Executive Leadership

FiftyOne is led by a highly-motivated executive management team that combines entrepreneurial vision, technological superiority, and deep expertise in the world of global ecommerce. Recognizing tremendous opportunity in the marketplace, CEO Michael DeSimone has assembled a winning team that will continue to build on FiftyOne’s proven foundation of innovation and excellence in order to drive and accelerate the company’s growth.

Each member of FiftyOne’s executive management team shares a common corporate goal: to deliver the highest quality service to every one of our clients and to maximize value for all of our stakeholders.

Michael DeSimone
Chief Executive Officer

Michael DeSimone is FiftyOne’s Chief Executive Officer and a member of the company’s Board of Directors. A customer-focused and visionary global ecommerce strategist, Michael is widely recognized for his expertise with a career that spans more than twenty years and includes a track record of innovation and achievement. As CEO, he is charged with developing and implementing strategies that will dramatically expand both the company's service offering and its customer base, while leading an executive team tasked with driving the business forward across all dimensions in order to capitalize on unprecedented opportunity in the marketplace.

Michael joined FiftyOne in 2004. Under his leadership, the company executed a major strategic repositioning, leading to its position today as the market leader in global ecommerce services. Prior to joining FiftyOne, Michael held key management roles in the sales, technology, and product development areas with leading companies including Travelex, Citibank and Thomas Cook Financial Services. He is regularly sought for commentary by top-tier publications, analyst firms, and trade organizations, among them the Wall Street Journal, Forrester Research, and the National Retail Federation.

Michael holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Buffalo.

Kris Green
Chief Strategy Officer

Kris Green joined FiftyOne in 2007 and has more than a dozen years experience building, selling, and marketing technology solutions that facilitate cross-border trade. Kris is a recognized authority on international ecommerce best practices and helps guide strategy for FiftyOne and its merchant community.

Prior to joining FiftyOne, Kris held key sales, product development, and finance roles at Canada Post Borderfree. He was instrumental in transitioning Borderfree from a fledgling start-up to one of Canada Post’s core business units. Earlier in his career, he was at IBM Canada where he consulted with enterprise clients on ecommerce environment infrastructure and technology asset management.

Kris holds an Honors Bachelor Degree from the University of Western Ontario in Computer Science and Mathematics.

Ed Neumann
Chief Financial Officer

Ed Neumann is Chief Financial Officer at FiftyOne, a position he was appointed to in December 2010. Ed brings more than twenty years of financial and operations experience to his role at FiftyOne, having spent almost a decade at Charming Shoppes, Inc., a leading multi-brand, multi-channel apparel retailer.

During his time at Charming, Ed held several key executive roles, and was most recently Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Charming Direct, the company’s ecommerce division. In this role, he had overall responsibility for ecommerce, finance, and operations for several key brands, including Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, and Catherine’s. Ed was instrumental in transitioning Charming Shoppe’s ecommerce business into a fast growing and highly profitable operation.

Earlier in his career, Ed held management positions with HR Logic, Inc (formerly NovaCare Employee Services, Inc.), Crown Cork & Seal Company, and Ernst & Young LLP. He holds a B.S. in Accounting from West Chester University in Pennsylvania.

Ari Staiman
VP & General Counsel, FiftyOne, Inc. | General Manager, FiftyOne China

Ari Staiman joined FiftyOne in 2010 bringing to the company more than twelve years of legal experience, including seven years spent at Sega Corporation, where he served as General Counsel for all Sega group companies worldwide, and most recently, as President of Sega Amusement Works. Prior to joining Sega, Ari was an associate with the international law firm of Baker & McKenzie in their Tokyo office.

Admitted to the New York State Bar Association, Ari has a breadth and depth of experience in the areas of intellectual property, entertainment law, and corporate law, with specific and extensive experience with software, video game, music, TV, movies, and fashion and apparel issues, covering a variety of legal matters including trademark, copyright, patent, licensing, manufacturing, distribution, privacy, publicity, human resources, and corporate. A native English speaker, Ari is proficient in Japanese.

When not busy leading the legal function at FiftyOne, Ari may be found teaching various legal and business classes. He has previously taught at Temple University, Japan campus, in their Law School, Undergraduate Program, and Continuing Education Program. Ari received his Juris Doctor, Cum Laude from Fordham University School of Law, and his B.A. in Japanese Society from the University of California at Berkeley.

Ben Peer
Chief Technology Officer

Ben Peer joined FiftyOne in 2000 and has more than fifteen years experience in the development of new technologies. As Chief Technology Officer, Ben has responsibility for all technological aspects of the FiftyOne solution as well as for the company’s global operations. Among his key responsibilities are designing and evolving the underlying architecture of the FiftyOne solution, managing research and development globally, defining software interfaces for integration with strategic third parties, and helping orchestrate all of the company’s product development initiatives.

Prior to joining FiftyOne, Ben co-founded SiteCore, an Internet start-up company, serving as the company’s Chief Technology Officer. Earlier in his career, he led a product development team in Vcon, a developer and manufacturer of video-over-IP solutions. During his military service in the IDF, he developed software for the intelligence and communication forces.

Ben holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Ben-Gurion University.

Shir Segal Shamshtein
Vice President, Human Resources | General Manager, Israel Operations

Shir Segal Shamshtein has been with FiftyOne since the company was founded in 1999 and has had responsibility for Human Resources since 2006. In this key management function, Shir has played an important role in shaping the company’s culture, and helping it acquire and retain the talent required to evolve to be the market leader in international ecommerce. Her global responsibilities include organizational structure and development, recruitment and placement, compensation and benefits, and training. Shir is also General Manager of FiftyOne's Israel operations, where she holds primary responsibility for all administrative and operational functions.

Prior to joining FiftyOne, Shir provided marketing consulting services to a number of high-tech and financial companies, and also served as legal counsel at a real-estate firm.

Shir holds an L.L.B. from Tel Aviv University and an M.B.A. from Ben Gurion University.