CS DISCO - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director
- Managing Director of the Stephens Group
- Member of Our Board of Directors
Aaron Clark has served as a member of our board of directors since August 2016. Mr. Clark is a Managing Director of The Stephens Group, LLC, where he has been employed since its founding in 2006. Mr. Clark previously served on the board of directors of Bear State Financial, Inc., serving from 2011 until the company's acquisition in 2018. In addition, Mr. Clark currently serves on the boards of directors of various portfolio companies of The Stephens Group, LLC. Mr. Clark holds a B.S. in finance from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Job Titles:
- Director
- President and Chief Executive Officer of Newfields
Colette Pierce Burnette, Ed.D. has served as a member of our board of directors since April 2021. Dr. Burnette is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Newfields, a position she has held since August 2022. Dr. Burnette was previously the President of Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas, serving in this role from July 2015 to August 2022. She also previously served as interim President at Pierce College in Puyallup, Washington, as well as serving in several roles at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, last serving as its Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer. Dr. Burnette is a leader of the Austin community, serving as co-chair of the Mayor of Austin's Task Force on Institutional Racism and Systemic Inequities, Board Chair of Leadership Austin and Treasurer of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas, along with several other local boards and committees. Dr. Burnette holds a B.S. in industrial and systems engineering from The Ohio State University, an M.S. in administration from Georgia College and State University and an Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Burnette is also a graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education's Management Development Program. We believe that Dr. Burnette is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors because of her extensive leadership experience in the education sector and her demonstrated commitment to public service.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Director
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- CEO of DISCO
As CEO of DISCO, Eric drives the overall strategic direction of the organization, including new market growth, product direction, operational execution and healthy culture.
Eric has over 30 years of experience driving growth for software companies. Prior to DISCO, he was CEO and Board Director for Emburse, a leader in expense management software. Prior to Emburse, Eric held a variety of executive and leadership positions in general management, sales, services, and technology at Adobe, SAP, Concur, and Business Objects. Eric has a BBA in Management Information Systems from the University of Iowa.
He is a seasoned technology veteran with a track record of scaling businesses, building best-in-class products and customer experiences, and developing and inspiring teams. Throughout his career, he has led companies and teams to deliver technology solutions that save customers time and improve their outcomes.
Eric lives in Denver with his wife Jessica and 3 children. In his free time, he enjoys coaching his kids and cheering them on from the sidelines in a variety of sports and activities. He is an avid skier, mountain biker, and road cyclist.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of Our Board of Directors
James Offerdahl has served as a member of our board of directors since August 2018. Mr. Offerdahl served as the Chief Financial Officer of Bazaarvoice, Inc. from January 2013 until its acquisition in February 2018. Prior to this, he served as the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Administration of Convio, Inc. from February 2005 until its acquisition in May 2012. Earlier in his career, Mr. Offerdahl held executive level positions at various other companies, including as Chief Executive Officer of Traq-Wireless, Inc., Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Pervasive Software, Inc. and Chief Financial Officer of Tivoli Systems, Inc. Since January 2011, Mr. Offerdahl has served on the board of directors of Q2 Holdings, Inc., where he also serves as chair of the company's audit committee. He also serves and has served on the boards of directors of several private companies. Mr. Offerdahl holds a B.S. in accounting from Illinois State University and an M.B.A. in management and finance from the University of Texas at Austin.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- Senior Vice President of Operations
- DISCO 's Senior Vice President of Operations
Joe Jacobson serves as DISCO's Senior Vice President of Operations overseeing all aspects of the global operations teams, with a focus on DISCO's Go-To-Market strategy, effectiveness and efficiency to drive demand, grow revenue and retain customers.
Jacobson has extensive strategy, operations and Go-To-Market experience growing B2B SaaS organizations. Before joining DISCO, he held senior leadership positions at Brex and SAP Concur, and has a proven, decades-long track record of success within revenue strategy, operations and business transformation.
Jacobson holds a BA in Journalism from University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire and a MA in Business Communication from the University of St. Thomas.
Job Titles:
- Chief Human Resources Officer
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Karen Herckis has served as our Chief Human Resources Officer since January 2024, after joining DISCO in January 2022 as a Human Resources Business Officer. She oversees all People-related functions including HR business partnership, talent acquisition, HR operations, compensation and benefits, and learning and development.
Before joining DISCO, Ms. Herckis was Vice President, HR at event management software company Aventri (now Stova). Prior to that, Ms. Herckis spent several years at Epiq, where she held a variety of HRBP leadership roles after making a career pivot from Marketing and Communications. Ms. Herckis holds a BS in Organizational Communications from The University of Texas at Austin.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of Our Board of Directors
Krishna Srinivasan has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2013 and as chair of our board of directors from May 2021 to May 2024. Mr. Srinivasan is a Founding Partner of LiveOak Venture Partners, which he co-founded in January 2012. Prior to founding LiveOak Venture Partners, Mr. Srinivasan was a Partner at Austin Ventures from 2000 to 2010. Earlier in his career, he also worked at Motorola and SEMATECH. Mr. Srinivasan is or has been a member of the board of directors of numerous other portfolio companies of LiveOak Ventures Partners in the technology space. Mr. Srinivasan is also Chairman of the Board for The Miracle Foundation, a global non-profit organization that utilizes technology and proprietary best-practices to help orphans and vulnerable children achieve their full potential. Mr. Srinivasan holds a B.Tech. in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, a M.S. in operations research from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Chief Sales Officer
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Lauren Caruso has served as our Chief Sales Officer since November 2024 where she is responsible for all aspects of DISCO's global sales efforts to help further drive adoption of our suite of ediscovery and advanced generative AI solutions among leading law firms and corporations.
Ms. Caruso's returns to DISCO having previously served as Vice President of North American Sales and other senior sales roles. She has also served in senior sales leadership positions at Second Nature and Tractable and began her career at Am Law 50 firms Milbank, LLP and Skadden Arps. Ms. Caruso holds a B.S. in Counseling and Human Services from the University of Scranton.
Job Titles:
- Chief Customer Officer
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Melanie Antoon has served as our Chief Customer Officer since January 2024, where she is responsible for all functions of Customer Experience, driving customer satisfaction and retention, and developing strategies to deepen our relationships with existing clients and attract new ones.
She first joined us as our VP, Professional Services in November 2019 before becoming our SVP, Professional Services in January 2021. Prior to this, Ms. Antoon held roles as the SVP of U.S Operations at Inventus, LLC, Director of Hosting at Huron Consulting, and VP of Client Services at Catalyst. Ms. Antoon holds a B.A. in psychology and women's studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.S. in computer science from DePaul University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
Michael Lafair has served as our Chief Financial Officer since January 2018. Before joining our company, Mr. Lafair served as the Chief Financial Officer of Offers.com from November 2012 until its acquisition by Ziff Davis, LLC in December 2015.
Following the acquisition, Mr. Lafair served as Global Head of Finance, Ziff Davis B2B until January 2018. Prior to Offers.com, Mr. Lafair served as Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel of All Web Leads, Inc., as well as Vice President and General Counsel of Interlogix, Inc. Mr. Lafair earlier in his career practiced corporate law at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. Mr.
Lafair holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics with concentrations in Accounting and Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Temple University School of Law.
Job Titles:
- Chief Product and Technology Officer
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- DISCO 's Chief Product and Technology Officer
Richard Crum is DISCO's Chief Product and Technology Officer, overseeing the company's global product vision with a focus on innovation and customer-centric solutions, as well as DISCO's engineering teams. Crum has his extensive background in technology and B2B SaaS, and previously led product strategy at Emburse, where he managed solutions for nearly 20,000 companies - many of which were law firms.
Additionally, Crum spent time at Capital One and helped to develop the Smart Pay solution and commercial card products. He also held key executive roles at Mastercard, where he contributed significantly to their growth in commercial payments
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of Our Board of Directors
- Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners
Robert P. Goodman has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2014. Mr. Goodman is a Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, a venture capital firm which he joined in 1998. Bessemer Venture Partners VIII L.P. and Bessemer Venture Partners VIII Institutional L.P. are affiliated investment funds of Bessemer Venture Partners. Prior to joining Bessemer Venture Partners, Mr. Goodman founded and served as the Chief Executive Officer of three privately held telecommunications companies. Since February 2017, Mr. Goodman has served on the board of directors of ACV Auctions Inc. and he previously served on the board of directors of Blue Apron Holdings from November 2015 to December 2019. Additionally, Mr. Goodman is or has been a member of the boards of directors of numerous other portfolio companies of Bessemer Venture Partners in the areas of software, mobile and business-to-business marketplace. Mr. Goodman holds a B.A. in Latin American studies from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
Scott Hill has served as our Chair of the Board of Directors since May 2024 and as a member of our board of directors since June 2021. Mr.Hill served as DISCO's Chief Executive Officer from September 2023 through May 2024, in an interim capacity. Previously, Mr.Hill served as an advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. from May 2021 to February 2023 and also served as Intercontinental Exchange, Inc's Chief Financial Officer from May 2007 to May 2021. Before that, Mr.Hill was an international finance executive for International Business Machines Corporation from 1991 to 2007.
Mr.Hill currently serves on the board of directors of Cardlytics, Inc., a position he has held since September 2023 and where he currently chairs the audit committee. Mr.Hill earned his B.B.A with High Honors from the University of Texas at Austin and his M.B.A. from New York University, where he was distinguished as a Stern Scholar.
Susan Garcia - Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Legal Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Compliance Officer
- General Counsel
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
- DISCO 's General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer
Susan Garcia has served as DISCO's General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer since October 2024. In this role, she leads all aspects of the DISCO's legal and compliance efforts to ensure the company operates with the highest standards for privacy, risk management and corporate governance.
Prior to joining DISCO, Ms. Garcia served as General Counsel at WebMD and has also served in senior legal roles in legal technology and media at Thomson Reuters and NBC Universal. She holds a B.A. in government and international relations from Cornell University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas School of Law
- Member of Our Board of Directors
Susan L. Blount has served as a member of our board of directors since April 2021. Ms. Blount currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law, a position she has held since January 2016. From 1985 to 2015, Ms. Blount held various roles in the legal department at Prudential Financial, Inc., including serving as Senior and then Executive Vice President and General Counsel beginning in May 2005. She also worked directly with the board of directors of Prudential from 1995 to 2015. Since January 2019, Ms. Blount has served on the board of directors of Cavco Industries Inc. Ms. Blount is a founding member of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law, where she also served as Interim Executive Director from March 2019 to January 2020. Ms. Blount holds a B.A. in history from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.
Job Titles:
- Chief Marketing Officer
- Member of the Senior Leadership Team
With a career built on driving large scale brand transformation, simplifying and organizing product and brand portfolios and driving category awareness, Tom previously served as the vice president of brand marketing at MongoDB, where he was responsible for how MongoDB shows up in the world. Previously, he was vice president of brand at Vonage, where he helped lead the company's transformation into a leader in the business cloud communications and APIs.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Lead Investor at Georgian Partners
- Member of Our Board of Directors
Tyson Baber has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2019. Mr. Baber is a Lead Investor at Georgian Partners, a position he has held since September 2014. Prior to such time, Mr. Baber was an M&A Business Development Executive at IBM. Mr. Baber currently serves on the boards of directors of various portfolio companies of Georgian Partners. Mr. Baber holds an M.B.A. in international business from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law.