Leadership

Nicolas Desmarais

Chairman & Co-CEO

Nicolas founded AppDirect in 2009 with Daniel Saks, and serves as AppDirect's Chairman and Co-CEO. Nicolas is focused on the evolution of AppDirect's product, investor relations, and overseeing the implementation of new marketplaces for our channel partners. Before co-founding AppDirect, Nicolas worked at Bain & Company as a Management Consultant focused in media and business services. Nicolas holds a bachelor's degree with a double major in economics and political science from Amherst College. In his spare time, Nicolas enjoys outdoor activities and traveling to new countries.

Daniel Saks

President & Co-CEO

Daniel Saks is the Co-CEO of AppDirect, which he founded in 2009 with Nicolas Desmarais. Daniel plays a key role in the growth and development of AppDirect, from attracting a leading team to nurturing relationships with customers and partners. Daniel’s presentation at Under the Radar conference in the spring of 2011 resulted in AppDirect winning "Best in Show,” earning coverage in Wall Street Journal. Daniel received a BA in Political Science from McGill University then studied Finance and Accounting at Harvard. Prior to AppDirect, Daniel worked at Viant Capital, a boutique tech investment bank. In his free time, Daniel enjoys traveling, attending hockey games, and studying contemporary architecture and impressionist paintings.

Andy Sen

SVP of Engineering

Andy joined Nicolas and Daniel as the technical co-founder of AppDirect in 2009, and currently leads the Engineering team. Andy is a long-time proponent of Agile software processes and rapid development cycles with over 15 years of eCommerce and Web application development experience. Previously, Andy headed product management for Saleforce.com’s AppExchange marketplace. He has also been responsible for implementing the world’s first and largest digital photo print-to-store service at Walmart.com. Andy graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology and started his career as a consultant for the eBusiness group at IBM Global Services. In his free time, he enjoys traveling with his wife and rambunctious three-year-old.

Patrick McBride

VP of Technical Operations

Patrick oversees AppDirect's infrastructure, and is responsible for ensuring AppDirect is consistently performing at its peak, with unparalleled reliability, security and scalability. Prior to joining AppDirect, Patrick was the Director of Operations and IT at SignalDemand. Patrick has worked in diverse professional settings, but prefers the energetic, collaborative nature of startup environments. Patrick obtained his BS in Civil Engineering at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. In his down time, Patrick travels in search of the world's best endurance cycling, and enjoys skiing in Lake Tahoe during the winter months. 

Gil Arditi

VP of Product

Gil came to AppDirect from Google, where he headed product management for sponsored offers. He was also responsible for integrating DoubleClick and YouTube into Google's monetization services. Previously, he served as the CTO of Internet security startup Onigma (acquired by McAfee) and as chief information security officer with Finjan (acquired by M86 Security). He also headed a software engineering department with the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Gil holds an MBA from Wharton and a bachelor's degree in math, physics, and CS from the Talpiot Program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

Audrey Garfield

General Counsel

Audrey oversees all legal matters at AppDirect. Prior to joining the team, Audrey served as outside counsel to AppDirect from her position as Of Counsel at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a premier technology and intellectual property law firm. Audrey's two decades of Bay Area legal experience include four years as General Counsel at SideStep, Inc., two years as Associate General Counsel at LSI Logic, and the running of her own technology transactions law firm. Audrey received her law degree from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco and served as a judicial clerk on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Honolulu. In her free time, Audrey enjoys trying to keep up with her two daughters and two energetic dogs, as well as enjoying a nice bourbon on her back patio to relax.