Meet Our Team

I’ve been in the studio business a long time. In 1991, I co-founded my first studio and my role was the “business” partner. It seemed so unglamorous compared to working with artists all day. But over time I came to appreciate both the challenges and rewards of running a service business. For me, there’s a real satisfaction in delighting clients with operational excellence. Back then there was no software available, so everything was done by brute force – lots of highly trained staff doing repetitive tasks manually.

As the studio business got more difficult (higher volume, lower margins) doing things that way became untenable; the workload was just too great. But necessity is the mother of invention. With no alternative, we began developing custom software to automate studio operations. We got really good at it, not because we were always right (we weren't), but because we were so persistent. We just kept iterating and improving until we got it.

Now, for the first time, our software tools are available to recording and mix studios. I enjoy speaking with people about their studios. There are universal problems to solve, but each studio has unique requirements. I learn something in every conversation and that works its way back into our software.

I've been developing software for thirty-seven years. At eighteen, just out of high school, I cut my teeth at Digital Equipment learning mainframe programming in FORTRAN and COBOL. From there I moved to Lotus Development and later Iris Associates developing for Lotus Notes. When Lotus was sold to IBM, I co-founded several startups in the Boston area including Groove Networks (acquired by Microsoft), Glassbook (acquired by Adobe) and Director (acquired by YouTube).

In 2003 I met Murat, beginning a five-year collaboration developing management and workflow systems for Sterling Sound. So often software projects fail because the requirements are not clear. We had the luxury of sitting with the engineers and booking managers over months and years to really understand the modern studio workflow. The systems we built became the backbone of Sterling’s operations.

In 2009 I was recruited by my old boss and partner Ray Ozzie who had just been named the Chief Software Architect of Microsoft. For eight years I worked on various development teams including the Azure Cloud Platform team.

In 2017 Murat and I reconnected and sparked up the old discussions. It was immediately clear that we could harness cutting-edge cloud technologies to build fast, secure and highly scalable systems for running studios.

The result is Studio Manager, Certified Transfers™ and Certified Archives™. What I'm most proud of the ease of use. With just a few clicks almost any administrative or workflow task can be accomplished.

As a working designer for more than 25 years, I live to enhance brands and products through captivating creative. My approach is human-centered, and my best skill is the ability to solve problems by combining functional ideas with enough visual magic to excite.

I learned typography by getting press ink on my hands and learned film lighting and contrast in the studio and dark room. When I discovered pixels and a peripheral, I became insatiably consumed with not just static media, but film, music, and animation. This ‘renaissance-man’ streak enabled access to many facets of the creative industry.

In the early 2000s, I jumped into agency work and print advertising. I naturally moved towards interfaces and marketing concepts, helping startups at various stages—from securing VC funding to consumer launches. Independently, I became a sought-after designer in the Boston music community, took part in multi-media installations, and founded a motion design and 3D animation studio delivering for brands such as Nike, Marvel, ABC, NBC, Amblin, MTV…

I met Murat in 2002, shortly after moving to New York, and we quickly bonded over the appeal of some work of mine he’d come across—we’ve been working together ever since, branching out from Sterling Sound and shipping a wide spectrum of products for a broad range of clients—from the Rolling Stones to Rolling Stone magazine.

Today, I lead product design at a publishing company, delivering unique archive experiences for top publications such as Esquire, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and others.

I’m also art directing for content platforms such as Netflix. Working with production companies from initial concept though production and delivery, I create title sequences, set designs, and visual effects.

Having always been pulled into the orbit of music production, I’ve enjoyed working closely with top engineers, producers, artists, and audio hardware/software creators. The deep understanding of their creative process has led to Certified Transfers™— I believe our system can greatly facilitate and improve the audio professional’s day-to-day workflow as well as provide future peace of mind.