Board of Directors

Michael O’Donnell, CEO

Michael brings 22 years of internet, media and consumer technology experience to Skytide, with a keen understanding of the digital media market that the company serves. A three-time CEO, he has a strong track record in growing startups, mid-tier and larger, publicly-traded companies.

Michael most recently served as President of Social Media, Cisco Media Solutions Group. He joined Cisco after it acquired Five Across, a social networking software company where he was President & CEO. Prior to those positions, Michael ran his own digital media consultancy; was CEO of BitPass, a digital media payments company; and was CEO & President of Salon Media Group, a pioneering internet media company that he brought public. He was also one of the founding board members of the Online Publishers Association. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Michael resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and four children.

Tom Furlong, Managing Director, Granite Ventures

Tom Furlong joined Granite Ventures in July 2000, after a successful career in Silicon Valley where he most recently served as Vice President and General Counsel at Zhone Technologies, a communications equipment provider. Tom began working with Granite Ventures in 1988 and has also worked closely with Adobe Ventures. His many years spent collaborating with a wide variety of technology companies give him a diverse industry network and make him a strong and trusted advisor to his portfolio companies. He focuses his investments in software.

Prior to Zhone, Tom was a partner with the leading emerging-growth company law firm of Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich, where he spent 13 years counseling technology companies, venture capitalists, and investment banks. His clients included Adobe, Applied Signal, Ascend Communications, Datapath, Network General, Silicon Spice, SynOptics, Vantive, and Visigenic. While at Gray Cary, Tom was also a manager of their investment partnerships and sponsored several profitable investments.

Tom currently serves on the Boards of Directors for Above All Software, Biz360, Digital Fountain, Five Across, and TuVox. Tom holds a B.A. in economics and an M.B.A. with a concentration in finance from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from Northwestern University.

Eric Gries, Executive in Residence, Granite Ventures

Eric Gries joined Granite Ventures in May 2008 after spending more than 20 years in executive leadership roles, where he built high-growth technology-based businesses. He advises Granite Ventures’ portfolio companies on a variety of operational issues, with a focus on software and communications.

Eric has served as CEO, general manager and vice president for companies in networking, application development, systems management, financial services and hardware systems, in both the U.S. and Europe. Prior to joining Granite Ventures, he built and led XACCT, a pioneering network mediation market leader, as its president and CEO. XACCT was acquired by Amdocs in 2004, at which time Eric joined Amdocs' executive team as Senior Vice President. Earlier in his career, Eric served as general manager of Compuware's Network and Systems Management division, and held product management, marketing, sales and engineering positions at companies such as ACI, Cullinet Software and DEC.

Eric holds a B.S. in Computer Science and an M.B.A. from Northeastern University.