Jim Ambras, Founder and CEO
Jim has overall responsibility for leading all aspects of NotchUp. As the co-founder of NotchUp, he developed the NotchUp website by leveraging the open-source Drupal platform.
Jim brings a wealth of high-tech experience to NotchUp from a 20-year career that spans advanced research and development, systems software and enterprise application development.
Before NotchUp, Jim was VP of Engineering at Peerflix, where he was responsible for building Peerflix’s next generation trading and social media platform. Prior to Peerflix, Jim was the VP of Products and Services at OnStation, where he was instrumental in turning the company around and launching many of its defining products, resulting in an acquisition by the Cobalt Group.
Before OnStation, Jim was Vice President of Engineering at AltaVista, where he created the AltaVista Live portal and led development of the company's 20 international search sites. Prior to AltaVista, Jim served as Vice President of Engineering at Zip2 Corporation, a leading provider of Web-based enterprise software and services to the media industry, sold to Compaq/AltaVista in 1999 in the then largest all-cash acquisition of an Internet company.
Prior to Zip2, Jim led the teams building SGI's innovative software development products for C, C++, Fortran, Ada and Java developers, and contributed to starting the company's digital media efforts. He began his career at HP Labs, where he performed research on software development tools and methodologies.
Jim is on the board of advisors for ZeeSource.
Jim holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Syracuse University.
Rob Ellis, Founder and VP Product
Rob is responsible for the features, functionality and marketing of NotchUp. He came up with the idea for NotchUp and designed NotchUp’s website.
Rob brings a multitude of startup and product management experience to NotchUp. Most recently, Rob was the sixth employee hired at Peerflix, where he served as Director of Business Operations and Strategic Planning. At Peerflix, Rob was responsible for designing and managing innovative product features, as well as managing Peerflix’s logistics, customer support and recruiting operations.
Before Peerflix, Rob was the co-founder of Vysion Solutions LLC, a company that licensed first-in-class web solutions to restaurants and nightclubs. Rob began his career as a Data Manager at PAREXEL International, a provider of services to leading Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical companies.
Rob is a co-founder of In My League, an online dating service which he conceptualized and designed, and is on the board of advisors for Strutta.com Media.
Rob holds a B.A. in Genetics from Cornell University.
Doug Young, CTO
Doug brings 20 years of experience in software development and research. In addition to his technical leadership, Doug is known for his best-selling books on programming with X Windows, Motif and C++.
Before NotchUp, Doug was a Principal Scientist at Yahoo!, where he helped develop Yahoo!’s innovative machine-learning approach to web search ranking algorithms and architecture. Prior to Yahoo!, Doug was Director of Technology at Overture, which was acquired by Yahoo for $1.6B. As Chief Technology Officer at AltaVista, Doug played a significant role in AltaVista’s turnaround and successful sale to Overture and architected AltaVista’s java-based web serving platform. Before joining AltaVista, Doug was Chief Technology Officer at Zip2 Corporation, where he helped architect Zip2’s portal product, which became the basis of AltaVista Live.
Prior to Zip2, Doug was a Principal Scientist at Silicon Graphics, where he was an architect of SGI's software development environment. Doug contributed to SGI’s early success in the web space and developed a pen-based internet device, whose resulting IP and patents were sold to Microsoft and leveraged in the Tablet PC. Doug began his career at HP Labs, where his research led to the development and release of HP’s first integrated software development platform.
Doug holds a M.S. in Computer Science from Kent State University, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Akron.
Mal Murphy, Director, Customer Support
Mal is responsible for two main functions within NotchUp: research and advocacy in support of user needs and recognizing patterns to identify needed enhancements to the product and processes.
Prior to NotchUp Mal worked as an individual consultant specializing in data, e-commerce and printing. Mal also worked in Records Management at Syntex Pharmaceutials / Roche Bioscience in Palo Alto for ten years. His primary responsibilities included establishing and implementing Records Management policies and procedures and managing operations for a 40,000 container records warehouse.
The highlight of Mal's academic career was being in the same high school graduating class as Notchup co-founder and CEO Jim Ambras.
Barbara Wakefield, Director, Talent Scout Network
Barbara is responsible for the NotchUp Talent Scout Network which includes all Communication, Marketing, Outreach Strategies and Public Relations for this vibrant and growing community.
Before NotchUp Barbara had a long term career with Hewlett-Packard where she held a variety of senior management positions across a number business units and functional areas including Managed Services, Bay Area Site IT, Analytical Products Infrastructure, Corporate Recruiting, and Intercontinental Sales Systems. During her tenure she also participated in developing company and business wide programs and services in management and employee development, strategic planning methodologies, and diversity management.
Barbara received her BS in Information Technology and Business from Santa Clara University.