We’re dedicated to making life easier for others like us who are tired of spending hours online trying to plan great trips.
NileGuide is a team of successful entrepreneurs who also happen to be passionate travelers.
Josh Steinitz
CEO
Josh left the management consulting ranks to follow his passion for travel and entrepreneurship by joining Away.com. He soon found himself touching many pieces of the business, from marketing to sales and business development, and helped build Away into the web’s largest travel publisher, a top brand in the adventure travel space, and a successful media business. After an acquisition by Orbitz, Josh held a leadership role in media sales and business development for the Partner Marketing group within Cendant. On a personal level, Josh is an avid traveler who loves the outdoors. When he’s not scheming about his next trip to Mongolia or Bolivia, he’s taking advantage of Northern California’s abundant outdoor adventure opportunities, whether it’s snowboarding in Tahoe, mountain biking in Sonoma, hiking in Big Sur or kayaking in Sausalito. Josh is a graduate of Princeton, and tries not to bore his friends with stories from college too often, though he sometimes can’t help himself.
Kirstin Hornby
VP of Marketing
Kirstin’s foray into the travel industry began in 1996, when she joined a small international bike tour company. She proceeded to work in a variety of Marketing disciplines including pharmaceutical advertising and Marketing Communications consulting , and she spent the last 4 years at PayPal in Consumer and Community Marketing. Kirstin graduated from Princeton University with honors in Philosophy and received her MBA in Marketing from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Kirstin grew up in Maine and began her international travel in high school, spending 5 months in Digne Les Bain, France. In 1999, Kirstin lived in Benin, West Africa for 4 months, volunteering for a non-profit that supported rural women. Over 40 countries and 12 years later, Kirstin is excited to be once again working in her favorite industry.
Jon Bradford
Creative Director
Jon Bradford has been working in the interactive design field for almost 14 years and during that time has covered a huge range of disciplines. Interaction, to motion, to 3D kiosks, to web sites, to mobile apps. From the “Slice ‘n’ Hook” haunted miniature golf game, to a J P Getty Museum Art Access kiosk, to eNature.com, the largest nature and wildlife website in the U.S. Jon describes himself as, “a designer, never happier than when I have my hands stuck in multiple pies – strategy, concept development, visual design, user experience, wire framing, UI, IA, (did I get all the right acronyms?) motion graphics, 3D, flash, rubber, fiberglass, steel, wood.” When not working on NileGuide you can find Jon ‘tinkering’ in his studio (a very British pasttime), either on one of his motorcycles, maybe an art/furniture project, or out on one of the ‘Bikes’ exploring the Bay Area.
Victoria Gutierrez
Business Manager
A true Chicagoan at heart, Victoria is having a blast immersing herself in her new city of San Francisco and her new role of Business Manager at Nile. After earning a B.S. with honors in Dance and Philosophy from Northwestern University, she embarked upon an exciting but ill-fated professional modern dancing career. Next came a stint in PR at The Silverman Group, Inc. in Chicago, and writing a syndicated blog for BrazenCareerist.com. A self-professed art, shopping, wine, and restaurant enthusiast, Victoria is thrilled to be able to bring these passions to the workplace. On the weekend she may be hiking, planning the next adventure abroad (Mt. Kilimanjaro), or walking her Chihuahua, Elvis… but she’s definitely eating good food and drinking great wine.
Tanuka Roy
Director of Product Management
Whether it is studying abroad in Greece, working abroad in London or backpacking across Europe and Southeast Asia, Tanuka is always fueling her passion for travel. Much to her excitement, Tanuka has been able to carry this personal passion directly into her career pursuits. After leaving consulting at Andersen, Tanuka first entered the travel industry in 2002 to become a product manager at Travelocity where she oversaw their successful online cruise product. From there, she was recruited by Sabre Holdings to help build a web-based package reservation product for over 6000 travel agencies. After exploring the healthcare and financial industries, Tanuka is very happy to be back in travel at Nile. She graduated from UCLA with honors in Applied Mathematics and holds an MBA and MSI from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She loves being back in her home state of California after spending a few cold years in the Midwest, and enjoys yoga, painting and hiking.
Walter Lee
Director of Product Management
Walter joined NileGuide to pursue his passions in technology and travel, both cultivated early in life. At age 9, he was bored of his English homework – arranging spelling words in alphabetical order – so he wrote a bubble sort program in BASIC. At age 13, he went on his first international trip, flying solo to Hong Kong and Singapore. His favorite aspect of travel is experiencing contrasts: exploring major cities like London or Istanbul along with off-the-beaten-path destinations like Stara Zagora, Bulgaria or Lusaka, Zambia; or staying at both a hostel and a luxury hotel in the same week in Sydney. His mission is to play blackjack in as many destinations as possible (six so far). Walter began his career as a software engineer at Google, where he spent 5 years developing key features in AdWords. Later, he was a product manager on Google TV Ads and YouTube content partnerships. Walter graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a BSE in Computer Science.
Samya Sattar
Product Manager
Samya grew up in Bangladesh and went to high school in India. She moved to the U.S. to go to Reed College in Portland, Oregon, where she got her BA in History. She has since made San Francisco her home, where she has worked as an Editor in book and magazine publishing for ten years. In her time off, she feeds her wanderlust. Samya has hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, checked out the midnight sun in the Arctic Circle, and slept on the beach in Thailand.
Dave Schweisguth
Director of Software Development
Dave is a veteran of Internet companies including Grand Central Communications, Healthline Networks and Radar Networks. Before entering the web world, he wrote software in the biotechnology industry. He combines a love for building applications from start to finish with a passion for team-enabling processes and practices. When away from the keyboard, you can count on Dave to find the best place for a drink, whether in the shadow of the Pitti Palace, in the jungles of Borneo or at a sidewalk table in San Francisco with his cork-sniffing beagle Huxley. Dave has a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale and a B.S. from Penn State.
Alexi Ueltzen
Associate Field Marketing Manager
Alexi is from Northern California and grew up rafting the American River, skiing the Sierras and beach camping along the coast. She graduated with honors with a BA in English from Mills College, where she was a member of the swim team and an academic all-American. Following college, she worked for Hunter House publishers as a publicity assistant. Between school, work and athletics, Alexi has managed to squeeze in trips to Germany, Austria, England and Mexico. When not working on NileGuide content, she’s probably in the water – swimming, rafting or playing water polo.
Chris Tweney
Senior Software Engineer
Chris is a seasoned web application engineer with a focus on building excellent user interfaces and crafting top-quality, highly readable code. He jumped into web development as an intern at ZDNet in the Netscape 1.0 days and has kept at it ever since. Chris has worked for a variety of web agencies and software companies, including Xythos Software, Wine and Spirits Network, and Roundpeg. Offline, he can often be found brewing Belgian-style ales, noodling on various blue guitars, and seeking out interesting abstractions with his digital camera. Favorite travel destinations are the Versilian coast of Tuscany (in the winter) and Death Valley (in the summer). He holds a highly marketable B.A. in philosophy and religious studies from Williams College.
Brad Wallace
Director of Operations
Brad has spent twelve years in Network Systems Infrastructure and Security, and he has recently completed his MBA studies at Duke University. When he’s not planted in front of a computer, Brad enjoys outdoor activities that have taken him to forty-nine US states, backpacking, cycling, canoeing, and generally enjoying the natural world, photographing as he goes. Travels outside the US have included such less-visited locations as The Bailiwick of Jersey and Moosonee, Ontario.
Amy Widdowson
Marketing Manager
Amy previously worked as Publicist at Alberta Theatre Projects in Calgary, where she coordinated local and national media coverage during the regular season and the Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays. Prior to that, she worked as the Marketing and Development Associate at DonorsChoose.org in New York, while serving as a Media Intern at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre in the evenings. When she isn’t out talking / typing / tweeting for a living, Amy enjoys a variety of computer-free activities, including hiking around Bay Area (dayhiking Mt. Whitney – check!), training for half marathons, and snapping photos in the Canadian Rockies whenever she can. Born and raised in Calgary, Canada, Amy graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 2006 with a degree in European History with a minor in Theatre and Dance. Her love of travel dates back to chasing geese with her family in Vancouver’s Stanley Park at the age of two.
Justin Nixon
Software Engineer
Justin graduated from Rice University and was somewhat surprised to learn that he would be writing software for the travel industry where he has been ever since. After spending more than 26 years in the great state of Texas, Justin finally decided to change things up with a move to San Francisco. He now enjoys everything the bay area has to offer including the fantastic hiking, delicious food, and wonderful beer. He likes to think he knows a lot about music and movies and has been known to make obscure references to both. Justin caught the travel bug in his early twenties and has backpacked throughout Europe, Japan, Costa Rica, and China. He is always looking forward to life’s next big adventure.
Aaron Suedmeyer
Software Engineer
Superaaron has been doing Java coding for over a decade and loves it. Currently is diving deeper into Agile, XP, and scrum. He loves the ever-changing and ever-improving aspects of Agile. Besides coding, Aaron loves the sun. He spends sunny days in Dolores Park in San Francisco and travels to Florida or Rio any chance he gets. He just had a friend move to Istanbul. Istanbul had better watch out!
Alex Resnik
Associate Field Marketing Manager
A two-month stay with long-lost Brazilian relatives in Rio ignited Alex’s passion for travel at the age of 12. Since then, he’s crossed Europe with a backpack; spent numerous summers in South America; hitchhiked through Mexico; and lived/worked in Tokyo for 18 months, writing for NileGuide as a Local Expert. A proud banana slug alumnus, Alex’s career has taken him from writing for a local newspaper to covering PR for the Commonwealth Club of California to producing marketing and merchandise content for Walmart.com. As much as he’s traveled (and still plans to), Alex is always drawn to his home town of San Francisco, where he can revel in its green spaces, sip the world’s beer supply at its excellent boozeries, and wallow in its gourmet offerings, from foie gras to bacon-wrapped hot dogs. (Ok, maybe the bacon-wrapped hot dogs usually win out.) Alex’s approach to travel is the same as his approach to life: You’re gonna get dirty – might as well take a mud bath.
Eric Pfeiffer
Editorial Director
Eric left UCLA law school to pursue a career as a writer and editor. He landed at a San Francisco tourist magazine, writing theater and restaurant reviews, even though, at the time, he knew very little about both. After a brief stint as a daily newspaper reporter, he became a magazine editor and has been lucky enough to work at — or contribute to — some of the country’s best business and technology magazines, including Wired, Business 2.0, Forbes ASAP and Red Herring. He’s also had the joy of working closely with some of the country’s best writers and thinkers, including Gore Vidal, Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Peters and Peter Drucker. One of his great joys in life is travel, and he believes he was a travel agent in a previous incarnation. He has been around the world on a ship, worked in London driving a van, and, in Sri Lanka, had tea with the great science fiction writer Arthur C. Clark and his pet monkey.
Tom Ball
Board Member
Tom joined Austin Ventures in 2005 and focuses on software and Internet investing. Most recently, Thomas was CEO and co-founder of Openfield Technologies and Razorgator Interactive Group. While there he helped grow Razorgator to the premier secondary ticket provider and marketplace. Prior to Openfield, Thomas was the Chairman, CEO and Founder of eCoupons (acquired by Lifeminders, NASDAQ: LFMN). Thomas also has experience in private equity investing and strategy consulting from his time as a Principal at Discovery Capital and as an Engagement Manager at Mitchell Madison Group.Thomas received an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and a BS in Finance with honors from the University of Florida.
Peter Horan
Board Member
Peter is a seasoned media and marketing executive with experience in both startups and multi-billion dollar public companies. He has had three successful exits as a CEO (DevX, About.com, and AllBusiness) and one as an independent director (Pluck) since 2003. Peter joined Goodmail in May of 2008 from IAC, where he oversaw that company’s media properties and ad sales operations. In this role, he oversaw IAC Advertising Solutions as well as Ask.com, Citysearch, Evite, Pronto, and IAC Mobile. He has a BA in English from Santa Clara University and an MBA from San Francisco State University.
Ben Boyer
Board Observer
Ben is a Managing Director of Tenaya Capital. He initially joined the predecessor to Tenaya (Lehman Brothers Venture Partners) in 2000, and co-founded Tenaya in 2009. Previously, Ben was a member of Lehman Brothers’ Technology Investment Banking group, where he was responsible for corporate finance and strategic advisory assignments. Ben holds an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in human and organizational development from Vanderbilt University.
Bill Draper
Board Observer
With over forty years of experience, William H. Draper III is one of the West Coast’s first venture capitalists. He is General Partner of Draper Richards L.P., a venture capital fund focusing on early-stage technology companies in the U.S., and Draper International, a venture capital fund investing in private companies with operations in the U.S. and India. Mr. Draper was founder of Sutter Hill Ventures in Palo Alto, California. During his twenty years as the senior partner of Sutter Hill, he helped to organize and finance several hundred high technology manufacturing companies. Mr. Draper served from 1981 to 1986 as President and Chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. In 1986, he became the head of the world’s largest source of multilateral development grant assistance, the United Nations Development Program. In addition to serving on many corporate boards of directors, Mr. Draper has served on the boards of the Atlantic Council, Draper Richards Foundation, Hoover Institution, Institute of International Studies at Stanford University, World Affairs Council of Northern California and the United Nations Association-USA. Mr. Draper has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University, and a Master of Business degree, with distinction, from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.
Vince Vanelli
Board Observer
Founder and managing partner of KPG Ventures, Vince has more than 20 years operational, technology sales and business development experience, including key leadership positions at several global technology companies. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Network Products Division of Inktomi Corporation. Prior to that position, Vince was responsible for all Inktomi sales as Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations. Before his Inktomi undertakings, Vince spent eight years at Hitachi Data Systems where he held multiple positions, including Senior Vice President and General Manager, United States. He directed Hitachi’s sales channels, service, and field marketing departments and was responsible for a $1.2 billion revenue base. Prior to joining Hitachi, Vince worked for IBM Corporation where he spent eight years in various sales and marketing leadership roles throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Vince holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Industrial Engineering, both from Stanford University.
