About Us

Rick Parkhill is the founder and Chairman of Poptent. The business concept for Poptent was a result of his many years in the interactive media world and watching his son grow up shooting, editing and producing homemade music videos. Rick recognized early-on that advertisers would have an increasing need for video content and that there was an ever-deepening pool of capable creative talent that was developing outside of agency walls. His vision was to empower that creative community by providing them with real opportunities to demonstrate their skills. Rick gathered friends Neil Perry, Tony Romeo and Richard Bruck to found Poptent in early 2007.

Prior to Poptent, Rick was the founder and CEO of iMedia Communications, the leading information provider and conference producer for interactive media and marketing. iMedia Summits continue to attract leading advertisers, brands, agencies, publishers and vendors throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Rick was a founding executive at Interactive Marketing, Inc. in the mid-‘90s and founded Digitrends Magazine and the popular Camp Interactive events. In 1987, Rick converted a small newsletter he had launched for friends and clients into the first magazine for media and marketing executives. InfoText was a pre-internet publication that covered the emerging Audiotext and Videotext industries.

Rick’s fascination with the evolution of media has driven his career and continues to spark his imagination. An avid surfer, skier, boater and recovering tennis player, Rick loves to spend his time on the water and outdoors with family and friends. He serves on the DMG Worldmedia Board of Governors and is active fundraiser and board member for Pipeline to a Cure, the surfers initiative to end Cystic Fibrosis. He lives in Laguna Niguel with his wife Jeanne, daughter Reilly and nearby children, Andrew and Jennifer.

Andy is a seasoned innovator and entrepreneur within the media and advertising industry. Before joining Poptent, Andy was CMO at WeatherBug, where he led that company’s growth for almost 10 years, as well as President and CMO of KidZui, the Internet for Kids. Through the 1990’s, Jedynak worked for NBC in several capacities, producing television, developing new revenues, and leading efforts to launch several of NBC’s digital media initiatives. Jedynak is also chairman emeritus of the IAB mobile committee.

Before beginning his career in media, Jedynak played professional basketball in Europe.

Prior to Poptent, Neil was a Vice President of Marketing for Monster.com (Maynard, MA), where he oversaw field marketing, national promotions and sponsorships, and the Small and Medium Business marketing team for this online recruitment company.

Neil is also a 23-year veteran of McDonald’s Corporation (Oak Brook, IL), where he last served as Senior Director of National Marketing, in charge of interactive marketing. Under his leadership, McDonald’s adopted a five-year strategic plan for employing the Internet in its marketing mix, and benefited from Neil’s involvement in a groundbreaking cross-media optimization study.

While at McDonald’s, Neil also led the company’s merchandising, field marketing, and new products marketing units.

An avid motorcyclist, Neil also finds time to play golf... poorly.

A former Professor of Global Marketing at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and at London Business School, Tony Romeo has also performed as a strategic and marketing consultant to major consumer goods and Internet companies. During more than 15 years with Unilever, he held key positions in the US and Europe, including serving as head of corporate strategy, as a member of the Management Committee for North America and as founder and chairman of Unilever’s Interactive Brand Center. In 2000 Ad Age named him as one of the top 20 interactive marketing executives in America.

Mark most recently served as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Sales and Sales Operations for CareFusion San Diego CA, a global corporation serving the health care industry. At CareFusion, he was responsible for providing leadership and oversight of nine business unit sales teams and sales support departments. Prior to that, Mr. Bruns served in the roles of Senior Vice President and Group Vice President for Cardinal Health Dublin Ohio, a $103 billion health care services company. Prior to Cardinal Health, Mr. Bruns played a key role in the transfomation of Alaris Medical Systems San Diego, CA into an IV medication safety and infusion therapy systems business.

Lucy brings over 18 years of finance and management experience to Poptent as the Chief Finance Officer from tenures at world-renowned organizations such as the London Stock Exchange and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Concurrently working with Poptent, Lucy acts as a part time CFO at two other Silicon Valley venture backed start ups. Prior to joining Poptent, Lucy was the part-time CFO of WeatherBill Inc, now The Climate Corporation, CFO at Trovix (sold to Monster Worldwide), CFO at Piczo (sold to Stardoll), CFO and MD Europe Lexit Financial Group and CFO/COO First Tuesday. Lucy holds a Bachelor in Science in Commerce from Santa Clara University and holds her CPA (California).

Prior to joining Poptent, David served as Manager of Ticket Sales for the Los Angeles Dodgers, advising on strategy and marketing of all ticket packages and revenue offerings. Within the sports and entertainment industry, Mann has also worked with the Anaheim Angeles, Anaheim Ducks, Oakland Raiders and NASCAR. Prior to his sports career he worked in the area of finance. Mann developed a strong background in the finance industry with Lehman Brothers.

When not working David enjoys being outdoors surfing, running & being on the water. He and his wife Joanna reside in Laguna Niguel with their children, Tracy (11) and Joshie (6).

Hi Everyone,
I am Christa Crowe, VP of Sales here at Poptent. My career began in Memphis TN (a long, long, time ago) where I sold radio advertising on SportsPlus 790 WMC, home of the University of Memphis football and basketball radio program. I had a wonderful time selling client sponsorships to our tailgates and "in broadcast" advertising... plus I went to most sporting events for free. Go Tigers! Eventually I was afforded the opportunity to move to SoCal for work, and I have been here ever since. Just prior to Poptent, I spent several years at Careerbuilder.com selling recruitment services and solutions into National Accounts ranging from defense contracts to food service providers. Then I was hit with the Lucky Stick when Poptent found me. I started on my birthday, September 9th, in 2009 and have loved every second of it. Since starting, I have hired 8 new reps across the country and have built an amazing team... the best team. I am a huge animal lover, dogs in particular. I would prefer to do anything and everything outside... especially exercise. I am a big fan of classic rock. To this day, I will often find myself awake at 2am watching Poptent video submissions. We have an amazingly talented community that is constantly impressing me with their creativity... I am happy to be a part of such a wonderful company that cares deeply about both our clients and our community.

Tim most recently served as the Director of Technology for the Philadelphia office of Digitas, Inc. an interactive services company whose fortune 100 clientele demanded both technical and creative excellence. Prior to Digitas, Tim spent time in various Philadelphia interactive agencies helping to define the interactive landscape, working with names such as: Pfizer, Discovery Channel, Universal Studios, AstraZeneca, Merrill Lynch etc.