CEO / Founder

Oliver Brenninkmeyer

Oliver Brenninkmeyer has flourished as an inventive collaborator, augmenting businesses to their peak performance through exploration and discovery and his own professional story clearly mirrors what he contributes to the enterprises he leads. Originally based in Europe, he cut his teeth learning every facet of retail, consumer product strategy and brand building, before moving to the U.S. in the 1990’s. His dynamic career path brought him to work for iconic companies such as Disney and DreamWorks Animation where he grew into various leadership roles gaining exposure into global market analysis, consumer product positioning, researching and analyzing unfamiliar markets and planning growth strategy.

As a leader and mentor, he appreciates creative, innovative and landscape-changing ideas, working with a collaborative approach in an exploration that ultimately leads to a fully customizable service arrangement, or what he likes to call a “true partnership.” Oliver has a passion for motorcycles and loves the freedom biking gives him to clear his mind while on the road. He’s particularly fond of his custom Harley fat boy a.k.a “The Flying Dutch Man.”

Business Development

Geoff Brandt

Geoff’s professional career has taken him all over the world in the past 25 years where he’s spent considerable time fostering success for both startups (including his own) as well as for Fortune 500 companies  like Siemens, Coke, Metlife, Shell Oil and others through his expertise in marketing, operations, technology and service delivery. When he’s not in the boardroom, you can find Geoff on the golf course or helping raise his 3 teenagers in Southern California.

CFO

Peter B. Dragone

Mr. Dragone has spent the past fifteen years as an acting/consulting CFO for a number of start-ups in industries ranging from CPG, Health and Wellness, Industrial Services, Ecommerce, Food and SaaS. Peter’s prior experience is that of a serial entrepreneur, managing various start-up and turnaround projects. He was a co-founder of Keurig, Inc., now the multi-billion dollar Keurig/Green Mountain Inc. Before starting Keurig, Mr. Dragone was a senior financial/operational manager for Chiquita Brands International. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MA (in Spanish) from Middlebury College and a BA from Colby College.

Strategic Planning & Operations

Hans Van Putten

Entrepreneur Mentor and Startup Quarterback. Hands-on advisor and implementer of strategic and operational planning, web design, SEO/SEM, digital marketing and social media.

After climbing the corporate ladder as an expatriate with The Gillette Company, Hans ran his own food manufacturing business for many years, while the Internet was morphing into a global search engine, e-commerce platform, networking web and online business card.

The need to constantly adapt and be informed about what was happening, allowed Hans to polish his skills to take a helicopter view to set clear strategies, while building all-round “shop-floor” experience, staying up to date with and implementing best practice systems, financial or other, software and hardware to keep up with the latest Internet and digital trends.

Digital and technology-savvy trail-blazer with experience in designing, building, launching and running websites. Team player, whether as team member or leader while cost conscious at all stages and levels, whether idea conception, startup or small business.

CCO / Chief Creative Officer

Todd Belle

For over 25 years as a designer and creative executive, Todd has synthesized his experiences, inquiry and curiosity to create unique solutions for a wide range of companies including Nike, Ford Motor Company and The Walt Disney Company.  Whether global brands or startup ventures, Todd’s focus is to understand the big picture thinking in order to construct strategies that impact business growth, brand awareness and customer experiences. He believes design is where business and empathy meet to create a dialog with the audience. As an Industrial Designer, his passion is to connect the abstract through observation and investigation, along with a healthy dose of humor, to arrive with an innovative solution. As a native Californian, he spends his “extra” time enjoying the mountains, deserts and ocean with his wife and two children.

CTO

Mark Kelly

Mark grew up in Glasgow, Scotland and began writing video games at the age of 14. This began a successful career which took him to London for a few years before immigrating to the USA in 1991 to continue his gaming career. After retiring from video games in 1997, Mark went on to found, grow, manage and successfully exit a variety of technology companies including Pixelpushers, Inc / Civica Software- a web development group specializing in government CMS solutions, PlateScan- a License Plate Recognition company specializing in solutions for Law Enforcement and the US intelligence agencies. Most recently he worked with a technology development company focused on creating cutting edge hardware and software applications for Augmented and Virtual Reality and AI solutions. Today, Mark leads our technology initiatives across the entire company.

Chief Marketing Officer

Daniel Williams-Goldberg

Daniel had a vision in 2004 that there was a space where an agency could come in and become an integrated part of a businesses team. “There is no limit to where we can grow together.” Having opened many businesses & retail stores, as well as being a musician, artist & photographer, Daniel brings a well-rounded landscape of experience and business sense to CiFli. Daniel’s creative communication & passion is truly a gift and assists him in developing solutions to overcome any design, website marketing or business challenge. Daniel loves family, spirituality, golf, creating, running, music, bowling, cooking, food, fun, friends & surfing. His motto: “Wherever you go, there you are.”

Project Management Office

Cedric Brenninkmeijer

Cedric grew up predominantly in Asia (China and Singapore, as well as Brazil, Netherlands and Germany), but moved to Santa Clara to study history and philosophy at Santa Clara University. Having recently graduated, he now joins our team at CiFli as a project manager wearing hats also in HR and accounting. He loves reading, gaming, laughing (loudly), scuba diving and traveling.

Warehouse Mgr/Carpenter

Justin Crane

Originally from Georgia, Justin moved to the sunny state of California where he now resides with his wife and their two boys. He has spent the last 24 years building up the life experience needed to lead a meaningful, compassionate, well lived life. Working with wood has always been an inspiration in Justin’s life. He loves seeing how the rugged vessel of a tree can be turned into the means necessary for any creation of choice with a bit of creativity and work. It is so much more than a career; it’s also a metaphor for life. Outside of pursuing his dreams of bringing legacies to life as a carpenter for Grain if Grain, Justin can be found outdoors with his family, surfing, hiking, rock climbing and bonding on the shiny California coast with their dog Cairo.

Accounting Manager

Nasim Kourechian

Nasim has lived in Sunny Southern California for majority of her life. She has completed and received her Bachelors of Science Degree in Accounting, Business Management, and Marketing. Because of her passion for business she has worked as an operations, finance, marketing, and office manager. She has joined the Cifli Team in order to further her quest to enhance her experience in all business aspects. Nasim is also dedicated to finding alternate treatments for cancer. She is working for a non-profit cancer organization in order to assist cancer patients through difficult times. In her personal time Nasim enjoys, vacationing, fishing, spending time with family & friends, and working out.