ThinkEco, Inc. develops easy-to-use energy efficiency products for homes and businesses, and easy-to-integrate solutions for channel partners. The company’s patent-pending modlet® (for “modern outlet”) features intelligent engineering and algorithms to provide a simple, low-cost and installation-free method for saving money and energy on electronic appliances. The modlet® has received multiple awards and was recently featured on the Martha Stewart Show, the Today Show and the Early Show. ThinkEco is based in NYC, and all R&D associated with the modlet® platform was developed internally.
Dr. Jun Shimada, President and Chief Executive Officer
Jun leads ThinkEco's scientific innovation platform and is the resident algorithms expert, applying his experience to make the modlet super-smart and easy-to-use. Jun has over 12 years of research experience at Harvard, Columbia, and New York University. In addition, he was part of the original team at Vitae Pharmaceuticals as it received seed to Series B investments. At Vitae, he was the lead scientist behind its proprietary drug discovery platform. Jun received his BA (philosophy), MA (chemistry) and PhD (chemical physics) from Harvard.
Mei Shibata, Chief Strategy Officer
Mei leads the business side of ThinkEco where her broad experience has helped to shape the modlet system into a hip, user-friendly product. Most recently, she was Managing Director of Strategy and Strategic Planning at communications agency Euro RSCG Life, where she helped numerous brand teams commercialize their products and lead them through lifecycle management. Mei also has broad corporate experience, including her Worldwide Marketing role at Pfizer and equity research work at Citigroup. Mei received her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BA (physics) and MS (medical engineering, HST) from Harvard University.
Lee Schwartz, Chief Operating Officer
Lee has over twenty years of experience in corporate operations and database systems. He previously served as COO of Affinity Direct overseeing 300+ employees and responsible for growth to a $5 billion portfolio of federal student loans. Lee also owned and operated an international telecommunications company whose clients included AT&T, IDT, and Ionosphere. He holds a BSM degree from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University.
Mark Yosowitz, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development
Mark has over fifteen years of experience as a senior executive and corporate attorney. Prior to joining ThinkEco, he was the President of Affinity Direct, the 3rd largest federal student loan consolidation company in the US. He also previously served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development for Opus360 Corporation and was a corporate attorney with the law firm of Shearman & Sterling, where he specialized in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and international project finance. He holds a B.A. with honors from The University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. with honors, from Brooklyn Law School.
Lewis Katz
Lewis Katz is an owner of the New Jersey Nets and served as a member of the Board of Governors of the National Basketball Association, (11/98-4/10). Lewis is the former owner of Kinney Parking Systems, the largest parking company in New York City, and the former chairman of Interstate Outdoor Advertising, one of the largest regional outdoor-advertising firms in the country. He also is member of the Board of Trustees at Temple University, his alma mater, and is a former member of the Board of Trustees at the Dickinson School of Law, where he graduated first in his class.
Eric Aroesty
Eric Aroesty was the CEO and co-founder of Affinity Direct (“AD”). AD was the 3rd largest federal student loan consolidation company consolidating and selling over $5,500,000,000 of federal student loans and employing over 300 people. 99% of AD’s loan volume was originated via the Internet. After less than 3 years of operations, AD sold significant equity to a large private equity firm. Prior to AD, Eric was the President of Traffix, Inc. (Nasdaq, TRFX). Eric graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992.
