Our innovative team is one of the best reasons to choose Ampush. We build best-in-class technology and then our team provides the top knowledge, skills, and level of service.
The Ampush team includes former employees of Google, QuinStreet, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. We are alums of UPenn, Dartmouth, CalTech, Berkeley, UCLA, and Carnegie Mellon. We take what we do very seriously, but not ourselves.
Michael Darwal – General Manager
A two year Ampush veteran, Michael initially joined the team as the Vice President of Finance, eventually expanding his role to oversight of operations, as well as working closely with the Founders to aggressively scale Ampush. Prior to joining the team, Mike worked and consulted for a variety of start-up companies, holding similar positions as head of finance and accounting, and helping to develop financial growth and financing strategies, as well as overseeing system and process implementation. Before venturing into the start-up world, Mike worked in business unit management and SEC reporting for Del Monte Foods, Co., where he played an integral role in the growth of the refrigerated fruit business from a single product line to a $200MM+ business unit and worked with the executive management team in developing quarterly and annual reporting to the board and shareholders. Mike also held a variety of finance and accounting positions with Progressive Insurance, Co. early in his career.
Mike graduated summa cum laude from The Ohio State University’s Max M. Fisher College of Business with a BSBA in Accounting and Management Information Systems.
Mike can be found running, backpacking, riding his motorcycle, cheering for the downtrodden Cleveland sports franchises, and offering an analogy for any situation. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in nearby Akron.
Luc Danziger – Vice President of Product, Monetization, & Optimization
As Ampush’s first employee, Luc immediately gravitated toward the product and analytics side of the business, where he has designed and managed Ampush’s most critical features, doubling product revenues each year as a result. Luc quickly rose to the position of VP of PEO where he currently oversees the Engineering and Optimization departments as well as AcademicEarth.com, a web property that connects life-long learners with a variety of educational content.
Luc graduated from University of California, San Diego with a BS in Management Science.
In his spare time Luc can be found mentoring high school students, debating politics, engaging in random bets, and on the rare occasion of fair weather in San Francisco, hiking and sailing. He was born in Santa Monica, CA and grew up in Redondo Beach.
Erica Steger – Director of Client Strategy
Erica joined Ampush’s Client Strategy team in December 2011 and is responsible for new business origination and client management. Prior to Ampush, Erica was an investment banker in New York with Morgan Stanley and in Sydney, Australia with Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. In these roles Erica managed client relationships at the CFO-level and advised on over $50 billion of cross-border bond deals for clients such as Vodafone, Shell, Westfield, Singapore Telecom, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Erica received her BA in Economics and Anthropology, cum laude, from Dartmouth College in 2006.
In her spare time Erica can be found at the gym, humble-bragging about something she “read recently,” updating her online dating profile(s), or practicing one liners at Luc’s expense. Erica was born in New York City and raised in the Hudson Valley.
Stewart Kuhlo – Vice President of Strategy & Partners
Among the first ten employees at Ampush, Stewart joined the team in the summer of 2010 to build out a small partners business, and eventually expanded his role to include oversight of all external media channels and serve as in-house counsel to the organization. Prior to joining Ampush, Stewart worked as an associate attorney for a small law practice in Chicago’s River North district, where he assisted on cases ranging from leasehold disputes to trademark infringement actions, and led a seminar on privacy rights in the context of social media.
Stewart graduated from The John Marshall Law School with a juris doctor, and The University of Missouri – Columbia’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, cum laude, with a BSBA in Marketing.
Stewart can be found hunting through record bins for vinyl and cassettes at (disappearing) music shops, attending local concerts, running, and passionately following his hometown sports team, the St. Louis Cardinals.
Koby Simantob – Director of Online Media
Koby joined Ampush in October 2011 to oversee the expansion of new media channels, but quickly rose through the ranks to take on management of the entire online media team and portfolio by March 2012. Before joining Ampush, Koby spent three years working at ZS Associates, a management consulting firm focused on the healthcare industry, with clients ranging from the ten largest pharmaceutical companies in the space to pre-product healthcare start-ups. His experience included spearheading projects intended to solve clients’ key sales and marketing issues.
Koby graduated from The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, cum laude, with a BBA concentration in Strategy.
Koby loves to travel, taste and cook different kinds of food, and root for his favorite sports teams – the Michigan Wolverines, San Francisco 49ers, and Chicago Bulls. He was born in San Diego, California.
If you’d like to join our team, please check out our open positions.