Roost

Greg Slyngstad, Director of Kayak.com
Greg Slyngstad is Director of Kayak.com and is responsible for leading the strategic plan and vision for the company. Prior to his position at Kayak, Greg held various positions at Microsoft including Group Program Manager, Director of Far East Product Strategy and was the founding General Manager of Microsoft Expedia’s group. In 1997, Greg left Microsoft and co-founded VacationSpot.com, which became the leading reservation network for vacation rentals. In 1999, Expedia acquired VacationSpot.com and in 2000 Greg became the Senior Vice President, responsible for the running hotel and vacation package businesses.

Greg left Expedia in 2002 to pursue an eight-month 5,000-mile sailing journey with his wife and two children from Seattle through Panama Canal and the Caribbean. Since returning from his sailing trip in 2003, Greg has been an investor and advisor for multiple Internet start-up companies.

Joel Cutler, Managing Director of General Catalyst Partners
Joel Cutler is the Managing Director of General Catalyst Partners, investing in both new and existing technology businesses. Prior to co-founding General Catalyst Partners, Joel operated numerous businesses focused on leveraging applied technology and high standards of customer care for the travel, information services, specialty retail, consumer direct marketing, and payment processing industries. These businesses include National Leisure Group, one of the largest leisure travel technology and distribution companies in the U.S.; Retail Growth ATM Systems (sold to PNC Bank), a national ATM and interactive network provider; and Starboard Cruise Services (sold to LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Inc.), the operator of more than 300 duty-free retail stores on 100 cruise ships and owner of the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale Airport duty-free stores, where Joel served as Chairman and CEO. Joel also co-founded the company Kayak.com.

Joel serves on several non-profit boards, including: Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, Boston Children’s Hospital Trust and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Joel is a graduate of Colby College and Boston College Law School.

Thomas Gottlieb, Managing Partner of Geolo Capital
Thomas Gottlieb is the Managing Partner of Geolo Capital, responsible for the private equity investment portfolio for the John A. Pritzker family. Thomas has more than 25 years’ experience in banking, real estate development, the hospitality industry and in managing private equity investments in the US and Pacific Rim. Thomas worked in Hong Kong and San Francisco as the Chief Investment Officer and one of the founding partners for the InterPacific Group. 
In 1995, Gottlieb founded and served as the Chief Executive Officer of Mandara Spa, which was sold to The Shiseido Company of Japan and the Steiner Leisure group in 2002. Thomas became Co-Managing Member of Palm Cove Capital, a boutique financial services and investment company. In 2002, he founded The Odyssey Club, one of the first private residence clubs that was later acquired by Exclusive Resorts.

Currently, Thomas serves on the Boards of TotalMove, Exclusive Resorts and Roost. He is also a trustee of The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii and the Board of Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Business Administration of the University of Hawaii.

Howard Wolk, Co-President The Cross Country Group
Howard Wolk is Co-President of The Cross Country Group LLC, a privately held organization composed of several independent, entrepreneurial, technology-enabled service companies. CCG’s main operating companies include Cross Country Automotive Services (roadside assistance and vehicle related services) and Cross Country Home Services (home warranty and service plans). CCG has also invested in TotalMove, Roost and other ventures. Former CCG entities include MoveCentral/Before You Move, First Notice Systems, NorCross Teleservices and eSupportNow.
 
Prior to joining CCG, Howard was an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City and Associate Counsel in the White House during the Clinton Administration. Howard has a B.A. in Intellectual History and a B.S. in Finance from the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. from Columbia Law School and a M.P.A. from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Howard also serves on several non-profit boards in Boston and New York.

Alex Chang, CEO and Co-founder
Alex Chang is CEO and Co-founder of Roost with more than 15 years of experience in the real estate and technology markets. Prior to founding Roost, Alex served as SVP of Technology & Operations of TotalMove, Inc., a free service that supports homebuyers through every step of the moving and real estate process. Before joining TotalMove, Alex was Senior Director of Services for Walmart.com, where he oversaw all consumer service business units. In 1997, Alex co-founded GetawayZone, an online vacation rental marketplace, which merged with VacationSpot and was acquired by Expedia in 2000.

As a homeowner, amateur real estate investor and home-browsing enthusiast, Alex is personally vested in creating an easier way for people to search, browse and discover their new home.

Alex holds an MBA from University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.