Executive Team

Ben Fischman has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since September 2005. An original member of the SmartBargains.com startup team, he joined the company as Vice President of Strategic Development in April 2000. Previously, from 1999 to 2000, Ben was the inaugural Entrepreneur-In-Residence at General Catalyst. Ben is the founder of Lids Corporation, a baseball hat and sports cap retailer he established in 1993. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Communications degree from Boston University.

Edward (Ted) McNamara has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since December 2005. Prior to joining SmartBargains.com, Ted served at Cendant as their Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Operations and Administration for the Travel Distribution Services Division. He has also served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Interim Chief Executive Officer at Wright Express, LLC. Ted is a Certified Public Accountant with over eight years of experience with Price Waterhouse.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Ted and his wife and two daughters split their time between Boston and Falmouth, Maine. Ted's favorite bargain so far: the Hi-Tec golf shoes he wears on the back nine. When he isn't golfing, you'll find him skiing, fishing, coaching basketball, or raising money for the United Way. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Providence College.

Mark McWeeny joined SmartBargains.com in 2003, and presently serves as Executive Vice President, General Manager of Smart Bargains. Mark oversees all aspects of SmartBargains.com. Mark was previously Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Development. Before joining the company, Mark was General Manager of Corporate Development for uBid.com. He has also held positions at the Princeton Review and Mercer Management Consulting. Mark received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management with concentrations in Marketing and Finance, and his BA in Political Science from Northwestern University.

Now that the Red Sox have won a World Series, Mark is convinced that his beloved Chicago Cubs are next in line for victory. Mark is the very proud father of three children and enjoys skiing. His favorite SmartBargains.com bargains: anything culinary. "Nothing's as much fun as saving on a great new pan or gadget for my kitchen," he says.

Mark Carleo, our Chief Technology Officer, has 30 years of experience in IT, software development and management, and is also a recognized supply chain leader and entrepreneur. Mark co-founded Celarix (acquired by GXS), an application service provider for supply chain visibility and execution tools. Earlier, he was a partner with CSC Consulting, a large, global professional services organization. Mark has worked with leading companied such as Lowe’s, TJX, Converge, Sharp Electronics, Stride-Rite, Raytheon, FootAction USA, K-BToys and Foster Grant. He has written and spoken extensively on supply chain issues and holds a BS in Business Management from St. Francis College.

Mark is an ex-New Yorker who moved to New England 25 years ago and raised his four children in the Boston area. Known as a "committed gadget junkie," he loves to cook with his family, so he spends a lot of time browsing (and buying) our kitchen bargains.

Shari Shakun, Chief Merchandising Officer, oversees the merchandising organization and provides her off price expertise and management to the team. Shari brings over 17 years of experience at the TJX Companies to her position here. Most recently, she served as Divisional Merchandising Manager of women's knits, sweaters and private label merchandise. Prior to that, Shari managed the women's footwear department through a multi-year period of substantial growth, new store formats, and expanded brands and price points.

A Mets fan who has come to love the Red Sox since moving to Massachusetts, Shari enjoys living in the country with her husband and two cats. She's also a self-professed shoe addict, her prize find being a pair of black Prada boots purchased at their outlet in Florence, Italy. "They have never been worn outside," she says. "I leave them at work and wear them only inside." She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Tufts University.

Cheryl Kaplan, Vice President of Customer Experience, held a unique title in the early days of SmartBargains.com. "As the 'WOW' Buyer joining the company in 2000, my job was to find those unexpected, gotta-have-it deals that originally set SmartBargains.com apart - bargains that made the customer say, 'Wow!'" Since then, Cheryl has been instrumental in defining and executing the company's merchandise programming strategy, and currently oversees the Programming and Customer Experience teams. She joined us from Redrocket.com, a division of MTV Networks. Cheryl's extensive retail background includes experience at The Original Levi's Stores, Filene's, GAP, and The Ozer Group.

Cheryl, a former New Yorker, currently lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two children. Cheryl holds a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Marketing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and still knows a good fashion find when she sees one. "I just bought a Michael Kors wrap dress and Stuart Weitzman suede boots from our store," she says. "They're also at a national specialty store right now... but I paid much less."