MARK BISNOW, First Banana. Mark came to DC from LA decades ago in a successful quest to lose his hipness. He worked on Capitol Hill for D’s and R’s and in at least three presidential campaigns he can remember. He was a lawyer at Latham & Watkins and general counsel at two public companies. He was chief of staff at MicroStrategy and head of marketing for webMethods, making him fabulously rich, briefly. As hobbies, he did countless “Bisnow on Business” segments for WTOP and hosted a FOX morning drive radio show so bad he was replaced by the Greaseman. In 2004, he started the Bisnow emails, his attempt to look young without having to buy a sports car, though he ended up buying one anyway. Pretending to be a rich person without enough to do, he’s chaired big fundraising dinners, served on many civic and charity boards, and written two political books that were “critically acclaimed” (which means they didn’t sell). He was a consulting producer for the strange “McLaughlin Group” and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where his role was to reduce the average age by 60 years. He’s a product of Stanford, Princeton, and Harvard Law, all school that have since become accredited. He has a wife, two children, a dog and ferret who love him but think he’s nuts.
ELLIOTT BISNOW, Co-Founder. What are the chances Elliott would have the same last name as the publication? Figuring fate was beckoning, Elliott helped start it in its current form and has rapidly risen in the Bisnow family. An avid tennis player, he was ranked 37th nationally in the under-18s when he was just a lad at Landon in Bethesda, then played for the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Somehow between the D-1 tennis regimen and classes (he might have gone to one or two), he became a serial entrepreneur, founding two small businesses in his freshman and sophomore years. Most recently, he's founder of Summit Series, bringing together many of the world's top CEOs, entrepreneurs, entertainers, and philanthropists under 35, and partnering with dozens of prestigious organizations like Fortune, GQ, Goldman Sachs, and the UN Foundation . It is pure coincidence that summits are held in his favorite places like Playa Del Carmen, Aspen, and Park City.
RYAN BEGELMAN, COO. Ditching car service and an expense account, Ryan traded in his post in acquisitions at The Carlyle Group to spend late nights at Bisnow HQ perfecting his table tennis. From Maryland by way of Chicago where he attended Northwestern and cut his teeth at Deutsche Bank’s investment bank, Ryan focuses on Bisnow’s strategic direction, hiring, operations, and placement of pull up bars. Yet another dime a dozen Bisnow tennis player, he’s also known for having no less than eight meals per day and still needing to gain weight.
MOUNIR SALHI, Chief Technology Officer. Mounir completed his degree in Computer Science with honors at Hampton University, where he played tennis and was assistant coach for the men's and women's teams. A tennis career seemed to be in his stars, so he moved to Orlando to become the Head Tennis Professional at Walt Disney World. But when he learned about Bisnow's insightful articles on the state of the DC condo market, he knew he had found his true calling.
ARAM TAGHAVI, Vice President of Business Development. Aram, whose name we believe we have spelled correctly, is finishing up a degree in finance at the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His colleagues at Bisnow hope this means they can all retire to private islands by FY ’08. Like Elliott, Aram has had a long romance with judges in highchairs, growing up as a RTP (Real Tennis Player) and wielding his racket for the U of Md. His worldview has been shaped by formative stints at Smith Barney, Paine Webber and the Tequila Grill restaurant.
BRETT LEVE, Principal. Originally from Boston, Brett slipped south of the Mason Dixon line to attend GW. After a stint in commercial real estate at Fraser Forbes and running the mid Atlantic region for LPB Energy Management, he teamed up with Elliott (q.v.) to expand Summit Series, a community of the world’s top young CEO’s and entrepreneurs. Drawn to the psychedelic energy at Bisnow, he dove in to help direct the National Expansion. Brett’s an avid skier/surfer and secretly aspires to establish e-newsletters in important business communities such as Huntington Beach and Aspen.
LANCE KASAROV, Director of Administration. Born and raised in the beautiful Bulgarian city of Burgas, Lance ran out of things to do in his homeland by age of 19 and came to the US on a tennis scholarship to the University of Wisconsin, where he was twice elected captain of the team. Majoring in finance, he learned to chill with cocktails and appreciate the sun. He considers Washington winters quite warm.
BRAD WHITE, Director of Events. Brad graduated in 2001 from Miami University (which is in Ohio, if you have to ask) with a degree in History and minor in Political Analysis. He then spent four years in Ohio politics before moving to DC to work on the Hill for the House Republican Conference, if you are old enough to remember that political party. After the ‘06 election cycle, Brad decided moved to New York to produce commercial real estate conferences for famed RealShare for two years before joining famed Team Bisnow. Like most of the staff, Brad played tennis through high school, and also loves to ski and play golf. He spends most weekends during football season watching the Buckeyes and Browns. He's currently resisting the calls to move back to DC and is staying in NYC because he enjoys paying higher rents.
SAM SANDERS, Director of National Expansion. What do you get when you combine the charm of a born-and-bred Carolina tar heel, a $100 haircut and a BlackBerry that seems to be doused in super glue? We just call him Sam. This former University of Delaware Ice Hockey captain arrived in our nation's capital in 2007, in pursuit of a dare to be greatcommercial real estate career with the aptly named Studley, Inc. Sam brings a wealth of industry knowledge, a breadth of experience, and a vast Rolodex (well, RoloBerry). In his spare time, Sam enjoys fitness, travel, emulating Brody Jenner, and pirating women's sunglasses.
MIKE FARBER, Director of Business Development. Born and raised in the D.C. area, Mike had ambitions to be a diplomat and went to GW’s Elliot School of International Affairs as an undergraduate. Following political and government internships including a stint in the Africa Bureau at US AID, he worked upon graduation for commercial real estate giant Cushman & Wakefield for three years. One of the newest members of the Bisnow team, he professes excitement at spreading the Bisnow gospel nationwide, one email at a time.
MIKE PONTICELLI, Associate Publisher, The Scene. A graduate of GW (assuming the administrators there still haven't uncovered the mistake), Mike has worked as a jack of all trades: Event planner, bartender, accountant, delivery boy for the Washington Post, and a US-Russian affairs analyst. He even built and managed a local laundry service that is still around. Mike follows current events, dining and beverage trends, and all other aspects of modern urban life related to food. He loves everything about Washington, except the minor fact that it is not on a beach.
GRAHAM COHEN, Account Manager. Graham, a graduate from the Richard T. Farmer School of Business of Miami University of Ohio, recently joined the team after a failed intramural sports career eventually dashed his plan to rename himself LeBron Cohen. He has also found himself working at dot coms like Edmunds.com and doing content editing at SportUltra.com. A local suburbanite before he was actually old and boring enough to qualify, Graham spent much of his life in the bubble of Bethesda, but is now stepping out into DC. If you see him being bounced at clubs, please help him out.
STEVE GANOUS, Publisher, Tech Bisnow. Though this former high school football coach is from Northern New Jersey and graduated from Ramapo, his favorite sports teams come from all over this great land: eg, the NY Giants, NY Yankees, and NY Rangers . . . ok, so all over the greater Hudson River area. Before Bisnow, he graced the offices of oneNest.com, 1105, and FierceMarkets. But now he’s in the Virginia countryside with his wife, step-daughter, and border collie, trying to figure out if the NY Metrostars/Liberty/Dragons are making any trips to the DC this year.
LIZ FRITZ, Director of Business Development. Liz is the best thing the Wells Fargo wagon has ever brought us. This UNC-Chapel Hill grad left real estate banking at Wells to once again experience the joy of getting out of the office, by talking to anyone and everyone about Bisnow. A Maryland native, she loves crabcakes, Annapolis, and the Chesapeake, though maintains she’s a Tarheel through and through. Her sports addictions: running (participating) and Carolina basketball (watching).
EDITORIAL
(ie, the people who know how to spell, sorta)
CURTIS RAYE, General Editor. Following fine schooling at GW, Curtis found himself in the thick of the 2008 presidential campaign. Campaign finance rules forbid naming one's candidate within 100 characters of a biography. So he won't name names. But he wants it on the record that she was a good boss. While city life is grand, he hails from a rural area of northern New Jersey nestled near the green and beautiful Shawangunk Ridge. He also has a tendency to over-pastoralize his hometown. Prior performances include as an FCC intern and Ko-Ko in Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Mikado." For photos and tales from his travels, visit http://www.curtisraye.com. Sure, the name is a bit egotistical, but it helps his grandmother remember it.
MARGOT MACHOL, Publisher, The Scene. Margot got a BA in English and a Kellogg MBA from Northwestern and came to DC "for a couple years." But then she met Mark Bisnow when they worked on the Hill, and they got married and raised children. Elliott and Austin are now raised and she considers them “close to perfect.” She uses the word “close” because one of her jobs was being an FTC Commissioner, so she is very sensitive about people thinking she’s making deceptive statements, even though she actually does believe her children are perfect. She’s had many other interesting jobs, but she can tell you from experience that when you tell people that you're chief of staff of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, you have more friends than when you tell people you set up economic think tanks in Eastern Europe. She had been planning on being a lady of leisure about now, but when she realized that meant she would have no excuse not to exercise, she decided to take this job.
DAVID STEGON, Tech and Local Business Editor. After earning a master’s degree from the famed Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, David decided to ditch the fledgling world of newspapers for greener pastures at Bisnow. A native of Woodbridge, Va., he’s tried to escape the Beltway many times, first to get a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Temple University, then for a summer internship at the Austin American-Statesman, and later as a reporter at The Home News Tribune in central New Jersey. He also spent time on the Upper West Side of Manhattan as an author’s assistant for “The Echoing Green,” a book on how the 1951 New York Giants cheated their way to the pennant. Locally, he covered crime for the Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger and was an intern for The Junkies at WJFK, where he hit a man in the face with a pie.
AMANDA MARSH, New York Editor. After earning a degree in communication and media studies from Fordham, Amanda jumped into the world of real estate journalism, despite Monopoly being her only credential. She covered Washington D.C. for Commercial Property News and didn't understand how Bisnow kept breaking all the stories, so she decided to infiltrate the competition and spy on its operations. She liked it so much that she decided to stay, even if she had to give up a cubicle and free cawfee (yes, she's a Long Island native). What Bisnow doesn't know is that while she can't play tennis or golf, she can vanquish (73 points!) them in Scrabble.
MAUREEN WILKEY, Chicago Editor. After growing up in the western suburbs and earning a bachelor's and master's degree in news-editorial journalism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Maureen entered the world of commercial real estate journalism because the folks who hired her at the Illinois Real Estate Journal were the only ones who would let her live in a city and write 2,000 word stories on a regular basis. Somewhere along the line she discovered she liked buildings and Chicago, and the silver-tongued Bisnow team convinced her that a picture was worth 1,000 words and she could have five per issue. In her spare time, you can find her running on the Lakeshore Path (Chicago's largest hamster wheel), being a coffee and/or beer snob, and taking in the best of the Windy City's improv and art movie scenes.
MAKEDA SAGGAU-SACKEY, Fashionista Reporter, The Scene. This Ghanaian import known as Mak is (please don’t tell) a PR girl by day and writer by night, specializing in dropping by only the hottest events, provided they’ll let her in. She arrived in DC in '95, went to VCU, then got drawn back by the irresistible glamour of the city, exemplified by the jobs she took at the CPB, Council of Governments, and the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District. She also pens the popular fashion blog, the Glamazon Diaries, and is active in lots of charities, which means she’s after your money. She wishes she could have a Freaky Friday experience and switch bodies with Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
KRISTINA D’AMBROSIO, Witty Entertainment Reporter, The Scene. Born and raised in Alexandria, Kristina headed down to the University of Tennessee to teach them a few things about lacrosse, joined a sorority, learned about good ol’ southern hospitality, graduated with a degree in Journalism and Electronic Media, missed the energy and up-tempo of city life, and had to return. She traded in her cowboy boots for stilettos and is taking on The Scene. She’d love to switch places with Maryland native and ESPN reporter, Rachel Nichols. She wishes she could cover the inauguration every week.
MARY-KATE RASA, Fashion and Society Reporter, The Scene. Maryland native and city-bred Mary-Kate Rasa headed south to find her inner Southern Belle at the University of South Carolina and discovered the true meaning of southern hospitality. After studying marketing and PR, she scored a business degree from the Moore School of Business and was ready for the fast-paced social circuit. Which of course led her to The Scene Bisnow, her natural calling, unless of course she gets a call from E! News or Ryan Seacrest.
MADELEINE STARKEY, All-Things-Hip Reporter, The Scene. A Boston native, Madeleine migrated to DC to attend GW, where she received an honors B.A. in English and served as the Daily Colonial's Weekend Style editor for three semesters, in addition to penning a weekly column. Best known for her socializing and criticizing, Madeleine's favorite past time is people watching. Eager to facilitate DC's evolution to an even more alluring city, she’s always on the prowl for cool new eateries, lounges, people, parties, and fashion. And don't let her catch you being less than eco-chic, because she will accost you for dumping your plastic Starbucks cups in the trash. Needless to say, her favorite color is green.
HEATHER MAHONEY, Witty Entertainment, Style & Sports Reporter, The Scene. Born and raised here, Heather stayed local after graduating from the University of Maryland. She studied fashion, but majored in Communication with a PR concentration, giving her an eye for style as well as publicity. She’s interned for PR firm Brotman Winter Fried; and later, when people told her she couldn’t handle masculine radio personalities, she proved them wrong by interning at WJFK’s The Junkies. With a background in sports and style, Heather is capable of planning sports events, reporting on them, and designing their uniforms.
PATRICK DOWD, Reporter, Legal Bisnow. Patrick graduated in the spring of 2009 from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, where he studied international politics, obsessed over India, served as Student Body President, and got heckled by irreverent campus newspapers. His burning desire to change the world led him to Bisnow, where he struggles daily to make staid lawyers appear hip. He speaks fluent French, decent Hindi, and enough Spanish to harvest grapes alongside day-laborers when visiting his family in the California wine country. Having traveled to over 35 countries, Patrick is convinced that Thomas Sweet makes the best ice cream on the planet, which is why you’re likely to find him jogging alongside the Potomac most days after work.
TONIE AUER, Dallas-Fort Worth Reporter. Lacking tennis credentials would seem to make Tonie a Bisnow black sheep, but she has the one thing that's more important to a business publication: A love of business reporting (aha!), which the Texas native and ’91 Baylor grad found working at small daily newspapers and the Fort Worth Business Press. She’s prez of the DFW Chapter of the American Society of Business Publication Editors and blog czarina (though she prefers blog mistress because it sounds cooler) for the ASBPE National Blog. When not chauffeuring her children, she’s cheering for the Rangers, Cowboys, Mavericks, FC Dallas, Baylor, UNT Mean Green, and the Florida Gators (which she adopted through marriage).
RACHEL EISENHOWER, Reporter, Real Estate Bisnow DC. Born and raised in Fairfax, Rachel braved I-81 to attend Virginia Tech. She briefly flew the Hokie coop to study for a summer in London and intern with MTV in New York. After graduating summa cum laude (Latin for nerd) with a B.A. in Communication, she decided to tackle long nights in the newsroom as a producer for NBC and then FOX in Roanoke. During her time in the Star City, she also worked as a contributing columnist for Examiner.com. Once she mastered the top ten NASCAR drivers, she decided it was time to return to the DC area. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends--and of course Chloe, her goldendoodle.
CATIE BRUBAKER, Reporter, Real Estate Bisnow Houston. Catie dares you to sum her up any one way except perhaps eclectic. As a military brat, she was not born or raised anywhere, but still considers herself a true Southern girl. (In fairness, she only twice lived outside the South.) She started her Psychology degree in Okinawa, Japan, with plans to become a social worker, and finished it at Rice University with a job as a bartender and aspirations of becoming an editor. (You can only imagine the steps in between.) Catie has two adorable puppies, whom she fully credits for getting her this job. She is grateful to Bisnow for overlooking the lack of tennis in her resume, and hopes her newly-acquired commercial real estate knowledge will make them forget all about it.
JESSICA SIDMAN, Reporter, Association Bisnow. Before developing trade association-acronym-decoding superpowers at Bisnow, Jessica worked at Washingtonian. The Colorado Springs native and UPenn grad is responsible for starting how-to cooking videos featuring local chefs on the city mag's website. She previously worked on the Enterprise team at The Dallas Morning News, where she wrote about pageant hairstylists and blogging farmers, but failed to implement "y'all" into her vocab. She has also interned for the Life section of USA Today and both the sports and features departments of her hometown newspaper, The Gazette. Jessica also loves Anthony Bourdain and inventing crazy flavors for her ice cream maker (green tomato ginger, anyone?). |
