Blue Bear Head

✔️ Brand Strategy & Market Differentiation – Developed and executed growth strategies for direct-to-consumer brands, helping them establish strong market positions, increase customer engagement, and create lasting brand equity.
✔️ Technology & Market Expertise – Stay ahead of emerging trends, develop high-performance teams, and support clients in navigating competitive landscapes while securing record-breaking revenues.
✔️ AI-Driven Solutions & Automation – Designed and implemented AI-powered analytics, automated workflows, and data-driven marketing strategies to streamline operations, optimize acquisition and retention, and drive sustainable business growth.

Managing Director

Techstars

✔️Mentoring at the Sydney Accelerator for Techstars, where I guide and support entrepreneurs in scaling innovative tech solutions. 
✔️Focused on driving measurable growth and delivering impactful outcomes, I collaborate with founders to refine strategies, optimize execution, and accelerate product development. Leveraging my experience in the tech industry, I help teams navigate challenges and achieve operational excellence in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment.

Mentor

Sumerian Records

✔️Developed and launched an OTT platform with 200+ licensed films and short-form music videos, branded as Albumovies for Hit Parader's On Demand Video Streaming Services.  These cinematic epics premiere ahead of album releases on digital platforms, offering exclusive first looks to fans and generating revenue through transactional video on demand.
✔️Hit Parader's On Demand Video Streaming Services will be available on Multiple Platforms: Web, iOS, Android, Samsung Smart TVs, Roku, LG Smart TVs, and Amazon Fire TV as a free streaming service.

SVP | Video Streaming & Digital Partnerships

Amazon

✔️ Led Amazon’s Working Backwards innovation sessions for top APAC brands including Qantas and Optus—helping senior leaders translate customer insights into launch-ready ideas using Amazon’s signature framework.
✔️ Selected as the primary negotiator for high-stakes agreements with key stakeholders—aligning teams around a unified messaging strategy and optimizing the deployment of large-scale budgets.

Innovation Advisory Programs APAC

✔️Received the best possible performance reviews after spearheading the worldwide Launchpad Innovation Grants program that provided clients with new creative advertising/media initiatives.
✔️Selected to establish Private Label brands in Australia with a new exclusive local product line, all while offering internal consulting to other business development staff with similar efforts. as well as importing additional selections from overseas to drive operational scale with Amazon Basics.

Head of Marketing Business Development APJ

✔️Established a high-performing team that orchestrated strategic efforts, partnerships, and initiatives. Reworked onboarding to increase staff retention.
✔️Expanded the company's market presence, product and service presence, and overall revenues, ranking among the top of all leaders within the region.

Head of Sales and Business Development

✔️Grew revenue by 200%+ by hiring and overseeing a high-performing advertising sales team. Collaborated with HR to support the development of other teams companywide.
✔️Strengthened executive relationships through weekly reviews and voice-of-the-customer sessions, becoming the principal contact for the most complex advertising requirements.

Head of Search Advertising, Europe

✔️Secured key industry alliances and negotiated some of the largest deals in Europe as the primary stakeholder liaison, including partnerships with Axel Springer.
✔️Diverted $42M+ of advertising revenue from Google and Facebook (over objective) after initiating cost-saving marketing measures that incorporated modern marketing methodology.

Principal Business Development, Mobile Advertising Technology

Senior Account Executive, Video Games & Consumer Electronics

Fable Food Co

Investor

AMASS

Investor & Advisor

Surreal

Surreal aims to become the entertainment industry's go-to infrastructure.

Seed Investor

Zillow Group

West Coast Sales

LendingTree

Director of Sales

Global Technology Leader | Seasoned Startup & Board Advisor | Formerly at Amazon, Zillow, Lending Tree

💥 Most people chase tactics. I build leverage.

If you’re a founder, operator, or high-performer scaling in today’s AI-fueled market, you need more than playbooks. You need frameworks that hold under pressure.

🔹 12+ years inside Amazon
— Launched global brands on Prime Day
— Built Amazon Advertising ops across EMEA, APAC & NA
— Trained execs using the “Working Backwards” system Jeff Bezos built the company on

🎬 Then came streaming deals, rights, and launches at Sumerian Records
📈 Now I advise founders, execs, and teams ready to grow smarter (not louder)

🧠 Author of It’s All Trash Til It’s Cash — Amazon’s blueprint for builders who don’t want to fake it.

Let’s build bold. Let’s build better.

📩 DM me if you’re scaling a company, a career, or a new chapter.

Chadd SJ Ciccarelli

One of the projects I’ve been working on this year is The Oddi Poddi podcast with Adrian Oddi.

I've know Adrian for a few years now. What I love about this show is that it didn’t start as a “content strategy” or a brand exercise. Adrian just wanted to have real conversations about the stuff that actually matters to him: performance, health, family, resilience, money, setbacks, and what a good life really looks like when things don’t go to plan. 

Somehow that simple idea has cut through. In its first year, The Oddi Poddi  has landed in the top 5% of video podcasts on Spotify in Australia.  I’m lucky I’ve been able to play a small role behind the scenes with the team helping Adrian get there, but I’m genuinely proud of what he’s pulled off in such a short time.

We’ve also had some incredible guests along the way including Aidan Anderson, Barry Du Bois, Gabriella Pomare, to name a few.  Each guest brings their own take on how to think, show up, and put yourself back together when life knocks you flat.

If you’re trying to get your body and mind back in the game, rebuild after life’s clipped you at the knees, keep your family solid while you still swing big, or make sense of money and work without torching yourself, there’s an Oddi Poddi episode on Spotify that’ll help you see it differently and actually do something about it.

Former Amazon Exec | Global Sales & Partnership Leader | AI & GTM Strategy | Market & Branding Expansion Advisor | Author of “It’s All Trash ’Til It’s Cash”

Ján Kasper, PhD., MBA, PhD.

ZAKA VC

Managing Partner & Co-Founder

Serial entrepreneur

Co-Founder & Managing Partner @ZAKA.VC

As the co-founder of ZAKA VC, I have had the privilege of combining the expertise and resources of the Zalesak & Kasper families. Since 2020, our venture capital firm has strategically invested in 63 tech start-ups across the USA and Europe, with a particular focus on the UK, DACH region, Baltic region, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

My entrepreneurial journey began in 1988, and today, I am at the forefront of over 53 profitable companies operating in 6 diverse industries. These ventures collectively boast a workforce of more than 690 employees and generate revenues that soar past the 700-million-euro mark. My experience spans across various sectors, including communication, energetics, car dealership, leisure & hospitality, real estate, development, and IT.

My academic credentials include a technical diploma from the Slovak University of Technology, an MBA from Webster University in Vienna, and not one, but two PhDs — in Marketing from the University of Economics in Bratislava, and in Management from Comenius University.

Aside from my professional endeavours, I was part of the original team that brought the Bratislava Jazz Days festival to life in 1974 — a cultural staple that continues to thrive. Though my marathon running days are over, my enthusiasm for sports remains undiminished, as I'm an ardent fan of both the NBA and the Champions League. I also take great pleasure in exploring the world of fine red wines.

At the heart of my world are 4 remarkable women — my dear wife Alexandra and our three daughters: Valentina, Karolina, and Alexandra Jr., complemented by our son, Jan Jr. 
I speak 4 languages, studied at 4 universities, and ran 4 marathons. 
There are 4 countries I reside in – predominantly in Italy, with regular stays in Spain, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

And so it seems, the number 4 not only signifies the pillars of my life but also appears to be my lucky charm.

You Never Know Who You’ll Bump Into

I first met Tim Szalay, originally from Galanta in Slovakia, when he joined my mentoring class a couple of months ago. This time, we crossed paths again - in Silicon Valley -  at a bio accelerator program led by Adam Draper from Boost VC.

Tim’s company, ABYA Genomics, is on a bold mission to rethink how medicine is discovered. In the photo, we’re joined by his co-founder, Sree Krishna Chanumolu.

Their vision is nothing short of transformative: a future where gene therapies can design, test, and validate themselves in silico. Where safety and efficacy are determined through computation rather than years of clinical trials. And lastly, where discovery, design, and delivery live within a single integrated ecosystem.

Will this become the blueprint for the next generation of biotechnology?
Let’s see.

#wheninsiliconvalley #meeting #surprise #biotech

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Ján Kasper, PhD., MBA, PhD.

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Ján Kasper, PhD., MBA, PhD.

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