusing in diversity. He also has over 20 years of experience designing and building enterprise applications for different verticals including banking, insurance, marketing, government, education and e-commerce.

Jorge is always up for a challenge and loves the sense of accomplishment he gets after overcoming it. He graduated from La Pontificia Universidad Católica Del Ecuador with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science.

Kevin Hill, Vice President of Local Marketing Strategy and Engagement at SproutLoud, is a 15+ year veteran of the Brand-to-Local space. He has led sales/strategy teams, created go-to-market strategies at both the brand and local levels, and influenced product roadmaps based on market trends. Kevin has a growth mentality focused on recommending strategies for his clients that meet their marketing, demand generation and revenue goals.

Kevin’s experience in Brand-to-Local led him to initially join SproutLoud as Vice President of Digital Strategy. In that role, he helped brands create modern go-to-market digital strategies for their channel partners, including dealers, distributors, retailers, agents, brokers, underwriters, franchisees, branches, corporate stores and multi-location resellers.

Prior to joining SproutLoud, Kevin led the local marketing solution at a Through Channel Marketing Automation company, and he spent five years in the location data management space at Powerchord and Reputation.com. Kicking off his career in Brand-to-Local, Kevin spent five years at Performics/Publicis Groupe on the local investment team, leading brand engagements for clients like Toyota and Allstate.

Lauren Bermudez is Solutions Director at SproutLoud. She is a seasoned SproutLoud marketing technologist, dedicated to offering sales support to brands looking to buy SproutLoud technology for their distributed marketing networks. Lauren comes from a change management background at SproutLoud and formerly led a team of Client Relationship Managers, providing strategic guidance and account management services to Fortune and mid-market product marketers. Lauren joined SproutLoud in 2012 as a Marketing Assistant with a passion for technology, customer service and media production. Prior to SproutLoud, Lauren worked for a magazine publishing and distribution company in New York City after earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Ithaca College in 2007. Lauren won SproutLoud’s “Most Dedicated” Award in 2015.

Manny Perez is the director of Service Delivery at SproutLoud. He has been with the company since 2007. He manages the team responsible for developing and sustaining the vendor and customer relationships, media buys and the reimbursement experience of small business owners who use SproutLoud’s Through-Channel Marketing Automation platform.

Manny joined SproutLoud in the company’s infancy as a marketing assistant. Early on, he stepped into the role of manager of the Marketing Assistant team. Manny is skilled and experienced in understanding SproutLoud’s innovative technology, and he embodies an attitude of “Clients First,” which is one of the company’s core values.

At the end of the day, Manny is a family man first, and he freely admits that one of the main reasons he enjoys working at SproutLoud is because his team members are genuinely like family to him. Whether he is watching his two kids on the soccer field or mentoring team members toward professional growth and promotions, Manny believes that his greatest reward is contributing in a positive way to the growth and well being of those who are his family.

Pieter Brown leads a team of highly skilled and creative production designers. He brings over 25 years of printing experience to SproutLoud. That experience has given him the tools and knowledge to come up with creative ways to meet our clients’ variable data template needs.

Pieter received SproutLoud’s Innovator of the Year Award in 2013.

As Vice President of Marketing, Renny Fidlon serves as the primary marketing strategist and oversees the SproutLoud brand, thought leadership, all marketing programs, and the MarTech stack.

With over 25 years experience, Renny has spent the last decade scaling high-growth Enterprise B2B SaaS and technology companies. Prior to SproutLoud, Renny led global marketing teams at Aria Systems, Optymyze, Softmart (acquired by Connection) and Audience Partners (acquired by Altice USA).

Renny holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Pennsylvania. When not immersed in data, Renny spends most of his free time traveling, watching movies and playing games with his wife and three children.

Sandra Gomez is the Product Line Director, TCMA at SproutLoud. She joined the company in July 2009, as a Software Developer and has had a passion for Sproutloud’s SaaS marketing platform ever since. As the Product Management lead, Sandra is responsible for defining the product vision and roadmap, ensuring alignment with SproutLoud’s strategic priorities and business needs. She also works directly with customers and stakeholders to identify and prioritize product requirements. Before joining SproutLoud, Sandra worked primarily as a software engineer across multiple verticals, including education and financial services. She has over 15 years of experience managing, executing, and delivering enterprise-scale software products and leading product teams.

Sandra is originally from Bogota, Colombia, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, one of the top universities in the country.

Yamid Rios is the General Manager, Director of LatAm Operations at SproutLoud. He is an experienced technology and business manager with extensive expertise in the software services, publishing and talent management. Yamid is a hands-on manager with a strong track record of delivering project efforts on time and within budget. He has excellent interpersonal communication skills, and he is attentive to high-quality customer service and satisfaction. Yamid is strongly proficient in building, maintaining and sustaining robust customer relationships. He has extensive experience establishing strategic technology operations centers for multiple international organizations entering the Latin America (Medellin, Colombia) market.