Team
High Technology
James F. Watson
Managing Director
Jim Watson joined CMEA Ventures as Managing Director in 2001, and is on the Board of Directors of Apriso, a provider of plant and warehouse automation solutions for the industrial sector; HassoPlattnerVentures, a German fund that hosts young, IT-driven companies and guides them into the marketplace; iSuppli Inc., a market intelligence service for the electronics supply chain; LiveOps, a provider of innovative, state-of-the-art call center solutions and a leader in the $20 billion outsourced teleservices industry; MailExpress, a provider of outsourced mail service for large commercial mailers throughout the world; Mitrix, an on-demand supply chain management software company; Odyssey Logistics, a provider of outsourced logistics management services to the chemical industry; SpikeSource, business-ready, open source solutions; and Untangle, an emerging leader in network virtualization for small- to medium-sized enterprises seeking powerful yet simple network solutions. Jim was also on the board of CMEA portfolio companies PathScale, acquired by QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC), and Teros, acquired by Citrix (NASDAQ: CTXS).
Prior to joining CMEA, Jim was consultant to several professional services firms and venture capital partnerships in the areas of strategic planning and partnering, board development, and supply chain management. Mr. Watson was also one of the Founders of Monterey Bay Partners, a venture management firm specializing in high technology start-ups. Prior to that, Jim founded Skyway Systems, a high technology logistics company. Jim's tenure with Skyway included company President and leader behind the supply chain strategy that twice landed Skyway on the Inc. Magazine list of fastest growing U.S. companies in the 1990's. In 1993, Inc. Magazine named Jim as one of the Entrepreneurs of the Year. That same year, Skyway, with over 1,300 employees, hit revenues above $100 million. Skyway was subsequently acquired by Union Pacific Corporation (UPN) in 1994. Prior to Skyway, Mr. Watson was with IBM's large computer systems division where he worked with several large companies, such as United Airlines, in designing and marketing computer systems for all phases of business. Jim graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and served five years as a Navy pilot from 1969 to 1974.
(415) 352-1520 ext. 140
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Faysal A. Sohail
Managing Director
Faysal Sohail joined CMEA Ventures in 2002 as a Managing Director. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Applied Wave Research, Catalytic, Inovys Corporation, Pyxis Technology, Symwave, and Telsima; and Faysal previously served on the board of Alien Technology. Mr. Sohail brings with him more than a decade of senior executive experience in engineering, marketing and business development. He was CEO of Cadabra Design Automation and managed its acquisition by Numerical Technologies (NMTC) where he served as Sr. Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations. Prior to Numerical Technologies, Faysal was Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy for Synopsys Inc. (SNPS). In 1990, he co-founded Silicon Architects, which was acquired by Synopsys in 1995. Earlier in his career, Faysal spent several years in IC design engineering and marketing positions with Actel Corporation (ACTL) and LSI Logic Corporation (LSI). Mr. Sohail holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), where he also served on the College of Engineering Advisory Board (CEAB), and is Chairman of the Board of the San Jose Education Foundation.
(415) 352-1520 ext. 125
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Jim Hornthal
Venture Partner
Jim Hornthal joined CMEA Ventures in 2006 as Venture Partner to focus on investments the areas of Digital Media and the Internet. Jim brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in early stage private equity investing and advising to venture capital and hedge funds in the areas of high technology, biotechnology, and consumer services. Jim was the Founder of Preview Travel, which was one of the first online travel companies. The company went public in November 1997 (NASDAQ: PTVL) and then merged with a division of Sabre Holdings to form a new publicly traded company called Travelocity.com (NASDAQ: TVLY). Jim is also the Lester Center Fellow for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, where he works as an advisor, lecturer, and judge for the annual Business Plan competition. Mr. Hornthal received a Bachelor's Degree from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
(415) 352-1520 ext. 160
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Saad Khan
Partner
Saad joined CMEA Ventures in 2007 as a Partner and is focusing on the firm's software investments. Currently, Saad sits on the board of directors for CMEA portfolio company Jobvite, a company that developed an on-demand recruitment application to drive and manage talent acquisition for small to mid-sized enterprises. Saad also serves on the advisory board for start-up Lending Club, and is a founding member of the FilmAngels.
Prior to joining CMEA, Saad was a Venture Partner and lead the advisory services group at Garage Technology Ventures (GTV), a seed stage venture fund. During his career at Garage, Saad focused on emerging technology investments in the software and digital media space, working closely with many companies including TripleHop (acquired by ORCL), cFares, and Savage Beast (Pandora). Before GTV, Saad worked for the IBM alphaWorks group in Cupertino, CA, focusing on commercializing IBM R&D. Saad also worked for the Strategic Planning and Business Development Groups at the Walt Disney Company, helping to develop the strategic and operating plans for ABC, ESPN and Disney's e-businesses. Saad received a B.S. degree in Symbolic Systems and an A.B in Economics with Honors in Science, Technology, and Society from Stanford University.
(415) 352-1520 ext. 248
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