Stephen Messer

STEPHEN MESSER is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LinkShare.
Since founding LinkShare in 1996, Mr. Messer has lead the company’s
efforts to create a unique pay for performance network that helps
businesses minimize customer acquisition costs and maximize their online
revenue-generating potential. Under Mr. Messer’s leadership, LinkShare
was recognized by Deloitte and Touche in 2002 as the number one fastest
growing technology company in the New York region. LinkShare was also
awarded the Best Affiliate Network Provider in 2002 by ABestWeb, a
leading resource for affiliate marketing. Mr. Messer was awarded the
Best Service to the Industry award, recognizing his extraordinary
achievements and contributions in the creation and development of the
affiliate marketing industry. One of the few marketing service providers
to have weathered the dotcom fallout, LinkShare today is profitable and
counts a majority of the Fortune 500 among its clients. Prior to
founding LinkShare, Mr. Messer was the Assistant Director of the
Columbia University Institute of Tele-Information produced and directed
many studies on cyber-communications and telecommunications. He
continues to serve as an Affiliated Research Fellow at the Institute.
Mr. Messer also worked with the Department of State during the 49th
General Assembly of the United Nations in the Sixth Committee and
Security Council. Mr. Messer holds a Juris Doctorate from the Benjamin
N. Cardozo School of Law in New York and a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Lafayette University in Pennsylvania. He is admitted to practice law in
New York and is a member of the Federal Communications Bar Association.
Mr. Messer is currently active in the Internet community, serving on the
board of the Association for Interactive Media (AIM), a division of the
Direct Marketing Association (DMA). Mr. Messer also sits on the boards
of other venture-backed companies, such as Vente (formerly WFSDirect).
Mr. Messer is a Limited Partner in many venture capital companies and
sits on the advisory board of Industry Ventures, a provider of capital
and strategy to early stage companies in the software and services
companies. As one of the earliest developers of the Internet as a
business application, as well as a vocal advocate of the Internet, Mr.
Messer has been quoted in many newspapers and other publications,
including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Nikkei,
and Internet Retailer Magazine, and he has appeared on national business
programs such as CNBC, CNNfn, and the Fox News channel. Mr. Messer has
also spoken at major industry events, such as the DMA, Internet World,
and Harvard University CyberSymposium, and appeared as a guest speaker
at prestigious business schools such as Columbia Business School, New
York University’s Stern School of Business, and Wharton.