Management Team

Daniel Blackman, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer

Daniel Blackman has built a career working in new media development, including content distribution, advertising, and video production. Before Howcast, Daniel worked at Google building strategic content relationships for both the YouTube and Google Video teams. Prior to Google, Daniel was the General Manager, VP at Barnes&Noble.com, overseeing the merchandising, editorial, and production operations. Earlier at HarperCollins Publishers, Daniel created and ran its first Internet Development Group. Daniel also produced digital media for Lollapalooza and as commercial producer for advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson. Daniel holds a bachelor of fine arts in film production from New York University.

Sanjay Raman, Co-Founder & Vice President of Product Development

Co-founder Sanjay Raman serves as Howcast's Vice President of Product Development, driving all product and engineering efforts across the company. Prior to co-founding Howcast, Sanjay worked at Google for over 3 years as a Product Manager for Google Apps, driving product vision and strategy for the distribution of Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Calendar to enterprises, ISPs, OEMs, and small businesses. As one of the initial members of the Google Video team, Sanjay launched the first user-generated video upload platform and defined several key areas of the product.

Before Google, Sanjay spent two years at Morgan Stanley as an analyst. He co-founded and served as a chief architect of an enterprise wireless software company that launched in early 2000 and was acquired in 2001.

Sanjay holds a B.S. and M.Eng in Computer Science, both from M.I.T. As an avid skiier and cyclist, Sanjay enjoys all the outdoor activities that San Francisco can offer.

Alex Ellerson, Senior Vice President of Business Development & Legal Affairs

Prior to joining Howcast, Alex was the Head of Entertainment and Premium Content Partnerships for Google Video and YouTube. Before joining Google, Alex was the Senior Director of Business Development for Yahoo! Search. During his six-year tenure at Yahoo!, Alex also held positions as the General Manager of Yahoo! Health, and Director of Business Development for Yahoo!'s media group. Earlier, Alex was the COO & General Counsel for The CMJ Network, Inc. He was also an Associate at the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and a law clerk to The Honorable Amalya L. Kearse (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit). Alex holds a JD from Columbia University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Swarthmore College. He also currently serves as a member of the Programming Committee of the NY Chapter of the U.S. Copyright Society.

Jeffrey Kaufman, Vice President of Programming and Content Development

As Vice President of Programming and Content Development for Howcast, Jeffrey is responsible for creating and enacting the company's programming vision, managing editorial and production strategy, and coordinating content and brand efforts across all platforms and areas of our business.

Jeffrey began his career at MTV, where he spent over a decade in programming and research and strategic development, holding many positions and ultimately serving as Vice President of MTV Research & Planning. He was involved in developing some of MTV's signature programming, including Jackass, Celebrity Deathmatch, Total Request Live, Made, Cribs, and Laguna Beach. He also oversaw the launch branding for MTV2 and the strategic planning for the launches of MTV Films, the MTV Games imprint, the MTV.com relaunch, MTV Overdrive, and Urge (MTVN's digital-music downloading service).

In 2006, Jeffrey went to NBC to launch the start-up >nbbc, a marketplace for the syndication of digital-video content on the web. That business contributed to a new-media programming joint venture from NBC and FOX called Hulu, for which Jeffrey served as programming lead, devising and enacting the new company's content integration, distribution, and programming strategy, as well as overseeing the initial design work for Hulu.com.

Jeffrey graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Darlene Liebman, Co-Founder & Vice President of Production

Darlene Liebman was born and raised in Manhattan and is a die-hard New Yorker. Beginning her production career working on independent feature films in New York City, she quickly learned how the film community functions, and the difference between a best boy and a key grip. Called by the sunny rays of California, she worked on "Nash Bridges" with Don Johnson and Cheech Mairin in San Franciso and then in L.A. with the William Morris Agency. After returning to New York, Darlene continued to work on feature films until she was asked to help launch "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." This was followed by the opportunity to explore short form animated content with the Nickelodeon On-Air Promos department and produce videos for "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "The Fairly OddParents."

While working at Nickelodeon, Darlene got a call from her twin brother asking her to help launch Howcast. She is currently the Vice President of Production responsible for running Howcast Studios and building a community for emerging directors. Her responsibilities include finding talented filmmakers who make the vision of cool how-tos a reality. Her work was recognized in 2009 when Fast Company named her one of the Most Influential Women in Technology.