Members Opinions
Rajat Suri, Founder and CEO at E la Carte
Rajat's Bio:
Rajat Suri is the Founder and CEO of E la Carte, makers of the Presto restaurant tablet. Suri, a Ph.D. student at MIT, got the idea to build the Presto while trying to split a bill with his friends at a restaurant. To understand the industry more clearly, he decided to abandon his Ph.D. and spent a year as a waiter. In his role, Suri is responsible for spearheading and expanding the company's technology in the casual and fastcasual dining market. Prior to E la Carte, he cofounded Zimride, now called Lyft, the popular ridesharing company. Suri has also held positions with Exxon Mobil and Proctor & Gamble. During his tenure at MIT, he participated in the MIT Energy Initiative. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Chemical Engineering from Waterloo University in Canada.
Mark Baumli, Executive Vice President for Product, Technology, and Operations at Wells Fargo
Mark's Bio:
Mark Baumli is executive vice president for Product, Operations and Technology at Wells Fargo Merchant Services (WFMS). His diverse responsibilities include operations, business strategy, risk management, payment network compliance, product development, and technology. Mark also oversees the sponsorship of more than 900 independent service organizations (ISOs), which are able to offer merchant services through their direct relationships with Wells Fargo.
Mark is a 27-year veteran of Wells Fargo holding positions in product management, call center operations, technology and sales management. Prior to joining WFMS in 2006, Mark had spent 10 years focused on internet product strategy and development.
An endurance athlete, he is the co-captain of the Wells Fargo AIDS Lifecycle team. He also represents Wells Fargo as a member of the Electronic Transaction Association’s Industry Relations Committee. Mark holds B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Microbiology from California State University, Chico and an MBA with honors from Santa Clara University.
Hitesh Anand, VP of Commerce Enablement & Mobile at Verifone
Hitesh's Bio:
As the Vice President of Commerce Enablement and Mobile at VeriFone, Hitesh Anand is responsible for driving new products to enrich the face-to-face commerce experience.
A veteran of the mobile, financial, telecommunications and semiconductor industry, Mr. Anand possesses a broad expertise-set across opportunity scoping, product/solution management, business development, project management and commercialization gained while working with customers and partners across Europe, Asia and the U.S. Mr. Anand has a unique experience with launching mobile products in developed and emerging markets.
Prior to joining VeriFone in 2014, Mr. Anand served as the Global Director of Product Management for Digital and Mobile Payments at Citi Enterprise Payments group where as Chief Product Officer he drove product strategy, road-map, business development, and product development and user experience of Citi’s Mobile Wallet for mobile payments (NFC and remote payments), location-based contextual mobile offers, loyalty cards, mobile coupons and mobile ticketing to deliver game-changing innovation to market by listening to customers, learning from competitors, and cultivating an inspired and motivated team.
Prior to Citi, Mr. Anand served as the Director of Mobile Financial Services at Nokia and ran the company’s Technology Strategy and Partnerships to develop and deliver mobile payments, mobile banking and other mobile financial services such as remittances, bill payments, mobile stored value accounts and mobile pre-paid to the under-banked in the emerging markets.
Mr. Anand holds an MBA from Duke University, a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University, and a bachelor of science in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Guru Nanak Dev University in India.