With public voting closed on the Create Your Opportunity Contest, now is the time to give our panel of judges a proper introduction. When we decided to launch the pitch competition, we knew our judges would need to be the cream of the crop! We are so proud of the team of judges we have gathered.  Our judges' talents business, venture capital and digital strategy so I think we really outdid ourselves, if I do say so myself! 

Without further ado, meet our illustrious eight judges!

Erin Byrne is the Chief Engagement Officer for Grey Healthcare Group, a global healthcare communication company that works with companies to build world-class healthcare, pharmaceutical and wellness brands. Erin has 18 years of new media experience spanning online strategy and research, social media, online advocacy, marketing communications, design/development, word-of-mouth marketing and interactive advertising. Erin’s client work has included such notable organizations as the United States Treasury Department, Transitions Optical, Hormel Foods, McDonald’s Corporation and Citibank. Erin’s work has been recognized with dozens of digital awards and she is a frequent guest speaker at digital marketing and communications conferences and events.

Next is Tim Kelly, Network Solutions CEO. Tim Kelly joined Network Solutions as President in April 2009. As Chief Executive Officer, Kelly provides the overall strategic direction for the company and its 900+ employees, who are focused on helping small businesses establish an online presence and market their products and services through the Internet. Tim brings strong marketing expertise, broad operational acumen, and deep experience around the customer, which makes him uniquely qualified to lead Network Solutions. Prior to joining Network Solutions, Tim enjoyed a career that spanned twelve years with Sprint Corporation and Sprint/Nextel Corporation.

Another judge is Dave McClure. Dave likes to hang out with entrepreneurs, and occasionally help or invest in their startups if they let him. Dave has been geeking out in Silicon Valley for over twenty years, and has worked with companies such as PayPal, Mint, Founders Fund, Facebook, LinkedIn, SlideShare, Twilio, Simply Hired, O'Reilly Media, Intel, & Microsoft. Many years ago he used to do real work like coding or marketing or running conferences, but these days he mostly does useless stuff like sending lots of email, blogging, and hanging out on Facebook and Twitter. Dave also likes to play ultimate frisbee when his knees don't hurt.

Anthony Pappas is the President and Founder of Pappas Group, a full service creative agency in the Washington, DC area. Prior to starting Pappas Group in 2003, Anthony held the position of Senior Vice President/Executive Creative Director of Proxicom’s Brand & Experience Group. During this seven-year tenure, he was responsible for leading, developing and executing creative strategy and interactive marketing/design initiatives for Proxicom’s global client roster. Anthony’s experience and knowledge has earned him a longstanding reputation as a branding expert; he is a frequent speaker on the topic.  His column, entitled “Branding – the bottom line,” can be found monthly in the Washington Business Journal.

Next is Alberto Pardo, Colombian, received his engineering degree from the Javeriana University, holds an MBA and a masters degree in Maketing Management. Alberto held marketing roles in several multinational companies such as Renault, Varta, and Honeywell, untill 1999 when he decided to join the Internets Entrepreneurial Movement. He became Colombia's general manger for e-commerce site www.deremate.com, where he played an integral role in marketing and development of multiple markets. In 2006, he founded BEA Digital, a company that provides online marketing services in 5 countries throughout the Latin American region. In 2008 he became the President for the Colombian Chamber of eCommerce, the leading organization for e-commerce related activities in the country.

Peter Prestipino is the Editor-In-Chief of Website Magazine, a print and online trade publication for Internet business professionals focusing on search engine optimization, online advertising, online marketing, Web design and application development.

Prestipino is a long-time Internet marketer with over ten years of experience in Internet publishing and advertising management.

Naval Ravikant is an entrepreneur and angel investor – and a co-author of the popular site Venture Hacks, which educates entrepreneurs onfundraising, and via AngelList, helps them raise money. Previously Naval was a founder and CEO of Vast.com (a large white label classifieds marketplace), co-founder and CEO of Epinions.com (went public as part of Shopping.com); and a co-founder at Genoa Corp (which was acquired by Finisar)

Naval was recently profiled by Business Week Magazine in a feature story about the world’s top ranked angel investors in technology today. To learn more about Naval, please visit StartupBoy.com and VentureHacks.com

Finally, last but not least is Matias de Tezanos is the CEO of Healthcare.com and an Internet entrepreneur. At age 21 founded online hotel reservation site Hoteles.com which is now Expedia's leading hotel reservation site targeting Spanish speaking Internet users. At age 23 co-founded ClickDiario.com Network, a company that operates as an Internet advertising website representation company. In 2005 ClickDiario.com Network was ranked by ComScore Inc. the leading ad-network in Latin America reaching 6 out of every 10 Spanish speaking Internet users. As of June 26, 2007, ClickDiario Network Internet Corp. operates as a subsidiary of Fox International Channels, Inc. In 2007 founded Healthcare.com Inc., an Internet search company reaching millions of consumers searching for health insurance every month. Honored by the world economic forum as a Young Global Leader in 2009, at the age of 29. Guest speaker in international internet marketing events, business schools and universities.

To our panel, I want to say Thank you so much for your investment and time in .CO Internet and the pitch contest. We appreciate your investment in the future of business and the wisdom you will expound in your deliberations!

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You can learn more about the Create Your Opportunity Contest, offering those with big ideas a chance to win $50,000 and the perfect .CO domain name to build it on at www.Pitch.co!