David Prokupek - Chairman

David Prokupek has 20+ years of experience as CEO, investor and board member; helping build, finance and advice high growth businesses in the consumer, retailing, financial services, marketing services and communication industries.  David also serves as the Managing Partner and Chief Investment Offices of Consumer Capital Partners; who provided the initial $15 million of funding to smashburger.

Previously, David was Founder and CEO of Geronimo Partners and CEO of Tucker Anthony Sutro Capital Markets (which was acquired by RBC in November, 2001).  Prior to that, David was CEO of Cleary Gull, a private investment firm that was acquired by Tucker Anthony Sutro.  He was the Founder and CEO of Nationpage, a leading wireless firm that was sold to Vanguard Cellular.  He was a member of Bankers Trust Company’s Merchant Banking Group and began his career as a sales executive at IBM.  In his role as financial advisor, he has advised many of the country’s leading consumer brands, retailers and restaurant concepts.

David is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), and serves as a board member of the Boy Scouts of America (Denver) and Quiznos.  David received his MBA in Finance and Marketing from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and graduated with a BBA in Finance from the University of Wisconsin.

Mike Fries

Mike Fries is President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Global, the second largest cable TV operator in the world with more than 27 million video, voice and data subscribers in 14 countries. Fries is a 20-year veteran in the media and communications business and is an active industry partner at the World Economic Forum and a member of Young Presidents Organization. He sits on several boards including CableLabs, the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cable Center, the Alliance for Choice in Education, and Graland Country Day School. 

Brian Rainey

Brian Rainey is President of Epsilon Targeting where he oversees the operation and development of Epsilon’s unique data offering. Rainey has also served as Chief Executive Officer of Abacus, Director of Marketing for The Sharper Image, and list developer manager at Sara Lee. He has an unmatched track record in growing sales and transactions and maximizing efficient business practices.

Steve Schiffman

Steve Schiffman is President/GM of the Networks of National Geographic which include the National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo en Espanol. He brings more than 25 years of experience in marketing and management building global brands and businesses for diverse world-class franchises such as The Weather Channel, NASCAR and Kraft Foods. Schiffman serves on the national Cable & Telecommunications Association of Marketing (CTAM) board, the NCTA Programmers committee and recently co-chaired the 2009 CTAM Summit.