Yobie Benjamin

Current

• SVP, Business Development & Brand President, GoodStorm at Zazzle.com
• Volunteer (Active) at Art For Amnesty

Past

• Founder and CEO at GoodStorm.com
• Managing Director & Partner, Business & Technology Risk Mgmt at Computer Sciences Corporation
• Partner at Ernst and Young LLP

• Director, Enterprise Security Services at Cambridge Technology Partners
• Chief Knowledge Officer, Management Labs at Cambridge Technology Partners

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2 more...

Education

• University of the Philippines

Recommended

12 people have recommended Yobie

Connections

328 connections

Industry

Internet

Websites

• GoodStorm.com Web Site

Yobie Benjamin’s Summary

SVP, Business Development & Brand President of GoodStorm at Zazzle.com. Founder & CEO of a progressive ecommerce company GoodStorm.com. Innovation and business strategy savant. Practice builder, marketing and sales leader. Partner (Chief of Strategy, Distinguished Fellow, CTO - Security and Technology Services) at Ernst and Young LLP, Partner and Managing Director of the Business and Technology Risk Management group at Computer Sciences Corporation. Chief Knowledge Officer and Director of Enterprise Security services at Cambridge Technology Partners' Management Labs. Coder.

Other highlights: successful venture investor, innovator in the retail and consumer products space, restaurateur, software architect and engineer, writer, social activist and perpetual geek. Interests include: all things food, wine, technology and music related, social justice

Languages: English, Filipino, Thai, Lao, Spanish. Multi-cultural and global business and technology perspectives with non-governmental diplomatic experience.

Yobie Benjamin’s Specialties:

Marketing and sales, innovation and strategy in the consumer products, mobile and internet space. Entrepreneurial organization and leadership, startup organization and development, venture financing, key management recruitment.

Organizational and thought leadership, professional services practice building, product marketing & PR. Areas of expertise: innovation, strategy, internet technologies and architecture, information and physical security, corporate risk management

Yobie Benjamin’s Experience

• SVP, Business Development & Brand President, GoodStorm

  Zazzle.com

  (Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Internet industry)

  November 2007 — Present (9 months)

  In 1999 Robert Beaver and his two sons Bobby and Jeff founded Zazzle.com, a service which enables users to create their own products. Zazzle users can create customized t-shirts, posters, mugs to stamps.
  
  Users receive a commission on products that they sell and design themselves. In addition to working with companies such as Disney, Lucas, Fox, non-profits, and many political organizations, we also work with artists such as Maroon 5, the Black Eyed Peas, Fergie, The Who, Kiss and many others.
  
  We have deals with the major merchandise rights holders such as Signatures and Fueled by Ramen and have distribution deals with Myspace as their preferred merchandise partner.
  
  Zazzle is funded by Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers (the same VC firm that funded Google, Amazon.com, Genentech, Sun Microsystems, and EA) and Sherpalo Ventures (who co-invested with KPCB on Google).
  
  In November 2007, GoodStorm.com the company I founded was acquired by Zazzle.com.

• Volunteer (Active)

  Art For Amnesty

  (Non-Profit; 1-10 employees; Music industry)

  July 2007 — Present (1 year 1 month)

  I am a volunteer for Art For Amnesty.
  
  Art for Amnesty brings together international artists of all disciplines their patrons, management and friends in a collaborative effort to support Amnesty International’s work for human rights.
  
  Hundreds of writers, playwrights, musicians, and poets have been adopted by Amnesty as Prisoners of Conscience—Vaclav Havel, Andrei Sakharov, and Paolo Coelho, among others. Artists have always valued the political freedoms Amnesty works to protect as an integral condition of their creative expression.
  
  Art for Amnesty seeks to harness the creativity and commitment of international artists in major fundraising initiatives for the benefit of both Amnesty International and the artists.
  
  Our last project was Instant Karma and Make Some Noise. As of last April 2008, our efforts have raised close to $3.5M for Amnesty's work. Thanks to all of our supporters.
  
  For more information on our work, send questions to: info@artforamnesty.org

• Founder and CEO

  GoodStorm.com

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Internet industry)

  October 2005 — November 2007 (2 years 2 months)

  Founder and CEO of progressive eCommerce site. A social service site dedicated to helping non-profits and the economically disadvantaged to help themselves.
  
  GoodStorm.com was acquired by Zazzle.com, an innovator in the custom merchandising space and a portfolio company of legendary VCs John Doerr and Ram Sriram.
  
  Principal developer and inventor of an innovative way to distribute and sell digital music (...really anything digital). Take a look...
  
  http://goodstorm.typepad.com/goodstorm/2007/06/amnesty_interna_1.html
  http://music.goodstorm.com/previews/mixtapes/?store_id=147
  
  On June 12, 2007, we're rolling out our technology to promote a major campaign in partnership with Amnesty International and several major artists. For a preview of the campaign, please visit: http://instantkarma.org
  
  Here's a bit of information about my work against genocide: http://news.com.com/Music+meets+politics+in+Darfur+campaign/2100-1027_3-6188203.html?tag=nefd.lede

• Managing Director & Partner, Business & Technology Risk Mgmt

  Computer Sciences Corporation

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; CSC; Management Consulting industry)

  June 2003 — February 2005 (1 year 9 months)

• Partner

  Ernst and Young LLP

  (Partnership; 10,001 or more employees; Management Consulting industry)

  November 1998 — June 2002 (3 years 8 months)

  Held 3 positions in the firm:
  Partner & Chief of Global Strategy E&Y Management Consulting Group
  Partner & Distinguished E&Y Fellow, Management Consulting
  Partner & Chief Technology Officer, Security and Technology Services

• Director, Enterprise Security Services

  Cambridge Technology Partners

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; CATP; Management Consulting industry)

  April 1997 — November 1998 (1 year 8 months)

• Chief Knowledge Officer, Management Labs

  Cambridge Technology Partners

  (Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; CATP; Management Consulting industry)

  June 1996 — April 1997 (11 months)

Yobie Benjamin’s Education

• University of the Philippines

  BA, Broadcast Communications, 1976 — 1982

  Activities and Societies:

  UP Institute of Mass Communications Broadcasting Association

Additional Information

Yobie Benjamin’s Websites:

• GoodStorm.com Web Site

Yobie Benjamin’s Interests:

Software engineering, social networking, distributed computing, innovation in consumer products, toy making, new business models and ventures, social justice issues, archery, biking

Yobie Benjamin’s Groups:

Trustee, University of California at Merced
Member, Association For Computational Machinery
Member, Mariposa Hunters Point Yacht Club
Member, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Collaboration Labs/Director's Advisory Council
Member, San Francisco Appreciation Society

•    Ernst & Young Alumni member
•    Social Media Mafia member

Yobie Benjamin’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch