CNET Channel Powering Content

• Steve Parrott
  General Manager
• Ling Kan
  Vice President of Operations and Engineering
• Sean Murphy
  Global Vice President of Sales
• James Symington
  Vice President of Sales for Europe
• Eric Lundin
  Vice President of Sales for North America
• Tom Jones
  Vice President of Sales Operations

• Alice Abatzis
  Legal Counsel
• Cindy Olsen
  Director of Financial Reporting
• Debbie Andrews
  Director of Products
• Paul Lentz
  Director of Business Development
• Sophia Schaefer
  Director, Human Resources

Steve Parrott

Steve Parrott, general manager, coordinates business initiatives and aligns people and processes across CNET Channel. Prior to joining CNET, Steve founded and served as President of PCI Consulting, a firm specializing in Supply Chain Management by developing applications for forecasting, purchasing and catalog management. Steve was COO of two Internet start-up companies and has held senior positions with several Pharmaceutical companies, implementing inventory management applications and vendor partnership programs. Steve holds an M.B.A. from SUNY - Buffalo, New York and a Bachelor of Commerce from MUN - Newfoundland, Canada.

Ling Kan

Ling Kan, vice president of operations and engineering, is responsible for managing and strategizing data production and engineering for Channel. Ling was the COO at TechTracker, now CNET TechTracker, where he oversaw engineering, content creation, tech support and finance from 2002 to 2007. Previously, he worked as a senior manager for Symantec, ADP Dealer Services and held senior engineering positions with Honeywell and GTE Communication System. Ling has master degrees in Computer Science from Texas Tech University and Engineering Management from Portland State University.

Sean Murphy

Sean Murphy, global vice president of sales, is responsible for all sales internationally. Prior to joining CNET Channel, Sean oversaw corporate sales for CNET Networks, Inc., where he helped manage a team responsible for CNET Networks’ top accounts. Sean has held senior positions in the online media industry, most notably at IDG where he spent 4 years as east coast director for PC World online and prior to that spent 3 years as west coast director for PC World online. Sean holds a BA in English from the University of Oregon.

James Symington

James Symington, vice president of sales for Europe, is responsible for leading the European sales team as well as developing and maintaining relationships with new and existing customers throughout EMEA . Previously, he was the Country Manager for the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Benelux at Backweb. Prior to that, he was Channel Manager for the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa at Netscape Communications. He holds a BA in Economics and Computer Science from Hobart College in Geneva, New York.

Eric Lundin

Eric Lundin, vice president of sales for North America, is responsible for leading the North American sales team as well as developing and maintaining relationships with new and existing customers. Previously, he served as director of global manufacturer sales at CNET Channel where he focused on identifying the needs of manufacturers and delivering solutions to meet their needs. He was also regional sales manager at Apollo Solutions, a supplier of web-based sales cycle automation solutions to resellers. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Vermont.

Tom Jones

Tom Jones, vice president of sales operations, is responsible for managing all sales support activities and client solutions. He has over 17 years experience in the IT channel and has managed several groups including customer service & support and the original sales operations for the launch of ChannelOnline™ in 2001. Prior to joining CNET Channel in 2000, Tom worked for QuoteDesk Software, Inc. as their vice president and helped lead the company to acquisition by CNET Networks, Inc. in 2000. Tom attended The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Alice Abatzis

Alice Abatzis Nasi, corporate counsel, is responsible for drafting and negotiating contracts, providing legal advice, ensuring intellectual property protection and enabling legal compliance for CNET Channel as well as other CNET Networks business units. Before joining CNET, she worked at the law firm of Callahan, McCune and Willis in Los Angeles. She holds a law degree from the Aix en Provence Law School (France) as well as an L.L.M. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. She is a member of both the New York and California Bars and belongs to the American Association of Corporate Counsel, the American Bar Association, and various international lawyers associations. She is fluent in French and English and speaks some German and Italian.

Cindy Olsen

Cindy Olsen, Director of Financial Reporting, is responsible for the financial planning and analysis of the CNET Channel business. Prior to joining CNET, Cindy was Director of Finance for Fox Sports International. Prior to that she held finance operations positions at both Comcast International and Fox Film Corporation. Cindy holds a B.S. in Business Management from the University of Rhode Island.

Debbie Andrews

Debbie Andrews, Director of Products, is responsible for the planning, support and marketing of CNET Channel products, including DataSource, ChannelOnline, PartnerAccess and Product Selectors. She leads a team that works closely with Client Solutions, Sales and Engineering to deliver and support market driven products that solve business issues for customers. Prior to joining CNET Channel Debbie jointly owned and managed an IT services & software company for 10 years, which was acquired by CNET Networks in 2000. Since then Debbie has held product focused positions within CNET Channel from industry marketing to product management. Debbie graduated from Rogers State University with a degree in Computer Science and Business Administration, and pursued an MBA at California State University, Los Angeles.

Paul Lentz

Paul Lentz, Director of Business Development, works with partners in Europe and North America who build their own products around CNET Channel content, supplement that content with their own, or serve as distributors and resellers of that content on behalf of CNET Channel. Prior to this role, Paul directed development of CRM applications for publishing companies and non-profit organizations. He holds a BA in French from Kenyon College and a MFA from Sarah Lawrence College. He is fluent in French and English and working on bits of German.

Sophia Schaefer

Sophia Schaefer, Director, Human Resources, is responsible for providing strategic HR planning and organizational design/development supporting the organization's business goals; additionally, responsible for other organizations/business units within CNET Networks. Before joining CNET, she held senior and executive level positions for a number of high tech companies including Microsoft, Symantec and Lucent Technologies; additionally, Sophia has spent a number of years in consulting within both start up and established organizations as an owner/partner in her own consulting/search firm. She holds Certificates in Executive Human Resources Management from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and University of California, Berkeley, as well as having attended Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois.