Management Bios

Undoubtedly our greatest strength is our people. Some of our Seattle-based managers have been friends since childhood; others have worked together for years - creating a highly cohesive and effective team. Over the years, we have grown together and have shaped Zango into what it is now - a successful, innovative, and profitable online media company.

Keith Smith, Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer

Keith Smith has served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) since co-founding Zango in 1999. Under his leadership and Content Economy vision, Zango has grown to become the leading desktop advertising company in the world with an International presence, including six offices in four countries. With a focus on results, Keith has guided Zango to a lengthy track record of profitability. Zango recently completed its 26th consecutive quarter of operating profits. During his tenure at Zango, Keith has raised more than $150 million in debt and equity financing and successfully integrated five mergers and acquisitions. In addition to Zango, Keith’s background in both technology development and financial services, combined with his entrepreneurial experience, has helped him start three companies, including Cyber Mortgage, Inc., an online mortgage company. After selling the company to IndyMac, he stayed on board as Vice President of the e-Commerce division of LoanWorks, a direct and online mortgage lender. Before starting Cyber Mortgage, Keith held positions at Continental Savings Bank (now HomeStreet Bank) in Seattle and at Countrywide Funding Corporation. Currently, he serves as a member of the board of directors at the Washington Technology Industry Association, the largest statewide association of technology companies and executives in the world.

Jamie Miller, Chief Financial Officer

Jamie Miller brings more than 14 years of chief financial officer (CFO) and C-level operational experience to Zango. Most recently, he served as chief operating officer (COO) and CFO of ePartners, a position he had held since 2003. ePartners is Microsoft’s largest and most successful MBS (Microsoft Business Solutions) partner in the U.S. Previously, Jamie co-founded and was COO and CFO of thePlatform, a digital media software solution acquired by Comcast in 2006. In addition, he was COO and CFO of iCat, an electronic commerce software and services company. In 1998, he was promoted to CEO of iCat and in 1999 led and managed the company’s acquisition by Intel. Jamie has led seven private and public mergers and acquisition activities and raised more than $100 million of investment capital during his career. He began his career in the San Francisco financial community with stints at Wells Fargo, Union Bank of California and Washington Capital. Jamie holds a master’s degree in business administration from Penn State University and a bachelor’s degree in economics and literature from the University of Colorado.

Ken McGraw, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer

Ken McGraw leads the company's Law and Corporate Affairs Department and is responsible for all legal and corporate work, as well as government, industry, and community affairs. He is the company's chief compliance officer, and is responsible for all aspects of online advertising and consumer privacy practices. Ken brings nearly 20 years of experience counseling high technology companies, most recently as vice president and general counsel for WatchMark Corp., where he established the company's legal department while managing all government, legal and corporate affairs. Previously, Ken was the general counsel and chief legal officer at Vitessa Corporation and at Visio Corporation (now Microsoft). He also practiced law at Perkins Coie LLP, the largest law firm based in the Pacific Northwest. Ken received his Bachelor’s of Arts and his Bachelor’s of Science, magna cum laude, from Brown University, and his Juris Doctorate and Master’s of Business Administration from Cornell University.

Rip Warendorf, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales

Rip Warendorf brings nearly 20 years of relevant sales and digital media experience to his post as senior vice president of worldwide sales. Most recently, he opened and led the Seattle office of Marketing Drive Worldwide, a full-service promotional marketing agency and a division of Draftfcb, one of the world’s leading advertising and marketing agencies. Prior to Marketing Drive, Rip held senior positions with digital media companies Corbis, Bill Gates’ digital image licensing company, iVillage and FizzyLab. He also ran his own management consulting and outsourced business development services firm, where his clients included Microsoft, m-Qube, FCB Seattle, Qpass and Zango, among others. Rip also spent eight years with The New York Times Company, leading sales and marketing for the company’s year-round mountain sports magazine, Snow Country. Rips holds bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and French from the University of Vermont.

Jeff Malek, Co-founder, Vice President of Global Product Technology

Jeff Malek co-founded Zango in 1999 and is presently the company’s Vice President of Engineering. Over the years, Jeff has held various roles with the company including serving as Chief Client Architect and Vice President of Product Development. While the company was still in its infancy, Jeff authored and tested the first versions of the company’s desktop software, and aided in the development of the middle tier and backend systems that supported it. Since then, his responsibilities have included the direction of the Project Management, Web Development, Internal Systems Development, Quality Assurance, Desktop Applications Development, and Product Management teams both locally and in the company’s remote offices. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado and suspended work towards an Masters in Computer Science at the University of Southern Oregon in order to devote himself full-time to Zango.

Val Sanford, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management

Val Sanford is a seasoned technology professional, with more than a dozen years in Internet-based companies. She is responsible for Zango’s corporate marketing and product strategy. Val and her team deliver product solutions that meet our consumer and partner needs and bring those to market. Val has successfully led business and operations teams in e-commerce, online media and business-to-business services. She has developed products and solutions for mid-sized and large enterprise corporations and has a passion for finding opportunities in new and emerging markets. Previously, Val was vice president of products at Singlestep Technologies and vice president of business operations at Network Commerce. Early in her career, she worked at Foote Cone & Belding Direct in Los Angeles. She holds a bachelor’s of arts from Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington and is a graduate of the Pivotal Product Marketing Software Product Management Intensive.

Neal Freeland, Vice President of Online Marketing

Neal Freeland is responsible for leading online marketing efforts to build a large, loyal and global consumer audience for Zango. He sets the strategy and manages the teams that execute display advertising, SEM and SEO, partner marketing, and engagement programs. He also oversees the development of Zango’s growing catalog of free, sought-after online content, including videos, games, tool and utilities, and more. Most recently, he served as director of Live Search at Microsoft, where he helped launch the new search engine brand and managed more than $100 million marketing budget in support of the release. During Neal’s five years at Microsoft, he held a number of positions within MSN, Windows Live and Live Search. Neal has also spent time at both The Boston Consulting Group and Siebel Systems. He earned a master’s of business administration with a focus on marketing, strategy and finance from Northwestern University in 2002. Previously, Neal spent seven years as an officer in the U.S. Navy and earned a bachelor's degree in political science and master’s degree in sociology from Stanford University.