Jaymin Patel

Chief Executive Officer, Brightstar Corporation

Jaymin Patel is the Chief Executive Officer of Brightstar Corporation, a leading provider of B2B services to mobile device manufacturers, operators, retailers, and enterprises. Jaymin joined the company in April 2015 and is leading a major transformation to deliver new and innovative mobility solutions to customers through integrated technology platforms.

Brightstar generates approximately $10 billion in revenues through its operations in more than 50 countries around the world. It touches more than 100 million mobile devices as it provides world class supply chain solutions, accessories category management, buy back and trade-in services, device protection, and most recently has become the market leader in providing new affordability programs through device leasing services.
Since joining Brightstar, Jaymin has worked closely with the management team and SoftBank to drive the strategic development and operational transformation of the company, winning several new customers across Asia-Pacific, EMEA and the Americas.

Prior to joining Brightstar, Jaymin held a number of global leadership positions for more than 20 years at IGT plc (NYSE: IGT), formerly GTECH S.p.A (Milan Exchange: GTK), and served as a Board Member.

From 2007-2015, Jaymin was the President and Chief Executive Officer of GTECH Corporation and from 2007-2008 President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to that, in 2000, Jaymin was appointed as the CFO of GTECH Holdings Corporation, at the time making him one of the youngest CFOs of a NYSE listed company. He then became the CFO of the Italian listed entity on the Milan Stock Exchange in 2006 after successfully leading the sale of GTECH for approximately $5 billion, delivering equity returns to shareholders of approximately 700% between 2000-2006.

During Jaymin’s tenure he was responsible for the management and strategic development of GTECH’s global businesses including the Company’s lottery, gaming, and interactive businesses. Jaymin also launched the company’s highly successful credit card transaction processing business in Eastern Europe. He has worked extensively in emerging economics with specific emphasis in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

Previously, Jaymin worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in London. He grew up and was educated in the UK, holds a BA (honors) degree from Birmingham Polytechnic (UK), and qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC. Jaymin is married and has three children.

Jaymin is actively involved in the community including serving as a Board Member of Boy Scouts of America – Narragansett Council. In 2017 he joined the founding Board of The Next 3B, an organization aimed at realizing the global market and development potential of the next 3 billion people joining the Internet. In particular, The Next 3B is dedicated to empowering 100 million women to break the cycle of poverty with access to a connected world.

Jaymin is a Director of Willis Towers Watson PLC (NASDAQ: WLTW) which is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. With roots dating to 1828, Willis Towers Watson has 39,000 employees in more than 120 countries.

Reza Taleghani

President & Chief Financial Officer

Reza Taleghani joined Brightstar in August 2015, and serves as the President & Chief Financial Officer. In addition to leading our global financial operations, Reza manages Brightstar’s financial services line of business, Brightstar Flex, as well as device protection, Brightstar Halo.

His finance duties include oversight of Brightstar’s accounting, planning, reporting, treasury, insurance, tax, and internal audit functions, as well as corporate finance, strategy and M&A.

Before he joined Brightstar, Reza was a 17-year veteran of J.P. Morgan, where he held leadership roles in investment banking, commercial banking, and asset management. Beyond banking, Reza served as the President and CEO of Sterling Airlines A/S, a leading low-cost Scandinavian airline based in Copenhagen.

Reza holds dual bachelor’s degrees from Brown University, in history and organizational behavior, and received both a J.D. and an M.B.A. from Villanova University.

Catherine Smith

EVP, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Secretary

Catherine Smith is EVP, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Secretary, and sits on the Board of Directors.  Catherine is responsible for leading the global legal operations for the world’s leading mobile services company. In addition, she manages Brightstar’s real estate and indirect procurement globally.

Catherine has also had responsibility for managing the HR organization, and also supports Brightstar’s CEO on strategy execution and implementation.

Catherine was named as a “Women to Watch” in Fierce Wireless’ 2015 Most Influential Women in Wireless List which noted her as one of the most prominent African-American women in the telecommunications industry. A passionate advocate of the benefits of diversity and inclusion, Catherine regularly speaks on this subject externally as well as staying active in the local community in Miami.  In 2017, she was profiled in Leaders Magazine’s feature on women leaders.  Most recently, under her leadership, Brightstar received the World’s Most Ethical Company and National Association of Women Lawyers 2018 Challenge Award Recipient for adopting hiring, retention, promotion, and general employment practices designed to increase representation of women to one-third of leadership positions.

Catherine has over 20 years of legal experience and she excels at practicing sound corporate governance, championing the benefits of diversity within the company, and ensuring both long-term organizational health and overall business success.

Prior to Brightstar, Catherine served as Vice President and Lead Counsel for Motorola, Inc. and Motorola Mobility, where she used her expertise to contribute to the separation of Motorola Inc. into two independent, publicly traded companies. She also held a variety of other executive positions and served as the President and Executive Sponsor for the Global Inclusion and Diversity Council.

Catherine holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Virginia, and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law School.

Emer Timmons

Chief Marketing Officer & President Global Enterprise

Emer Timmons is Brightstar’s Chief Marketing Officer & President Global Enterprise, responsible for all aspects of marketing for the company from branding through to customer execution. As President Enterprise Business Emer leads Brightstar’s strategic expansion into the Enterprise sector.  The Enterprise Managed Mobile Market (EMM) represents a market that is growing at 15% per year globally (Ovum, 2017) as Enterprise customers seek to address the demand from their employees for better service and more choice. Under Emer’s leadership Brightstar has launched a new channel focused on this exciting market through which we can sell all of Brightstar’s services and also bring the whole portfolio together under one new managed service – Brightstar Mobilelife for Enterprise.

Emer joined Brightstar in July 2016 with 20 years of international experience in telecommunications, most recently with BT Group where she held several senior executive roles. From 2010-2015, she led the BT Global Services’ UK business, which included responsibility for corporate customers globally and accountability for a multi-billion UK & Global P&L. From 2015-2016, she served as President of BT Group Strategic Deals and Customer Engagement. In that role, she worked closely with BT Group customers and prospects, and was responsible for delivering deals from £50 million to more than £1bn in value.

Emer also sits on the UK’s Women’s Business Council, where she is co-chair of the Men as Agents of Change (MACA) initiative, ensuring that women have the opportunity to play a full role in the economic life of the nation. She is also a Royal Marines Business Ambassador. Emer has earned many accolades throughout her career, including placing fourth in the 2017 FT and HERoes Champions of Women in Business list, UK Woman of the Year from the Women in IT Awards, the Stevie International Awards for both Global Female Business Executive of the Year and Global Maverick of the Year, and Female UK Corporate Leader.  Emer was also awarded the CBI First Women Award for Business Services.

Emer is a Non-Executive Director of Paddy Power and sits on the audit and remuneration committees.

She completed her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

Michael Singer

SVP, Chief Strategy Officer

Michael Singer is Brightstar’s SVP, Chief Strategy Officer and has been with the company since 2012.  He is responsible for developing Brightstar’s global strategy and for sourcing new business opportunities organically and through partnerships, investments, and acquisitions.  Michael also serves on the board of several of Brightstar’s portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Brightstar, Michael worked at B/E Aerospace, a public multinational in the commercial and defense aerospace sector, where he was the Corporate Vice President, Strategic Planning and Chief Information Officer.  While there, he was responsible for leading the Strategic Planning, Corporate Marketing, Corporate Development, and Technology Departments.  Prior to B/E Aerospace, he was the Director of Global Business Development for Tyco International based in Boca Raton, Florida, where he led the development and execution of the global Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) business strategy for the Tyco Fire & Security division.  He has also held roles as a strategy & operations consultant with A.T. Kearney and as a business development manager with Pratt & Whitney.

Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia and a Master’s in Business Administration, with highest honors, from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Chad Couch

SVP, Chief Information Officer

Chad Couch is SVP, Chief Information Officer at Brightstar Corp. He is responsible for the information technology and computer systems that support enterprise-wide strategic goals and the implementation of technology to increase information accessibility and integrated systems management.

Chad has a strong track record with experience in various aspects of manufacturing and supply chain. Prior to joining Brightstar in September 2014, Chat was CIO of Latin America and IT Global Sales and Communication for Bacardi, one of the largest privately held wine and spirits companies in the world.

From 2007-2011, Chad held leadership positions with Bacardi as Solutions Delivery & SAP Program Director and Solutions Delivery Director and CTO.  Before Bacardi, Chad spent 13 years as Vice President of Manufacturing Systems for Tyson Foods, the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork and the second-largest food production company in the Fortune 500.

Chad holds a BSE in Electrical Engineering and B.S. in Engineering from Arkansas State University.

Rafael De Guzman

SVP, CEO Office & Strategic Initiatives

Rafael M. de Guzman, III, serves as SVP, CEO Office & Strategic Initiatives to the CEO at Brightstar Corp. where he supports the CEO and other senior executives defining and implementing the overall strategy.

Prior to joining the Office of the Chief Executive Officer, Rafael served as Chief of Staff and on the High Growth Markets business development team working collaboratively to evaluate, define, and implement new subsidiaries and initiatives for Brightstar in developing countries around the world.

Prior to Brightstar, Rafael spent almost 10 years working at brand and communications firms. In New York, he served as the Business Development Manager for Desgrippes Gobe, and as Associate Program Director at Enterprise IG, where he worked on strategic branding projects for companies like Ford, Westvaco, Holcim, Metavante, and others.

Rafael holds a J.D. from the University of Miami and a bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University.

David Nanayakkara

President, Asia Pacific

David Nanayakkara is the President, Asia Pacific. He is responsible for setting the strategic direction, overall P&L, and management of partners, services, and customer relationships. He leads the APAC region with operations in 12 countries with services contracts among many of the leading carriers, retailers and enterprise customers including Telstra, Maxis, KT Korea, Airtel India and Taiwan Mobile.

Since joining Brightstar as Director of Strategic Sourcing in Australia in 2006, David has held multiple leadership positions. He previously led the Australian business as the Managing Director and prior to his current role, was appointed Regional Managing Director Oceania. David began working in the mobile industry in 1996 with Ericsson Mobile, and previously held roles as General Manager of Sales and Retail, respectively.

Known for his charismatic and motivational leadership style, David is devoted to the advancement of the wireless industry, and is passionate about empowering employees. He holds a Bachelor of Business – Marketing from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and an MBA from Monash University.

Ray Roman

President, US & Canada

Ray Roman is the President, US & Canada responsible for managing and growing the $4+ billion business that provides innovative wireless services to manufacturers, operators and retailers in more than 50,000 points of sale.

Ray joined Brightstar in August, 2014 bringing more than 25 years of operational and managerial experience, including significant experience in wireless telecommunications and technology. Ray was executive vice president and chief operating officer for Leap Wireless International, Inc. / Cricket Communications, Inc. He was responsible for overseeing the company’s marketing, network operations, customer care and retention, and supply chain management initiatives.

Prior to his role at Cricket, Ray served in senior executive positions at Dell Inc., first as vice president of global service and operations, software and peripherals for the consumer division and then as vice president of sales, operations and service for the mobility division. Additionally, Ray served in various senior sales and operating roles at Motorola; including running global sales and operations where he helped the business grow from $13B to $23B over 7 years. He also served in various sales, general management and finance roles at companies like Ameritech Corporation, Kraft Foods and Allstate Insurance.

Ray received a B.S. in finance from the University of Illinois-Chicago and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Ray is active in the community as a wish-grantor for Make-a-Wish-Illinois and has served as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at University of Illinois-Chicago since 2002. Ray also spent time helping organizations like the Garfield Boys and Girls Club in his hometown and the Le Flambeau Foundation which is building a sustainable Haiti via education.

Benoit Scheen

President, Europe, Middle East & Africa

Benoit is the President, Europe, Middle East & Africa which includes Brightstar’s Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. He is accountable for all Brightstar business and oversees the growth of our wireless distribution and services throughout these areas.

Benoit previously served as Senior Executive Vice President, Europe for Orange. In this role, as member of the Executive Committee of the Orange Group, he was responsible for 11 Orange subsidiaries across Europe (excluding France), and managed a €12 billion revenue business reaching 65 million customers across Europe.

Prior to his role at Orange, Benoit held positions as Chief Executive Officer at Mobistar in Belgium, as Vice-President & Managing Director at Hewlett-Packard Belgium, and as Enterprise Business Unit Director at Compaq Computers Belgium. Over the past few years, he served on the board of 8 companies across 7 European countries, and currently is Board Director at TDC A/S in Denmark.

Benoit holds a Master in Computer Sciences, and a Bachelor in Economic and Social Science from the University of Namur.

Pablo Suarez

President, Latin America

Pablo Suarez is the President, Latin America for Brightstar Corp. He is responsible for developing and executing go-to-market strategy to penetrate major industry verticals and build dominant market share across the LATAM client base.

Previously, Pablo was Brightstar’s Senior Vice President of LATAM Services, Key Regional Operator Accounts and Service Transformation from 2012-2014, where he oversaw the integration of the distribution and services business units.

Pablo has 20+ years of experience in the industry, and he has an exceptional record of value-added success in developing and implementing strategies for M&A, portfolio development and management, and developing successful marketing and sales strategies for global markets. Prior to joining Brightstar in April 2012, he was the Vice President and General Manager of Avnet Americas.

Pablo has bachelor’s degrees in agricultural science, administration and financial planning for agro-business, and economics & agro business applications. He earned his post-graduate degree in business management & executive management from Universidad Austral in Buenos Aires.

Remon Gazal

SVP, Brightstar Logic & Chief Commercial Officer

Remon Gazal is the SVP, Brightstar Logic & Chief Commercial Officer for Brightstar, responsible for overall leadership of Brightstar’s global commercial functions, including sales and growth strategies for the Carrier and Retail customer segments, business planning and performance, global sales operations, and executive leadership of the Top25 Key Account Management program. Remon also heads up the Brightstar Logic business unit, which focuses on supply chain advisory, data analytics, and both forward and reverse logistics.

Prior to this role, Remon held various senior roles over eight years in Brightstar, including two years leading the company’s global transformation program, both customer facing and regional roles in the APAC, Europe, and MEA regions, and leadership roles prior to Brightstar within the Acute Health sector in the UK and Australia, and consulting for BT across the South of England as part of the NHS’ National Program for IT.

Remon holds a Masters of Business Technology from the University of New South Wales.

Andy Zeinfeld

President, Brightstar Echo & Brightstar Gear

Andy Zeinfeld is our President, Brightstar Echo & Brightstar Gear.

Andy has global responsibility for the strategy and all commercial aspects of our buy-back business, including collections, open market sourcing, sales, as well as the management of our Strategic OEM relationships. Andy also provides leadership for Brightstar Gear, our accessory business, supporting the regions with product and sales strategy.

Prior to his current position, Andy served as Brightstar President of Distribution for the U.S. & Canada. Before joining Brightstar, Andy was the CEO of Simplexity, the largest online consumer and B2B provider of wireless phones and service in the U.S., from its inception in 2007 until 2013.

Previously, Andy was a 28-year veteran of RadioShack. He served in a variety of leadership roles, with the last position as Chief Retail Services Officer and managed one of the largest wireless specialty chains with thousands of employees focused on sales to the end consumer.

Cassio Calil

SVP, Brightstar Flex

Cassio Calil is SVP, Brightstar Flex and has been in this role since March 2016. His group is responsible for making mobile technology available to everyone, via designing financial solutions for manufacturers, operators and retailers. Cassio’s team also provides consumers with financing solutions for existing and future phone purchases via affordable upgradable solutions.

Prior to this role, Cassio led the International Corporate Client banking of J.P.Morgan Commercial Bank.His group was responsible for providing capital structure, risk management, funding, investments and working capital solutions across key countries for J.P.Morgan’s corporate clients of the Commercial Bank. Prior to that, he was the President of J.P. Morgan Asset Management in Brazil where he was charged with accelerating the growth of existing institutional, retail and corporate businesses in Brazil, coordinating product roll-outs from Investment Management and Gávea, and driving the development, marketing and sales of new products across the platform. He also provided support to the Global Strategic Investment Advisory Group (SIAG), with the objective of delivering a solutions-based approach to clients in Brazil. Cassio was also a member of the JPMorgan Commercial Bank Corporate Client Management Committee and the International Banking Steering Committee.

Prior to this role, Cassio led the Structured Products and Corporate Solutions Group within J.P. Morgan’s Investment Banking division. His group provided J.P. Morgan’s global and local corporate clients with tailor-made products and solutions as well as a wide set of Corporate Finance, Pension Solutions and Risk Management tools to help clients perform comprehensive capital structure and corporate wide risk management analysis for their respective underlying business needs and financial policies.

Cassio was also the Assistant Treasurer of Global Operations and Financial Risk Management for IBM Corporation in Armonk, New York. He was responsible for IBM’s capital structure and capital planning, global funding and capital market activities, enterprise financial risk management (foreign exchange, interest rates and operations). He was also responsible for global cash management and treasury re-engineering.

He was Vice-President of the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce located in New York, from March 2010 until March 2013.

He is a master’s degree candidate in Finance from University College of Dublin  Ireland, and holds a master’s degree in Economics from Macquarie University Sydney, Australia and an honors/ bachelor’s degree in Economics from Mackenzie University – São Paulo.

Marc Crisafulli

SVP, Brightstar Halo

Marc is SVP, Brightstar Halo, with operations on five continents.

Marc’s passion is building and leading global teams to deliver positive outcomes.  Before joining Brightstar, Marc ran national and international businesses or divisions of public and private companies focused on professional services, technology and the lottery/gaming sector.  His positions have included managing partner of Hinckley Allen LLP, division president of GTECH Gaming Solutions and general counsel and chief compliance officer of GTECH Holdings Corporation.

Marc received his bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Boston University, and his juris doctor degree from Georgetown University.