Corporate Information
Knouen or 'knowledge' in native English was born out of a vision to deliver knowledge-based software solutions to business enterprises. Knouen is a name that is synonymous with delivering ingenious software solutions to transform business activities. Knouen's mission is to enable organizations to manage their sales-driven activities efficiently and profitably. Over the last several years, enterprises have made huge investments in Line Of Business (LOB) applications, such as various Siebel and SAP applications. These are deemed strategically important to the effectiveness, profitability and viability of the enterprise. The promise of LOB application, however, remains elusive mainly because of their complexity which manifests mainly as poor adoption rates. There is a gap in the manner in which these applications deliver value versus expectations that the knowledge worker has. Most knowledge workers use these applications to derive value as part of their daily job responsibility. We call this gap the last mile challenge of the LOB applications. The future of an enterprise as an agile business is quickly deteriorating as a result of this gap. Knouen Systems is squarely focused on solving the last mile challenge by creating enterprise class but knowledge-worker friendly systems that provide the right info at the right time to the right people making decision that drive success within the enterprise. The company's flagship software solution, Knouen OfficeSync for Siebel, began limited trials with partner organizations in 2006 with the intent of enhancing their sales activities through an integrated knowledge data hub. Knouen OfficeSync for Siebel was designed to boost organizational practices holistically, by leveraging enhanced communication technologies.
Management Team
Meetul Shah - CEO
A born entrepreneur, a visionary and a leader with sharp business acumen, Meetul Shah has over a decade of experience in computing and Information Technology. Knouen Technologies is a second startup for Mr. Shah. His last 9 years have been with Microsoft Corporation, as a business and technology advisor involved in various roles from business development to consulting. From servicing the $100 million alliance between Siebel and Microsoft, to his expertise in various technical and business strategies, his skills in design, architecture and managing Microsoft's Global ISVs, worth over $1 billion, Mr. Shah has played a pivotal role at Microsoft.
His stint with computers started at an early age, borne out of a fascination that motivated him to start his first business venture in India, at the age of 18. With a vision to provide computer education to the masses, Mr. Shah and his partner created a scalable model which allowed them to educate the masses at 10% of the prevalent market cost.
Mr. Shah has a Masters Degree in Information Systems from the University of Texas and a Bachelor's Degree in Business with distinction, from the University of Bombay.
Jeff Nordlund - CTO
A software architect with a passion for writing software, Jeff Nordlund wanted to create a new niche in technology, with his software. His primary focus has been software development, through writing software like n-tier applications. His expertise spans devising a range of solutions from simple client/server solutions to web applications, multi-tier distributed applications and service-oriented solutions (SOA). In his five and a half years at Microsoft Corporation as a software architect, Jeff specialized in general development projects centred around .NET and integrations, primarily in Siebel, SharePoint Portal and BizTalk Server. He also co-wrote courseware for integrating SAP, Siebel and Peoplesoft with BizTalk Server.
His primary task as an architect involved facilitating customers in planning their integrations and resolving their integration challenges. Previous to Microsoft, Jeff worked for a Minnesota based consulting firm for close to five years focusing on development and integration projects. His unique insights and keen analysis of business solutions have made Jeff Nordlund a renowned software developer. Jeff has a passion for creating concrete technological solutions that boost enterprises in a variety of capacities.
Shawn Lee - Technical Director
As a veteran of multiple start-ups, Shawn's passion in creating business applications has put him at the lead of developing and architecting systems in use in many business still to this day. Most recently his company, Praxis Software Solutions, where he was Co-Owner and CTO; was acquired by SAP and the Intellectual Property became one of the web-based solution for their eCommerce and CRM offering. His 15 years of experience in development and consulting have had him creating software for such companies as IBM, Novell, Netscape, Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, Target, 3M, American Express, Digital River, Dennis Kirk, Hays Group, State of Minnesota, Hennepin County.
Bill Reh - CSO
Mr. Reh is a 21-year experienced technology executive with a performance record of winning that includes 3 start-ups, M&A and IPO's with high-tech companies around the globe. In 2004, Mr. Reh co-founded Pulse Partners, a specialized market research company specializing in economic development, international security, sports and entertainment and technology industries. Previously in 2002, Mr. Reh co-founded TreAura Communications, an internal provider of web-based unified messaging and media content. Prior to starting TreAura Communications, Mr. Reh was President and CEO of ReadSoft, N.A. a globally traded technology leader in document management software. At Captiva Software, now a division of EMC, (formerly Wheb Systems), Mr. Reh was the original Sales and Marketing executive leading the company to the successful merger with FormWare Software. Mr. Reh serves on the Advisory Board to The Chip Merchant, enano computers and several other technology companies.
Advisors
Lee Ho - VP of Marketing at Muze, Inc.
Lee has more than twelve years of marketing and business development experience. Lee has global responsibility for Muze's product and corporate marketing. An experienced marketing executive with a proven track record of helping companies to achieve business and market growth, he was previously the vp of corporate marketing and strategic alliances with Panorama Software, an enterprise business intelligence software provider. There, he developed marketing programs that contributed to the company's double digit growth for four consecutive years. Lee's previous roles have also included product management, market strategy, and business development for Brightspark Labs, BackWeb Technologies and US West Multimedia.
Naisan Geula - VP of Worldwide Partners & Channels @ Serena Software, Inc.
Naisan leads brings a broad background in Alliances, Channels, and SaaS delivery together to guide Serena's partner and channel strategy. By understanding the dynamics that guide different players within the software ecosystem, as well as the structural changes surrounding SaaS, Naisan creates new partnering models to reflect the new realities of today's business challenges. A regular speaker at industry events, and author of a best-selling volume on Business Intelligence, Naisan brings expertise to Knouen around partnering, channels management.
Kevin Kramer - VP of OEM at Exalead
Responsible for the development of Exalead's OEM partnerships and go-to-market strategies. Before joining Exalead, Kevin was a founding team member and Vice President of Business Development at Blue Chip Expert. He was instrumental in all operational aspects of the business and fulfilled various roles in sales operations, product management, product marketing, strategic planning and business development. Before Blue Chip Expert, he was responsible for Western Region Sales for PlanView, Inc, he has also held various sales and sales management positions for leading Enterprise Software vendors including Oracle and PeopleSoft.
Siddharth Shah
As a seasoned finance professional and a Chartered Accountant, Mr. Shah brings extensive expertise in strategic business planning, financial and operational management.