An economist by training, Joel has learned that the key to success is to break down what a company offers into the business problems it solves for customers.  In other words, think like the customer in order to best serve the customer.  Under his leadership, his teams work first to understand the customers’ needs and then develop, market and distribute products and services that solve their problems.

Joel’s journey began at Procter and Gamble, where he started his career as a non-coffee drinking member of the brand team for Folger’s Coffee.

From P&G, he ventured to Bain & Company and later spent four years as a venture capitalist at Charles River Ventures. Joel served both as Executive Vice President of Aspen Technology (AZPN), an application software company, and CEO of Navisite, a managed hosting provider, playing a key role in driving revenue growth and steering both companies through successful public offerings.

Joel has also served as a senior advisor to Softlayer, a cloud and dedicated server company and continues to pursue his passion for start-ups by advising several small businesses in his spare time.

Joel received an AB from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.