The Leadership Team
Digital Air Strike’s dynamic team includes professionals with decades of experience in building, leading and creating market value in managed service and SaaS companies, and extensive automotive marketing, social and digital media sector expertise.
Alexi Venneri
Co-founder & CEO
Alexi Venneri is the Co-founder and CEO of DAS Technology, the largest automotive Customer Data and Experience Platform (CDXP) company. A pioneer in digital response, social media technology, and online reputation management, DAS Technology increases consumer response and lead conversions for over 7,800 businesses and OEMs by leveraging patented AI-powered digital technology.
The company has 160 employees with three offices nationwide and has been named on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies list, an Inc. Power Partner, and a Best Workplace by Fortune. DAS Technology has won over 120 awards in the past ten years, including six coveted Dealers’ Choice Awards, receiving more than any other company in New Vehicle Leads, Digital Marketing, Mobile Media, Social Media Management, Reputation Management, and Video Messaging.
Before co-founding DAS Technology, Alexi’s prior positions include President of Auto Media/Blue Flame 6 (originally part of The Van Tuyl Automotive Group, now part of Berkshire Hathaway); VP of Marketing, PR & Investor Relations at Dealertrack (now part of Cox Automotive); CMO at Who’s Calling; Director of Marketing for Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners; and Director of Sales & Marketing at Clipper Transportation. Venneri is an accomplished public speaker and author of the New York Times best-selling book Balls! Six Rules for Winning Today’s Business Game.
In 2022, Alexi was honored as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, a Titan 100, an AZ Business Leaders’ Influential Woman, one of the 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders to Follow in 2022, and received Auto Remarketing’s Women in Retail Award. She has also received the Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Award, was named the Innovator of the Year by the American Business Awards, was awarded the Arizona Top Technology Executive of the Year Award, and was named one of the Most Influential Women in Arizona.
Alexi has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Marketing and Administration from the University of Calgary. She supports numerous charitable organizations, selecting one or more each month while working closely with ARME and Beagle Freedom Project, nonprofit organizations that rescue and rehabilitate animals.
Michael Pordon
Chief Financial Officer
Michael Pordon has a diverse accounting background, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining Digital Air Strike, Mike spent nine years with Varian, Inc. holding various divisional finance roles and was instrumental in the acquisitions of Magnex Scientific and Oxford Diffraction, and the $1.5 billion sale/integration of Varian Inc. to Agilent Technologies. He also spent six years with Etec Systems, Inc. where he held various corporate finance roles, participated in several acquisitions, and culminated in Etec’s $1.8 billion sale/integration to Applied Materials. Mike started his career at KPMG in public accounting where he led both tax and audit engagements for a diverse client base of publicly traded and privately held entities.
Mike holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from San Francisco State University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Jason Barrie
Chief Operating Officer
Jason Barrie has over 20 years of marketing technology and product experience, with most of that time spent in the automotive industry. He leads Digital Air Strike’s strategy, product management, and market development as well as being part of the M&A team. Prior to joining Digital Air Strike, Jason co-founded and ran technology start-up Carmatic, helping connect shoppers to dealerships leveraging a fully online concierge buying model. Jason also spent 16 years at Dealertrack and Cox Automotive leading the Dealertrack dealer F&I (finance and insurance) team as well as additional roles in marketing and operations.
Jason has a Bachelor of Science from Miami University in Speech Communications and Public Relations with a marketing focus. He was recently selected as one of AutoRemarketing’s Power 300 leaders in the automotive industry. In his free time, Jason enjoys volunteering for the Syosset Soccer Club.
Dave Venneri
Chief Revenue Officer
Over his 30-year career, Dave Venneri has helped grow revenue at numerous technology startups and brings a wealth of leadership to the Digital Air Strike sales and business development teams. Prior to joining Digital Air Strike as Chief Revenue Officer, Dave was Vice President of Inside Sales at G/O Digital (online division of publicly traded Gannett Co., Inc.) and held senior sales leadership positions at multiple technology companies including LivingSocial, Yodle, Intava and Who’s Calling. In addition to years of SMB technology experience, Dave also served in sales and marketing roles at the Seattle Mariners, Cutter & Buck and Cutters Gloves.
Dave has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Washington and is a graduate of numerous sales and leadership training programs including the world-renowned Pacific Institute.
Deke Keating
Chief People Officer
Deke Keating has been a leader in developing and deploying technology solutions across many diverse industries for over 20 years at companies including Accenture, Siebel Systems and Zilliant. During his tenure at those organizations, he successfully led deployment teams and clients through implementations of accounting, HRMS, ERP, CRM, SEM and pricing systems at many Fortune 500 companies and large government institutions. Deke brings his passion for aligning technology, people, and process to his current role as Chief People Officer where he focuses on bringing the best people into Digital Air Strike and developing the culture and tools to enable them to be wildly successful.
Deke graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and added an MBA from the University of California, Davis. Deke is a Senior Certified Professional from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and a Project Management Professional from the Project Management Institute.
Phil Valachi
SVP, Operations & Client Success
Phil has over 20 years of operational and client services experience, with the bulk of that time spent in the automotive industry. In his role as SVP, Operations and Client Success, Phil is responsible for ensuring Digital Air Strike’s operational and account management teams execute in a manner that improves client retention and consumer experience, ensures our clients realize the full value of DAS solutions, while improving work force efficiencies. In addition, Phil and the departments he oversees are active participants in the DAS solutions strategy ensuring DAS services and/or technology support clients while also increasing product margins and corporate profitability.
Prior to joining Digital Air Strike, Phil spent over 11 years at Dealertrack where he led the Operations and Account Management teams for Sales and F&I Solutions, Digital Retailing Solutions & Inventory Management. He also spent time at GSM and NCC, where he oversaw client success and operations teams, building new customer success models and scalable operations.
Phil has a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the College of Staten Island.
Teresa Bordenet
Senior Vice President of Enterprise Partnerships
Teresa Bordenet is the Senior Vice President of Enterprise Partnerships at Digital Air Strike. She has over 20 years of experience working in automotive technology including holding senior leadership positions at Who’s Calling, MarketView360, AdReady, Art Technology Group, PureCars and Car Wars. Teresa has led several Sales, Business Development, and Account Management teams with a focus on Digital Advertising, Telecommunications Systems, and SaaS sales. Teresa is responsible for developing and managing our OEM and Enterprise Programs.
Teresa is passionate about leveraging innovative CX technology to help businesses drive revenue and with a focus on improving communication with consumers. She is a native of the Pacific Northwest and lives in Scottsdale. Teresa loves to travel, wake surf, cook, and spend time with her family. Teresa has an AAS degree and is a certified facilitator of leadership training with The Pacific Institute.
Ranbir Samra
SVP, Technology
Ranbir Samra has been leading technology organizations for over 20 years, with diverse experiences across multiple functions focusing on SaaS, Customer Experience technologies and data analytics. At Digital Air Strike, Ranbir is focused on technology strategy as well as leading Product Engineering, Data and Analytics, Cloud Computing and Technology Operations. Prior to joining Digital Air Strike, Ranbir has held technology leadership roles at Commonspirit Health, a leading healthcare provider, American Express, Honeywell as well as Novell Consulting.
Ranbir holds a master’s degree in business administration (management information systems) from the University of South Dakota along with a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Panjab Agril University. He is an avid ski and snowboard enthusiast who also loves to travel and explore the outdoors. When not on a powdery mountain, he enjoys road tripping to the many places on his bucket list.