Meet our team
Joe DePiano
Business Development Representative
Joe is a Graduate of Temple University. He comes from a software sales background. Most recently he helping implement the Salesforce technology suite for a SaaS project management platform company as the size of the company increased by multiples. Through a strategic and consultative approach, Joe generated business that scaled the company to a competitive entity in the marketplace.
Joe majored in Literature and is an avid reader and writer. He has also written a full feature-length film along with a collection of stories, poems and vignettes. His hope is to grow a more sustainable society through awareness and action.
Steve Martin
DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING
Steve is driven by unrelenting curiosity and the fun of creating new technologies. His background in structural engineering led him to a twenty-year career building software systems focused on the virtualization of entire industries. Steve specializes in designing products built on BIM, CAD, GIS, IoT, and visualization technologies to address needs in the engineering, construction and operations lifecycle. Notable solutions he has delivered include web-based 2D and 3D asset management integrations that enabled data-driven exploration and reporting for floor plans and building systems.Prior to Sapient, Steve established and oversaw the operations of a technology consulting division where he built and led a team of developers to meet the diverse needs of clients from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Steve is a lifelong learner who spends his free time listening to technology podcasts at the grocery, turning his old house into a smart home, and playing Minecraft with his kids.
Vanessa Achoy
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
Vanessa is a recent graduate from Vassar College, where she majored in neuroscience and behavior. She is drawn to the computational side of neuroscience and the applications of neural networks and AI to the field. Prior to joining Sapient, she worked as an REU intern in the Murray Lab at Yale University creating variational autoencoders to analyze fMRI data, and did research in her final year at Vassar on information and aesthetics using masked autoencoders for distribution information. Vanessa is a lover of neural networks, coding, cats, playing music, and Magic: The Gathering. She hopes to eventually find a way to integrate them all.
Scott Pickard
SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER
Scott brings fifteen years of experience designing and developing software systems and leading development teams for a variety of industries including defense, finance, bioinformatics and ed-tech. Most recently he lead development teams in creating the Frontline Insights Platform, an integrated suite of SaaS products for K-12 school district administration.Scott is an expert in building scalable distributed systems and service-oriented architecture. He is a natural problem solver who enjoys collaborating with people of diverse skill sets to create technology that addresses hard problems.
Claus Pramer
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Claus has several decades of experience in the finance and business management sectors. He has worked in investment management, commodities trading and derivative sales, serving first as a Managing Director in the Commodity and Derivatives Sales Division at BNP Paribas and later as a Managing Director of the Commodity and Derivatives Division at Bank of America Merill Lynch. Claus has also advised several successful mining and technology start-ups.
Martin Koch
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Martin attended The Wharton School of Business, having studied real estate and law. Prior to co-founding Sapient, Martin explored asset management, as well as real estate and criminal law. Early in his career, he rose to the position of General Manager at a financial institution, managing day-to-day operations, while also serving on the Board of Directors. During this time, he developed a passion for solving big problems in sustainability which eventually lead to his decision to focus exclusively on building Sapient.Martin is an avid language learner with a lifelong passion for mountain climbing, having spent nearly a year at high-altitude in the Himalayas including on Mount Everest, Chhukung Ri, and Island Peak.
Majda Fallata
Senior Consultant, MEA Region
Majda, a Saudi Arabia native, graduated with honors in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Digital Systems from the Queen Effat University and is currently undertaking a Masters degree in Engineering Management from the Australian University of Wollongong. She is a Product Marketing Engineer working in consultancy coverage and HVAC System Design & Innovation at a multinational firm where she covers the MENA region. In her spare time, she is a passionate artist with several of her paintings displayed at exhibitions across Saudi Arabia. She is a language enthusiast who enjoys the thrills of self teaching new languages. Also, she has strong involvement in programs promoting women empowerment amongst Arab women.
David Solomon
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
David has over 20 years of experience of bringing technology innovation to market across multiple industries. In his role, David is responsible for driving Sapient's global demand, profitable growth, scalable sales operations, and strategic partnerships. For the prior 4 years, David was the Chief Revenue Officer at INTURN, a SaaS B2B company that delivers inventory marketplace liquidity; and 4 years prior to that, he was at eBay Inc, leading Enterprise Business Development that provided innovative solutions from PayPal, Marketplace, and eBay Enterprises. Additionally, he led sales, corporate development, payments, BD operations/finance at GSI Commerce for almost 10 years. David also held positions as an investment banker, owner of a manufacturing business, and an aerospace engineer. He holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. In his spare time, he enjoys playing keeper for a few soccer teams and watching his daughter play lacrosse at GWU.
Sam Parks
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Sam is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania in applied physics with research interests in quantum computation and quantum information technology. His experience began in the field of nanotechnology and nanofabrication as a scientist at the Singh Center for Nanotechnology and extends to the field of quantum engineering and computation at the University of Pennsylvania's Quantum Engineering Laboratory as a former applied physics PhD student. While his education includes extensive work in mathematics and computer science, he now develops the core of Sapient's technology suite.Sam is a Sophia International Scholar, Reagan Fellow, and a recipient of the UPenn Scholar grant. Recently, Sam has spoken at regional eco-engineering and sustainability initiative conferences to inspire his generation of engineers and innovators to collaborate in a unified effort to integrate previously disconnected fields of science into sustainable technology.
Hoyt Hudson
SENIOR ENERGY ANALYST
Hoyt is a cleantech, energy, and sustainability expert with over 20 years of experience in building and growing innovative companies. Hoyt founded Mainstay Energy, his clean energy development and project advisory, in 2003 and has serviced clients ranging from start-ups to the Fortune 500 in projects ranging from energy efficiency to renewable energy to fossil fuel decarbonization. Hoyt brings a broad skillset and comprehensive approach to sustainability, with expertise in strategy, analytics, regulatory compliance, project finance, and information technology. Prior to his work in energy, he was a successful entrepreneur who founded InterAccess, a local Internet service provider and grew it into one of the most successful ISPs and Data CLECs in the Midwest, earning a spot in the Inc. 500. Hoyt holds a B.S. in Applied Physics from the California Institute of Technology. In his spare time, he is an amateur theoretical physicist and frequent spectator at sporting events for his teenage children.
Rick Holmes
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Marketing and Business Development client engagement expert with over 25 years experience for architecture, planning, interior design and construction firms with a concentration on the college/university and corporate facilities markets. Over the years, Rick has collaborated with firm principals and senior staff and implemented strategies to implement marketing and business development action plans to increase market share.
Chuks Ijeih
Senior Consultant, MEA Region
Chuks has a proven track record of driving growth and setting up strategic partnerships, with specific expertise in the oil and gas industry. Working in Venture Capital, with a focus on MEA oil and gas investments, he became proficient in identifying gaps within the market and mapping out key strategies on how to successfully fill them. Whilst dealing with fossil fuel giants on a day to day basis, he became more aware of and concerned with the impact of business activity on the environment. This led to a new interest in environmental sustainability which he now considers a necessity rather than an option. In his spare time, he is very passionate about African entrepreneurship and empowering young African minds to see opportunities rather than limitations. He is also a lover of horseback riding and thoroughly enjoys writing.
Artem Mariychin
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Artem Mariychin is the Senior Director, Member Data Science at Nike. Artem joined Nike when they acquired Zodiac, a predictive analytics company that he co-founded with Professors Peter Fader and Dan McCarthy. As CEO of Zodiac, he built a company that forecasted individual customer behavior and lifetime value for brands, which allowed Zodiac's clients to improve strategic decision-making and business operations. Previously, Artem was an investor at companies including Goldman Sachs, Highbridge Capital, 3G Capital, and Perry Creek Capital where he focused on identifying investment opportunities arising from industries undergoing structural change, companies facing complex situations, and disruptive technologies. Throughout his career, Artem has focused on combining statistical and quantitative analysis of granular data with deep fundamental research in order to understand investment opportunities, financial strategy, and business operations. Artem graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, completing the Roy Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management. As part of the dual degree program, he received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School with concentrations in Finance, Statistics, and Operations & Information Management and a B.A. with Distinction in Biology from the College of Arts & Sciences.
Aidan Dwyer
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ANALYST
Aidan is a Drexel University student majoring in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Prior to Sapient, he worked for a finance and accounting recruiting agency where he developed creative sourcing strategies to attract and further develop candidates’ interest in roles. Aidan is passionate about renewable energy and holds two patents related to solar energy. He strives to work for a mission driven organization that values sustainability and innovation. In his free time, Aidan plays and writes music with his band.
Patrizio Cernetti
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Patrizio Cernetti is a digital transformation leader driving AI, RPA, analytics and data governance solutions across organizations. He has over 15 years of experience with consulting companies such as SDI and Accenture where he advised both private equity and strategic clients on top-line growth and operational improvement initiatives, with particular focus in the industrial manufacturing sector. He held various positions in the US and Europe identifying and realizing value through data-driven aaS solutions and performance value creation for his clients’ Operations, Supply Chain and Procurement groups. Before starting his business career, he also spent several years in different academic institutions conducting research on material science and nanotechnologies. Patrizio holds M.S. degrees in Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy and University of Minnesota, and an MBA from The Wharton School of Business.
Matt Hoyle
Business Development Representative
Matt attended Rutgers School of Business – Camden, focusing his studies in Finance. Since graduating, Matt has spent his professional career working in IT sales ranging from OEMs, VARs, Data Centers and IaaS, and most recently SaaS while garnering long-lasting relationships with C-level executives. His customer service skills, people-centric nature, and compassionate demeanor have afforded him excellent problem-solving skills. He holds a special place in his heart for the human influence on sustainability and climate change as being an avid snowboarder.
Meghan Moran
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ANALYST
Meghan is a student at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in mechanical engineering with an interest in entrepreneurship. Before coming to Sapient, Meghan worked in the quality department of a global pharmaceutical company, using creative problem solving skills to optimize inventory processes. She is passionate about environmental conservation and is excited to drive sustainability initiatives through Sapient. In her free time, Meghan enjoys spending time outdoors and distance running, as she hopes to soon run her first marathon.
Dave Yeskel
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Dave has nearly 30 years of experience in business operations and program management and is a customer-focused leader in energy conservation and urban tech/smart cities. With diverse experience across private and public sectors, startups, and corporate environments, Dave has served as the program manager for Lockheed Martin and directed the largest commercial real estate energy efficiency outreach program in United States while at HR&A Advisors.
Joost VanderBorgh
MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER
Joost studied physics at the University of Pennsylvania. His interests strongly lie in statistical and applied machine learning. Joost has performed research at the Abdus Salaam International Centre for Theoretical Physics on astrophysics and machine learning. For his projects and initiatives related to machine learning and computer vision, he has been distinguished with a “Penn Year of Big Data Award” and was a PennVention Semi-Finalist.
From the Netherlands, he speaks Dutch, English and is learning Italian. In his free time, he tinkers with Arduino’s and runs marathons.
Alex Flamm
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Alex Flamm is an investment professional working for CarVal Investors, a diversified asset manager. He focused on renewables and sustainability, responsible for corporate, hard asset and special opportunity investments. Prior to joining CarVal in 2014, Mr. Flamm was with Halcyon Asset Management, focused on special situation and distressed investments. Before this, Mr. Flamm was with Goldman Sachs Group and Lehman Brothers. On a personal basis, Alex has invested in early stage companies for over a decade. These investment have spanned fintech / real estate tech, consumer and software/services. He received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with concentrations in Finance and Accounting, obtaining the Beth Schachter Memorial Scholarship Award and graduating summa cum laude.
Derek Horkel
SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER
Derek earned his PhD in physics at University of Washington in Seattle with research in theoretical particle physics, focusing on the strong interactions. In his graduate research and later post-doctoral fellowship at Temple University, Derek simulated the interactions of quarks and gluons on a space-time lattice using supercomputing clusters. These simulation results were used to approximate real world fundamental properties of matter.Before joining Sapient as a software engineer, Derek worked as a machine learning engineer helping develop, run, and deploy models driving phone operations and marketing campaigns. When not learning new programming languages, Derek enjoys going to concerts and reading at home with his wife and two cats.
Dori Gurwitz
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Dori is ranked at the top 5% of global workforce for Innovation and Leadership, and focuses on commercializing through innovation, business development, deal-making with strategic key technology partnerships. Dori has extensive experience working in fast-paced, early-stage, venture-backed entrepreneurial environments as well as established global multinationals. Dori is a Techstars IoT Mentor and Alum, as well as a frequent speaker at key industry events such Mobile World Congress, CES, and NAB.
Ashton McGinnis
Marketing Operations
Ashton comes to Sapient with a decade of B2B marketing experience under her belt. With both agency and client side experience, she has led global marketing strategies in sectors like manufacturing, technology, IT networking, finance and real estate consulting.
Ashton graduated from Franklin University in Lugano, Switzerland with a bachelors in International Marketing. She is an avid traveler having explored nearly 50 countries with no plans of stopping anytime soon.
Mitch Woodhead
Sales Operations
Coming from a technical sales background, Mitch has a passion for entrepreneurship, sales, and operations. While working in the “Silicon Slopes” of Utah, Mitch helped two tech startups grow to the point of multi million dollars in annual revenue. Since then, Mitch started Canyon Business Operations, LLC to improve internal operations at various B2B companies. In his spare time, Mitch enjoys mountain biking and skiing in the Utah mountains, playing golf, and spending time with his wife and 1-year old son.Coming from a technical sales background, Mitch has a passion for entrepreneurship, sales, and operations. While working in the “Silicon Slopes” of Utah, Mitch helped two tech startups grow to the point of multi million dollars in annual revenue. Since then, Mitch started Canyon Business Operations, LLC to improve internal operations at various B2B companies. In his spare time, Mitch enjoys mountain biking and skiing in the Utah mountains, playing golf, and spending time with his wife and 1-year old son.