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[Urbi_et_Orbi]

For the record, below is what appeared on John Witchel's bio page as part of the Prosper/About Us.

Management Team


John Witchel
Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder

Mr. Witchel is a veteran entrepreneur whose expertise in massively scaleable architectures and high-performance computing helped spawn a number of successful start-up companies.

As a technology visionary, he is responsible for the breakthrough phenomenon of FlashMob Supercomputing, a massive computing collaboration designed to make supercomputing available to the masses.

Prior to co-founding Prosper, Mr. Witchel developed BrowserCam, a patent-pending online tool for testing the cross-browser compatibility of websites. He was also CEO and co-founder of Red Gorilla, a pioneer in online application syndication. Prior to Red Gorilla, he founded XCom Corporation, a leading web consultancy that was acquired by USWeb/CKS, where Mr. Witchel served as a managing partner.

He holds a M.S. from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in political science from Stanford University. He is a former American record holder and NCAA champion in swimming.

[Urbi_et_Orbi]

Tom Pigoski's "About Us" bio:

Thomas Pigoski
Chief Security Officer

As Chief Security Officer, Mr. Pigoski oversees the strategic development and operation of Prosper's Information Security and Fraud Prevention systems. He is responsible for insuring the privacy of customer data and the safety of the marketplace.

Prior to joining Prosper, Mr. Pigoski was an information security consultant for AMI and Ecast Incorporated where he was responsible for the development and operations of secure, internet-based music delivery systems. Prior to that, he developed and managed systems and network infrastructure for Fedex, Rockwell, and several start-up companies.

Mr Pigoski holds a BS from Stanford University and an MS from University of Florida. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and a member of ISSA, ASIS, and the High Technology Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA).

[Urbi_et_Orbi]

http://blog.prosper.com/2008/08/14/site-update-%e2%80%93-august-14-2008/#comments

Sadly, John has decided to leave the company to pursue other passions.

John is an entrepreneur at heart and has started several successful companies. Creating startups is something he is very passionate about. Comfortable that Prosper was in capable hands, John felt it was a good time to step down to develop other ideas he has.

Chris Denend, who has served as Prosper’s Vice President of Engineering for the last three years, has taken John’s place as CTO.

Separately, Tom Pigoski is currently on family leave; however, Prosper has recently bolstered its security and fraud team and it is in highly capable hands.

[bamalucky]

John is an entrepreneur at heart and has started several successful companies.

Could someone list those?

[Staneslav]

a

[Urbi_et_Orbi]

John is an entrepreneur at heart and has started several successful companies.

Could someone list those?

 

[bamalucky]

Since he's a swimmer,i suggest he try to become an IOC judge

[Urbi_et_Orbi]

Isn't this PR speak for someone got fired?

Yes, this is classic PR-code for someone being fired.  I am also not sure I totally buy the Pigoski explanation.  The fact that someone is taking a family-leave is hardly reason to scrub them from the web site.

[jmathree]

http://www.lendingstats.com/lenders/jwitchel/loans?sort=originationTime&sortDirection=DESC

He funded 24 loans last month with the last one initiated 7/22/08. 

Did anything earth-shattering happen around the end of last month?

[bamalucky]

http://www.lendingstats.com/lenders/jwitchel/loans?sort=originationTime&sortDirection=DESC

He funded 24 loans last month with the last one initiated 7/22/08. 

Did anything earth-shattering happen around the end of last month?

Just his felony arrest being made public

[Tokyo Joe]

Hmmm...

Y'know... as crazy as it sounds, that felony becoming public might not be as unrelated as it might seem on the surface.  Doesn't the SEC have some say in Prosper's future?  And aren't felonies something that can disqualify you from certain positions under SEC jurisdiction?  Harmless college prank or no, it hasn't been expunged, and the law generally has a dimmer view of certain pranks than the prankster sometimes realizes.  I don't know what the rules are regarding felonies and financial companies, maybe someone would know what to look for? 

Or maybe he forgot to mention it in some paperwork?

Too bad he's not on speaking terms with us; a good blog post from him would probably alleviate what will surely turn into a lot of speculation.

[Mark12547]

as crazy as it sounds, that felony becoming public might not be as unrelated as it might seem on the surface.

I don't think it would be an issue with securities law if he was never found guilty, let alone never charged (to our knowledge) of the felony. Even if he were found guilty, I don't know if it would matter if it were unrelated to the handling of funds or securities.

On the other hand, if Prosper Marketplace, Inc., is attempting to present itself in the best possible light, a felony arrest of one of the founders, even though it was a long time ago, wouldn't help produce a positive image.

If someone knows security laws in this matter, it would be nice if a message is posted so we don't go on with idle speculation about laws we don't understand. 

[regeneration]

For the record, below is what appeared on John Witchel's bio page as part of the Prosper/About Us.

Management Team


John Witchel
Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder

Mr. Witchel is a veteran entrepreneur whose expertise in massively scaleable architectures and high-performance computing helped spawn a number of successful start-up companies.

As a technology visionary, he is responsible for the breakthrough phenomenon of FlashMob Supercomputing, a massive computing collaboration designed to make supercomputing available to the masses.

Prior to co-founding Prosper, Mr. Witchel developed BrowserCam, a patent-pending online tool for testing the cross-browser compatibility of websites. He was also CEO and co-founder of Red Gorilla, a pioneer in online application syndication. Prior to Red Gorilla, he founded XCom Corporation, a leading web consultancy that was acquired by USWeb/CKS, where Mr. Witchel served as a managing partner.

He holds a M.S. from the University of San Francisco and a B.A. in political science from Stanford University. He is a former American record holder and NCAA champion in swimming.

John Witchel’s Education

    *
      University of San Francisco

      BS, Computer Science, December 2004
    *
      Stanford University

      BA, Political Science, 1986 — 1990

      Activities and Societies:
          Swimming

So... either his resume on linkedin.com mistakenly says he got an undergraduate degree instead of a masters degree from USF, or he has lied about his qualifications to run a very complex website from the very beginning.  Which seems more likely?

[christoofar215]

full disconnect. not even on the board

As one of the two co-founders, JW must own a substantial amount of Prosper stock, entitling him to sit on the Board (Board seats are obtained by shareholder election, basically with one vote per share).  For him to give up his Board seat, there must be a huge backstory to his leaving.  I wonder what the quid pro quo was. 

That isn't always the case.

VC companies wield a lot of decision making power.   Many times founders of startups will relinquish a lot of control in exchange for large donations.

Goldman Sachs capital funding for Series D and lower pretty-much insists upon it.

[Fred93]

... as crazy as it sounds, that felony becoming public might not be as unrelated as it might seem on the surface.  Doesn't the SEC have some say in Prosper's future?  And aren't felonies something that can disqualify you from certain positions under SEC jurisdiction?

You guys are excercising fantasy.  An arrest isn't a felony.  In the United States we have this little rule called "innocent until proven guilty".  So, no.