The new executive leadership team at Embed is set to lead the company forward with its cashless business management systems and solutions for the amusement, entertainment and leisure industries.
“I’m proud of the team that I’ve recruited and assembled,” said Renee Welsh, CEO of Embed and Booking Boss. “We have a balanced mix of people who embody deep entertainment business knowledge and experience and high-tech professionals with experience transforming companies and industries. They not only epitomise Embed’s values but bring the experience to reimagine, reinvigorate and transform the business of fun.”
Andy Welsh, chief technology officer, has been developing mission-critical systems for over 20 years. He has helped develop housing valuation systems used daily by four major Australian banks and software that powers a leading car parts system in the US. He also played a critical role in the Embed team that developed the first Australian activities portal. His ticketing and booking management start-up, Booking Boss, was acquired by the Helix Group in 2017. Now, he leverages his experience in cloud technology as part of Embed’s new strategy to “transform the entertainment and family entertainment industries.”
Sara Paz, chief marketing officer, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from her successful career at well-known high-tech giants and top-10 brands. Paz began her Asia-Pacific marketing career at Sony Corporation in Tokyo, Japan, before moving on to senior regional and global marketing roles, including marketing boards at Nokia, Intel, Dell, HTC, and L Capital Asia. She was named among APAC’s Top-10 Marketers by Media Magazine and received numerous marketing awards, including Digital Lions from the Cannes International Advertising Festival. “Sara’s experience in architecting innovation-led marketing functions and strategies that transform companies, building brands and redefining industries will serve her well at Embed,” said Renee Welsh.
Michael Lopez, chief experience officer, started his career at Sony Electronics in Tokyo, Japan, as a mechanical design engineer and moved into business development and operations roles at Philips, Dell and Illumina, collecting US patents and awards along the way. Most recently setting up Omega Engineering Southeast Asia's headquarters, including its commercial sales organisation, business, customer care, warehouse and fulfilment, Lopez spent the last year as the China general manager in Shanghai. His global experience will prove vital in elevating Embed’s overall customer care, installations and training functions across the globe.
Ladonna Whitaker, sales director, Americas, is responsible for the leadership of the North America and South America sales divisions. Her experience in technology sales transformation and strategy in Silicon Valley start-ups will benefit her role at Embed. In the early part of her career, she was part of the Expedia corporate division start-up, focused on 1.0 technology sales and bringing on-board other 1.0s, including a small, unknown start-up that turned into an industry leader. From there, she moved to Virgin America where she led a sales team that signed key accounts and usurped market share from the established in the industry to help propel it into IPO status.
Image: Clockwise, from top left, Sara Paz, Renee Welsh, Ladonna Whitaker, Andy Welsh and Michael Lopez
