Speaker : Salim Ismail

CEO and co-founder, PubSub

Salim Ismail, CEO and co-founder, brings to the company a combination of technology expertise, general management and several years of successful entrepreneurial experience.

Salim started his career as a software engineer with CSC Europe, where he spent five years building large-scale database applications for blue chip companies. He then joined ITIM Associates, a boutique consulting firm headquartered in London, as a business and technology strategy consultant. For five years, he provided consulting expertise to senior management at the largest companies in Europe, and led several large projects for companies like Philips NV, NatWest Bank, Europcar, Whitbread, Carlson WagonLit and the UK Home Office.

In 1999, after setting up ITIM's practice in France, Salim left consulting and became the VP-Operations of Toronto-based Nitromedia Communications, a 20-person Internet multimedia company, doubled the size of the company and helped raise a $1m angel round of financing. Subsequently he moved to New York City where he became COO of New York Business Forums, a company conducting educational and networking seminars for VCs and private equity executives.

Salim then left and founded the New York Grant Company in April 2002, which in its first year attracted over 400 clients and delivered over $12 million of federal grants to the local economy. The company was built solely on cashflow, received innumerable accolades, is thriving and was successfully handed in September 2002 to Ann Kayman, former SVP of the NYC Economic Development Corporation under Mayor Giuliani.

In 2001, Salim was presented with a New York City Award of Recognition by the Giuliani Administration. He has spoken at several conferences and was recently nominated by Crain's magazine for New York City's 2003 "Top 40 under 40" list of most influential businesspeople.

He has traveled extensively, has lived and worked in eight different countries, speaks 2.75 languages and has an honors degree in theoretical physics and computing from the University of Waterloo near Toronto, Canada.