Tom Nieman - Managing Director
For fifteen years Tom has been working closely with technology companies to identify and recruit key operating executives. As the founder of Fortis Partners he is responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm and the successful completion of every search assignment.
Prior to Fortis Partners he was a Managing Director at Ramsey Beirne Associates in New York where he was the youngest partner in the firm and conducted more than fifty searches for clients ranging from early-stage startups to multi-billion dollar public companies. Notable searches he personally closed include recruiting the CEO, CFO, CIO, and Chief Marketing Officer to E*Trade while the company grew from less than $5 million in revenue to the world's preeminent online financial services company. Tom also recruited the CEO of Healtheon, the company Jim Clark started after Netscape, and worked directly for Michael Dell to recruit the SVP & GM of Dell's enterprise server business.
Before joining Ramsey Beirne, he worked at the Chicago headquarters of DHR International, the nation's 5th largest retained search firm. At DHR Tom learned the search business from the bottom up, starting in the research department and working on a variety of assignments in both the industrial and consumer goods sectors.
Tom is a graduate of Dartmouth College, was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL, and lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.
Email: tnieman@fortispartners.comTom's Email
Phone: 310-586-5555
Dan Nord - Managing Director
Dan brings deep technical and recruiting expertise to the Fortis Partners leadership team. He is involved in every stage of the search process and works closely with companies in the consumer Internet and software-as-a-service industries.
Prior to Fortis Partners, Dan was a Partner at TechHunters, a firm that specializes in recruiting technical talent, where he worked with companies such as Reunion.com, Rent.com (acquired by Ebay) and Sendia Wireless (acquired by Salesforce.com). In this capacity, he was responsible for all aspects of the search process, including research, candidate relationships, reference checks and compensation negotiations.
Earlier, Dan worked at Interactive Corp. (IAC) managing onshore and offshore software development teams for Zero Degrees, an IAC social networking company. In this role he oversaw the development of the company's online business networking software.
Before IAC, Dan was a lead software engineer at iLinc.com, a provider of Web and audio conferencing applications, where he led a team of software developers through the design and launch of the company's flagship products.
Dan earned a BSE in Computer Science Engineering from The University of Pennsylvania. He graduated magna cum laude, was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar and was a fifty-two foot triple jumper and captain of the Men's Track & Field team.
Email: Dan's Email
Phone: 310-586-5555
Dayton Ogden - Managing Director
Dayton has been in the executive recruiting business for over 10 years and has recruited senior executives for both established and emerging companies in a number of different industries. As a member of the Fortis Partners leadership team, he is responsible for the execution of searches for venture capital firms and their portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Fortis Partners, Dayton was a Senior Associate at Spencer Stuart and a member of the firm's Technology, Communications & Media practice. During his tenure at Spencer Stuart, he executed search assignments that spanned CEO, COO, GM, CSO, CMO, CHRO, CTO and CIO positions for emerging technology and media companies, as well as Fortune 500 corporations.
Earlier in his career, he was co-head of "6figure Select," a stand-alone division of 6figurejobs.com that conducted outsourced research and recruiting on behalf of large retained search firms. In this role Dayton was responsible for all project definition, research, and candidate generation for assignments across multiple industry sectors.
Prior to that, Dayton was the fifth employee at The SoBe Beverage Co., where he worked closely with the CEO to grow the company from a flavored beverage start-up to a $60 million powerhouse that was acquired by PepsiCo for more than $300 million.
Dayton is a graduate of Wittenburg University where he earned a degree in American Studies. He is married, has one son, and divides his time between Los Angeles and Boston.
Email: dogden@fortispartners.comDayton's Email
Phone: 310-586-5555
Michelle Papa - VP Research & Information Technology
At Fortis Partners, Michelle is responsible for all research and information technology. Her knowledge of both the enterprise and consumer technology industries ensures that every search assignment is backed by the right research strategy.
Prior to joining Fortis Partners Michelle spent five years as an Enterprise Account Manager at Microsoft. In this role she was responsible for top enterprise customers in various industries such as Internet, media, financial services, and business services.
Before Microsoft, Michelle was a highly decorated account manager at Ayala Systems Technology, a Microsoft, Citrix and IBM reseller. Earlier in her career she was a programmer and systems analyst in the financial controls department at CitiBank.
Michelle earned a B.S. in Physics from De La Salle University. She and her husband live in Los Angeles.