Board of Directors
Jack Creighton | Eric Byunn | Greg Gottesman | Dennis Heck
Sam Herring | Vikesh Mahendroo | Tom Unterman
Jack Creighton
Chairman of the Board, Intrepid Learning Solutions
Strategic Director, Madrona Venture Group
Jack is Board Chairman and Strategic Director of the Madrona Venture Group. Previously, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of UAL Corporation (United Airlines). Prior to that, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Weyerhaeuser Company. He is also a director of Unocal Corporation.
Jack is past national President of the Boy Scouts of America and is a member of the University of Puget Sound Board of Trustees and the University of Washington Press Development Board. He is Chair of the Washington State University Foundation and was co-chair of the 2020 Committee on Post-Secondary Education in Washington state. Jack holds Bachelor of Science and J.D. degrees from Ohio State University and an M.B.A. from the University of Miami.
Eric Byunn
Partner, FTV Capital
Eric joined FTV Capital in 2002 and has 14 years of experience in venture capital, technology and management consulting. Prior to joining FTV Capital, Eric was Director of Online Services at myCFO, a start-up wealth management firm. He joined myCFO from America Online, where he held several roles including management of Netscape’s Personal Finance Channel. Prior to the acquisition of Netscape by AOL, Eric led product management for the Netscape Navigator browser. He has also worked at Microsoft and at McKinsey & Company, where he primarily worked with telecommunications clients.
Eric received an A.B. summa cum laude from Harvard University, where he focused on economics and computer science, and an M.B.A from Stanford University, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.
Greg Gottesman
Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group
Greg joined Madrona in 1997 and currently serves on the boards of several portfolio companies, including Asta Networks, Bocada, and WildTangent. He is also a board observer of Appliant.com, Dantz Development Corporation, Nimble Technology, Talisma, and Rendition Networks.
Previously, Greg served in a board or advisory capacity to Singingfish.com (prior to its acquisition by Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc.), LiveBid.com (prior to its acquisition by Amazon.com), and AdRelevance (prior to its acquisition by Media Metrix).
Before joining Madrona, Greg worked as an associate at Boston Consulting Group. He holds a bachelor’s degree Phi Beta Kappa with honors and distinction from Stanford University, an M.B.A with honors and distinction from the Harvard Business School, and a J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School, where he was also an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Greg is a board member of the Seattle Repertory Theatre.
Dennis Heck
Chief Executive Officer, TVW
Dennis was a co-founder of Lguide, Intrepid’s predecessor, and the founder and CEO of TVW, the nation’s preeminent statewide public affairs television network, which has developed the world’s largest library of streaming media files. He was recently awarded an Emmy for writing and directing an educational video. Heck is a former legislator from Washington state, where he served as majority leader and wrote that state’s historic Basic Education Act. He was chief of staff to former Washington governor Booth Gardner. Dennis is the author of Challenges and Opportunities: The Transformation of Washington’s Schools.
Sam Herring
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Intrepid Learning
Sam Herring is co-founder of Intrepid and leads the company’s strategic direction. With partners, he started the company in 1999 with a focus on learning research and best practices, and grew the business to become a market leader in learning consulting, outsourcing and technology. Today the company works with leading global companies to help them improve performance, and achieve their most promising business opportunities through innovate learning solutions.
Sam is immediate past Chairman of the American Society for Training and Development’s (ASTD) Board of Directors, and is recognized as a “Who’s Who” training industry thought leader by TrainingIndustry.com. Sam regularly speaks and consults with clients on topics such as innovation, business agility, learning trends and best practices, enterprise learning strategy, and more. He is published in Fast Company and T&D magazine, and is a frequent keynote speaker at leading industry conferences, seminars, universities, and global corporations.
Sam holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University, where he studied ethics, religion and public policy, and a Bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University. In 2008, he was recognized as a top business leader through the Puget Sound Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” awards. He is a past director of New Futures, a Seattle area children and family services agency.
Vikesh Mahendroo
Chief Executive Officer, Continuous Learning Group, Inc.
Vikesh joined the Continuous Learning Group in 2012 and currently serves as the company’s CEO. Vikesh provides strategic leadership focused on finance and client, board, and investor relations. Prior to the Continuous Learning Group, he was the Chief Executive Officer at Intrepid Learning and Executive Vice President of Global Accounts with Mercer Human Resources Consulting, where he served as , chairperson of the Mercer Global Leadership Team, and a senior member of Mercer’s Global Operating Committee. Vikesh was Mercer’s executive sponsor for a number of Fortune 500 clients and served as president of the U.S. company from 1996 until 2000.
Vikesh is a member of World at Work and SHRM, where he was elected to the Special Expertise Panel on Global Issues. He is a director of ProV International, an IT services and solutions company based in Tampa, FL.
Vikesh holds both bachelor and masters degrees in economics from Delhi University and an M.B.A from Columbia University.
Tom Unterman
Partner, Rustic Canyon Partners
Tom founded Rustic Canyon in 1999 and continues to be actively involved in the firm. Prior to forming Rustic Canyon Partners, Tom was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Times Mirror Company. At Times Mirror, he led the acquisition and divestiture activity and oversaw the investment program. Prior to joining Times Mirror, Tom was one of California’s leading corporate attorneys, practicing first with Orrick, Herrington from 1969 to 1986 and then with Morrison & Foerster from 1986 to 1992.
Tom serves actively on the boards of the California Community Foundation, CalArts, Heal the Bay, and MOCA.
Education: Tom earned a BA from Princeton University and a JD from the University of Chicago.
