Management Team

The CitizenHawk management team comprises a talented group of experienced leaders from a variety of industry backgrounds. Some of our senior managers have been working in the Internet field virtually from its inception and have extensive experience in e-commerce, channel marketing and online brand protection. Some come from high-profile companies and provide considerable expertise in finance, investment and operations. Others have largely focused on information technology and offer in-depth technical expertise. Collectively, this strong, agile and diverse team has been instrumental in CitizenHawk's success.

Dave Duckwitz

Chief Executive Officer

Dave Duckwitz is a seasoned executive with extensive leadership, management and sales experience. He is responsible for overall management of CitizenHawk’s business and strategy, with an emphasis on driving growth, innovation and global expansion.

Duckwitz has more than 20 years of experience in the high technology, enterprise resource planning and Internet application markets. Prior to joining CitizenHawk, he served as general manager at ValueClick eCommerce, a division of ValueClick, one of the world’s largest integrated online marketing companies. Previously, he was senior vice president of operations at Commission Junction, a division of ValueClick, where he was responsible for driving growth of the company’s client base and assuring its success with performance-based marketing. Duckwitz has also held senior and executive sales positions at Stamps.com, Computer Associates International, The ASK Group, and Hewlett Packard Company.

Duckwitz earned a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from California Polytechnic State University, Pomona.

Brody Stout

Chief Operating Officer

Brody Stout brings over 10 years of technology and operations experience to CitizenHawk. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s sales, engineering and domain recovery operations.

Prior to joining CitizenHawk, Stout was a senior associate at Maveron, a Seattle-based venture capital firm, where he focused on investments in the retail, service and technology sectors, and before that was a senior associate at Key Venture Partners. Stout spent much of the last decade as an entrepreneur and advisor to technology start-ups. In 1996, he co-founded Right Brain Interactive, an edutainment software company that delivered dynamic learning solutions (based on the user’s preferred learning style) to the K-12 market. When the company was acquired by The Learning Company in 1999, he joined Prospect Street Ventures, an early-stage venture fund focused on opportunities in the consumer technology, advertising and telecom services industries.

Stout received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, with distinction, from Cornell University.

Keith McDowell

Vice President of Technology

Keith McDowell has more than 25 years of information technology experience. He is responsible for leading CitizenHawk’s technology vision and strategy, which includes identifying and incubating emerging technologies and technology-related businesses with relevance to the company.

Prior to joining CitizenHawk, McDowell gained extensive experience managing technical professionals in advanced technology, infrastructure, product development, and B2B application programming. He most recently held the position of senior business solutions manager at Prosum Consulting, where he led a team of Microsoft developers and implementation consultants responsible for providing consulting support and services using Microsoft technologies. He previously was director of product development, offshore operations, at Ameriquest; senior project manager of engineering solutions services at Johnson Controls; and vice president of professional consulting services at The Integrity Group.

Bonnie Werling

Corporate Controller

Bonnie Werling has 20 years of finance and accounting experience. She is responsible for CitizenHawk’s corporate financial reporting, financial planning and budgeting-related matters, as well as the company’s human resources and administrative functions.

Prior to joining CitizenHawk, Werling was a corporate controller for Ambassadors International, where she was responsible for the Cruise Group and Corporate month-end, quarter-end review and annual audit. She previously served as accounting manager at WhiteCap, a division of Home Depot, where she led the GL accounting team for HD Supply/Whitecap. Werling has also held accounting management positions at Quest Software, AT&T Wireless, Nordstrom, Kinko’s Graphics Corp. and Deloitte & Touche.

Werling earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration-accounting, cum laude, from California State University, Northridge. She was granted her California CPA license in 1993.

Emely Romero

Senior Director of Brand Protection

Emely Romero brings more than 15 years of Internet, digital brand and legal experience to CitizenHawk. She leads a team that provides all aspects of brand protection, including online brand monitoring, infringement detection, brand enforcement, domain recovery and corporate domain management.

A qualified legal professional, Romero holds an American Bar Association certification in legal studies from the UCLA School of Law and is certified in the field of intellectual property as it pertains to digital brands. Prior to joining CitizenHawk, she worked seven years in domain name management and brand and fraud for Melbourne IT and VeriSign. Romero’s responsibilities included all aspects of digital brands, including online brand infringement, UDRP/DRP filings, domain registrations (gTLD/ccTLD), registry relations and negotiations, domain name system management, and product development. She previously worked in corporate legal departments for The Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros.

Romero earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from California State University, Northridge.

Jeffrey A. Pullen

Chairman of the Board

Jeffrey Pullen has extensive experience in strategy and execution, primarily for rapidly growing companies in the Internet sector, and also enjoys an in-depth understanding of marketing, finance, operations and M&A. He works closely with CEO Dave Duckwitz to guide CitizenHawk’s short- and long-term direction.

Pullen also currently serves as chief executive of AudienceScience, Inc., an industry leader in providing audience targeting and data management technology for online marketing. He has previously been a CEO, chief operating officer or chief financial officer for a variety of public and private companies in the Internet sector, including US Search, a people search and public records company; Commission Junction, the world’s largest affiliate marketing company; ValueClick, one of the world’s largest integrated online marketing companies; ChemConnect, an Internet-based exchange serving the chemical industry; and IMX Exchange, an Internet-based exchange serving the mortgage industry. He has also been a partner in Coopers & Lybrand’s Financial Advisory Services practice.

Pullen received a bachelor’s degree (with distinction) in business administration and accounting from the University of Nebraska.

Ben Black

Board Member

Ben Black is the co-founder and chief investment officer of Akkadian Ventures, a firm specializing in complex liquidity solutions for technology entrepreneurs. Black has a decade of venture capital experience on the investment teams at Maveron, a consumer-focused venture capital firm co-founded by Howard Schultz, the chairman of Starbucks, and Rosewood Capital, a consumer-focused private equity firm. He also manages New Cycle Capital, a seed fund focused on green technology.

As an entrepreneur, Black was vice president of corporate development for the team that transformed Harris Interactive into the leading Internet-based market research firm, culminating in a successful IPO. Black’s successful investments include Allconnect, Underarmor, Opower, Cloudmark, Telephia, Lithium Technologies and Convio. He currently serves as a board director for several companies, including Citizenhawk, The Villa, Debtgoal.com and People Power. Black, an attorney, worked at Latham & Watkins after clerking on the Federal Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in 1997. He earned both a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctor degree at Cornell University.

Clayton Lewis

Board Member

Clayton Lewis joined Maveron as a partner in 2007. Taking the helm of one of the firm’s wellness portfolio companies, his leadership resulted in the successful sale of the business. Today, Clayton leads Maveron’s investments in health and wellness companies, while continuing to work directly with several portfolio companies, including Citizenhawk, Allconnect, NextFoods, and Trupanion. Prior to Maveron, Clayton served as president and chief operating officer of HouseValues.com and was part of the executive team that took Onvia public, raising $240 million and completing five acquisitions in less than two years. As president and chief operating officer, he later revamped Onvia’s strategy, transforming it business model from business-to-business to business-to-government. In addition to two decades of business leadership experience, Clayton previously held senior positions in national politics, serving on Capitol Hill as Chief of Staff to Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY) and managing several high-profile campaigns. Clayton holds a degree in business from the University of Washington where he was elected president of the Associated Students.