| Karen
Chakmakian is a focused, results-oriented and highly
productive marketing professional with a passion for
kick-starting new ventures. She has more than fifteen
years of experience providing leadership and direction
to early-stage companies; her strengths are marketing
strategy and corporate communications. She worked
as a consultant from September 2000 until August 2006,
when she joined Fuzz
fulltime as VP Marketing.
Current Focus
Although she has dedicated most of her career
to working with technology companies, during her time
consulting, Karen began to shift her focus away from
technology, and towards areas of deeper personal interest,
including wine, music and the nonprofit sector. She
continues to serve on the board of directors for Little
Kids Rock, a rapidly growing nonprofit that brings
an incredible music program and free instruments into
the public schools that have lost their music programs
to budget cuts. Her work with Fuzz
brings her back into the tech sector and allows her
to help artists achieve financial and creative independence.
Pursuing Her Dreams
Karen took a travel break from September 1999 to September
2000 to pursue her dream of backpacking through various
parts of the world. She kept a detailed journal and
wrote travelogues
throughout this adventure and she was interviewed
for a USA Today cover story, by National Geographic
Television, and was profiled in Fast
Company magazine.
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An Entrepreneur in the Internet Arena
Karen was a founder of iPass
Inc., which solves the complex issues of mobile workforces
accessing their corporate networks, email and the Internet
from anywhere in the world. Through an easy-to-use client,
iPass enables secure access via wireless and wireline broadband,
ISDN, dial-up and other access media, over multiple computer
platforms and devices. Karen quickly positioned iPass as
the standard for global Internet roaming and corporate remote
access solutions.
Karen was involved in all aspects of developing and growing
iPass' business in it's first four years of operation. She
co-developed the business model, validated it through market
research, assessed the competitive landscape, identified
potential partners and wrote the business plan. She helped
raise the company's initial funding from top-tier venture
capital firms Accel
Partners, Crosspoint
Ventures and Asia
Pacific Ventures. She also helped recruit a seasoned
executive team, a strong marketing communications team,
and drove worldwide marketing communications, public relations,
demand generation and website development. Through these
efforts iPass achieved rapid growth and became the industry
leader. The company is now public with continued strong,
predictable growth.
Marketing Consultant in Hong Kong
Prior to iPass, Karen lived in Hong Kong where she was a consultant
to International Messaging Associates, a provider of Internet messaging
solutions for business customers. Her work there included market research,
business planning and a new product launch.
Work with Startups in the Semiconductor Industry
Karen's career began in the semiconductor industry; she
drove product marketing and marketing communications for
Ultra Clean Technology, a leading provider of semiconductor
process equipment and services; before that she was an account
manager for WaferNet, a broker of silicon wafers and related
services.
Education
Karen led consulting projects in conjunction with the MBA Consulting
Group at Santa Clara University, where she completed a Masters in Business
Administration in 1992. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology
and a minor in Spanish.
Personal Interests
Karen loves adventure travel, playing the guitar, and drinking
good wine. Her favorite sports are kiteboarding, windsurfing,
snowboarding and skiing, but she also enjoys a number of
others including mountain biking, scuba diving and rock
climbing. Her regular fitness routine includes yoga, and
working out in her home gym.
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