Capture Decision Maker Attention at Scale

Joe Shafer has served as President of Applecart since 2019. In this role he oversees the company’s client success team. Prior to joining Applecart, Joe led the Democratic Governors Association’s (DGA) independent expenditure arm, where he managed a budget of $74 million and helped flip seven Republican governorships to Democratic control. Prior to that, Joe managed former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s monumental 2014 primary and general election victories before serving as Executive Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor in his administration. Earlier in his career, Joe managed the successful campaigns of former West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and oversaw Northeast campaigns for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Joe lives in New York City with his wife and two daughters.

Mark Kopera has served as VP of Product at Applecart since 2022. Prior to Applecart, Mark was Head of Product for Moat, Oracle Advertising’s Media Measurement & Ad Verification suite and served on the Board of Directors for the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) Tech Lab. Mark also held leadership positions at Rocket Fuel, [x+1], appssavvy, and Digitas and advised F500 / FTSE1000 companies and private equity investors as a member of OC&C Strategy Consultants. Mark holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from Cornell University’s College of Engineering and lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.

Elaine Divelbliss joined Applecart as General Counsel in September 2023 with 25 years of legal experience, including advising high-growth, innovative technology companies. She is responsible for the company’s legal and compliance strategy and oversees all legal affairs. Elaine brings deep experience in digital advertising and data privacy, having served as Chief Legal Officer and Head of People for Kargo Global LLC, a multiplatform international advertising company. As co-founder and legal advisor to Virgin Mobile's Assurance Wireless Lifeline service, she honed her state and federal regulatory and compliance expertise, and was later named General Counsel of Virgin Mobile. Prior to going in-house, she practiced for a decade in the litigation department at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Elaine joined Applecart from Vida Health, where she was General Counsel & Chief People Officer. She received her BA and JD from the University of Pennsylvania. Elaine lives in New Jersey with her husband Steve and three children.

Sean Sweeney is Senior Partner at Applecart. Prior to Applecart, Sweeney was a founding partner at The Messina Group. Sweeney is recognized as one of the leading Democrat operatives in Washington, D.C. In the 2012 election cycle, Sweeney co-founded the now mainstay Democrat SuperPAC Priorities USA. The PAC’s work has been credited as an essential component of President Obama’s re-election and was recognized across the spectrum of opinion outlets as the seminal forerunner of much of the Democrats current independent expenditure structure.

Prior to his work at Priorities, Sweeney served on the White House Senior Staff as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. During his tenure at the White House Sweeney was a key part of each of President Obama’s biggest legislative victories including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which stabilized the U.S. economy, and the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Prior to his service in the White House, Sweeney served as a Senior Advisor to the Obama-Biden transition. In this role Sweeney was involved in virtually every aspect of helping to build the White House and administration staff, reviewing senior and subcabinet appointments, and review of new and existing offices, and legislative priorities and strategy.

Prior to his White House service, Sweeney worked as Executive Director to the House Democratic Caucus under Chairman Rahm Emanuel. From 2007-2008, Sweeney was named four times to Roll Call newspaper’s top 50 staffers on Capitol Hill. During his tenure with the caucus Sweeney was recognized as one of the most talented floor strategists and vote counters in the House, serving as a point person on every major piece of legislation during the 110th Congress, including the first military operations appropriations bill to demand accountability from the Bush administration, reauthorization of the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and passage of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) which arrested the precipitous financial crisis of 2008.

In the 2006 election cycle Sweeney served as Political Director at the Democratic Congressional Committee (DCCC). In this capacity Sweeney helped conceive and execute the strategy that helped Democrats pick up 30 seats in the House of Representatives, and regain the majority for the first time since 1994. Prior to his service at the DCCC Sweeney served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Tim Bishop of New York, and as manager of Bishop’s successful re-election campaign in 2004, a year in which Bishop was among the most highly targeted opponents of the national Republican party.

In 2000, Sweeney served as a senior aide to the campaign of then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Following Clinton’s victory, Sweeney served for three and half years as the Senator’s director of federal grants and appropriations, and legislative aide on the Environment and Public Works Committee. In this capacity Sweeney helped the Senator deliver critical funding for New York’s recovery following September 11, and managed reauthorization of the federal surface transportation bill.

Prior to his time with Senator Clinton, Sweeney served as a senior aide to Senator Chuck Schumer, having served previously on the Senator’s first senate campaign.

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Peter Greenberger has served as VP of Business Development at Applecart since 2020. Prior to joining Applecart, Peter served as an executive at both Google and Twitter, starting and building their DC sales teams, and later serving in other senior roles in global sales and partnerships. Most recently, Peter served as Publisher of The Hill, the largest U.S. independent political news website at that time. Peter is a graduate of Yale University and the London School of Economics. Peter lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Cassidy and three sons.

Ken Abe has served as VP of Engineering at Applecart since 2021, where he leads the company’s engineering and data science teams, delivering the technology behind Applecart’s product. Prior to joining Applecart, Ken was a tech entrepreneur and a leader of agile development teams at multiple NYC startups. Most recently, he served as Director of Engineering at Series-C ad-tech startup <intent>. He also spent the first half of his 20-year career building software in the FinTech space. Ken is a graduate of New York University and Sophia University.

Zach Herz-Roiphe leads the Operations team at Applecart. Prior to joining Applecart, he was an Associate at New Mountain Capital, a private investment firm with over $30 billion assets under management, and a Senior Associate Consultant at Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm. Zach was also the CFO of The Bail Project, a national non-profit organization where he now serves on the Board. Zach received a BA from Yale University.

Deb has served as Applecart’s VP of Talent since 2024. She brings over 20 years of HR and Talent Acquisition leadership experience, gained from her time with organizations including Google and Unilever - and is a true believer that attracting and retaining top talent is inextricably tied to an organization’s success.

Prior to joining Applecart, Deb spent 10 years as cofounder of Gray Scalable, an HR and Recruiting consultancy, where she was a talent advisor to founders and executive teams, building fast-growing tech companies, including Reddit, Greenhouse, Datadog, Olo, and Buzzfeed.

A graduate of Columbia University, Deb enjoys giving back to her community, serving as an advisor to several arts organizations, providing thought leadership on panels, and coaching emerging talent. Deb and her husband are both professional classical singers - so should not have been surprised when their three sons ended up as professional singers and actors from a young age themselves. They all live in a never-quiet home in New Jersey.

Megan Adamo is Chief of Staff to Applecart Co-CEO Sacha Samotin, where she supports Sacha with special projects and strategic initiatives. Prior to joining Applecart, Megan worked on the Corporate Development team at Axel Johnson, a family office private equity firm, and as an analyst at Cornerstone Research, a litigation consulting firm. She holds a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from Amherst College, where she graduated summa cum laude, was inducted to Phi Beta Kappa, and played varsity tennis.

Kendall D'Amore is Chief of Staff to Applecart Co-CEO Matt Kalmans. Prior to joining Applecart, Kendall worked on the private equity investing team at Sycamore Partners, where she evaluated investment opportunities within the consumer retail sector. Previously, Kendall worked at Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, and Harry's, a personal care company. Kendall graduated summa cum laude from The Wharton School, where she received a BS in Economics and played varsity lacrosse.

Tej Desai leads Advertising Agency Partnerships at Applecart. He has held executive leadership positions at various holding companies including Interpublic Group, GroupM/WPP, and most recently, Dentsu. Tej has led global relationships with C-level clients in B2B and B2C including GE, Marriott, Subway, Hasbro and Intel. He has client-side experience from Mattel and 20th Century Studios and led cross-platform media sales for B2B and lifestyle brands at Bloomberg. Tej earned a BA from Brown University and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School.

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Joe Farren is a Senior Managing Director at Applecart where he designs and executes impactful public affairs campaigns for his clients. Previously, Joe served in the administration of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, crafting first-in-the-nation policies that expanded opportunity for thousands of workers without college degrees. Joe has also served in executive roles at leading communications firms Porter Novelli, Weber Shandwick and WE Communications and counseled top global brands on complex public affairs challenges that shape political dialogue and impact consumer decision making. Joe has a BA from Monmouth University and an MPA from Rutgers University. He is the Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

Carrie Ponder is a Senior Managing Director at Applecart, where she partners with CCOs and communications leaders to precisely target earned media and compelling content at specific, critical decision makers and their orbit of influence. Before joining Applecart, Carrie served as a client leader for nearly two decades at BCW, Weber Shandwick, Ogilvy and other leading global PR agencies. An expert at helping Fortune 500 companies fortify and build their reputation, Carrie has partnered with Accenture, Microsoft, and Bloomberg, amongst others, on strategies ranging from executive visibility to earned media, ESG marketing, and investor relations. Carrie has a B.A. in Communications from Vanderbilt University and regularly provides presentation and media coaching for senior executives.

Kerri Allen is a Senior Managing Director at Applecart, where she partners with CCOs and CMOs. With more than two decades of marketing and communications experience, Kerri has served in leadership roles at top agencies including WPP’s BCW Global and, most recently, Klick Health, the world’s largest independent agency for the life sciences. She has been a trusted counselor to C-suite clients at Fortune 500 companies, among them 3M, Colgate-Palmolive, The Coca-Cola Company, GSK, Merck, and United Airlines. Kerri has also advised many startups on accelerating their communications messaging and reach. A former fellow with The New York Times Institute for Journalism, her writing has appeared in the Times, CNN, and USA Today, to name a few. Kerri lives in New York City with her husband and painfully cute puppy dog.

Jeff Sadosky, Applecart's Head of Public Affairs Agency Partnerships, came to us after nine years as a Partner at Forbes Tate Partners, one of Washington D.C.'s leading public affairs and lobbying firms. Prior to that, Jeff served in senior communications and leadership roles for three U.S. Senators and a number of presidential, gubernatorial and senate campaigns and a leading trade association within the healthcare industry. Jeff graduated from James Madison University, where he studied International Affairs, Business and Spanish.

Kai MacMahon leads Communications Agency Partnerships at Applecart, working with our global comms partners to deliver impactful programs for their clients, in particular helping them use Applecart to power their corporate reputation, legislative, investor relations, and pharma work. Kai has held leadership positions at multiple agencies including Ogilvy, Mirum and Omnicom PR Group's MMC, leading work for clients like P&G, American Express, IBM and Comcast. As "Agency Sherpa" he has served as an advisor and strategic consultant to multiple early stage startups, helping them better partner with agencies and the tech ecosystem at large. He built the partnerships team at social software company Spredfast - ahead of their 2017 acquisition - and most recently led partnerships at ON24 through their 2021 IPO. He lives in Westchester with his family and their cranky old dog.

Julie Walsh is a Managing Director at Applecart where she advises CCOs and other communications leaders across Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, nonprofit organizations and agencies on their corporate communications and public affairs priorities. Before joining Applecart, Julie spent nearly 15 years working at global PR and marketing agencies, including Burson-Marstellar and FINN Partners, where she advised everyone from the C-suites of startups on the road to IPO to CEOs and CCOs of the world's largest companies. Julie has a Bachelor of Arts in strategic communication from The Ohio State University and a Master of Arts in public relations and advertising from DePaul University.

Brooks Aukamp is Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships at Applecart, where he serves as a counselor to government relations, public affairs, and corporate communications leaders at Fortune 500 companies, major trade associations, and advocacy organizations. Brooks has spent nearly 20 years advising clients on large scale public affairs and issue advocacy campaigns. Prior to joining Applecart, Brooks spent 6 years at Twitter, where he led the company's team that managed partnerships with political and advocacy organizations. Before Twitter, Brooks held partnerships roles at major publishers like The Atlantic and National Journal, as well as digital advertising technology company Basis Technologies (formerly Centro). Quite surprisingly Brooks finds himself living happily in the suburbs of Northern Virginia with his fiancée and 4 kids. He enjoys blowing leaves, watering his flowers, and having an actual driveway.

Maggie Snipes is Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships at Applecart. Maggie has over a decade of experience as a senior media, communications, and marketing advisor. She's led public affairs and corporate reputation campaigns on behalf of dozens of brands —  from start-ups to legacy brands. After beginning her career at a leading trade association, Maggie led major brand partnerships on behalf of leading publications from The Washington Post to Axios. Now at Applecart, Maggie partners with Fortune 500 companies and major trade associations to help them message directly and precisely to key decision makers and their spheres of influence with impact and efficiency. Maggie graduated summa cum laude with Phi Beta Kappa honors from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in Art History.

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Masa Aida serves as VP of Analytics at Applecart, where he leads a novel measurement practice, integrating the best practices of methodologies of survey science, machine learning, and digital advertising. Before his tenure at Applecart, Masa spearheaded the survey research department at Civis Analytics, serving as a Principal Survey Scientist. He designed a robust and scalable research infrastructure, assisting numerous presidential campaigns, political committees, and influential super PACs in building political forecasts and testing hundreds of advertisements. With years of expertise spanning U.S. and international survey research, modeling, exit polls, and randomized controlled experiments, Masa brings a wealth of knowledge to his role. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Tokyo and lives in Chicago with his wife, two sons, two cats, several hens and ducks.

Sergey Golosinskiy oversees Applecart’s Finance and Accounting team. Prior to joining Applecart, Sergey was the Director of Finance at a Series B SaaS/ fintech startup Order. Previously, he was the Head of Finance for U.S. operations at global mobility startup Flix and worked in M&A & ECM investment banking at Societe Generale and forensic & restructuring advisory at PwC. He graduated cum laude with a dual degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Maryland and is a CPA (inactive).

Lisa Chapman serves as Applecart’s VP of Client Services, where she manages a team of strategists who work day-to-day with clients to deliver Applecart’s products. Prior to joining Applecart, Lisa designed and managed integrated digital communications campaigns at Novartis, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, and at BCW, a global communications agency. Former clients include top U.S. and multinational corporations in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and technology industries. In 2014, Lisa led the paid media efforts for then-Florida Governor Rick Scott's successful re-election campaign. Lisa is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and lives in New Jersey with her husband and son.

Kelsey McLaughlin serves as Applecart’s VP of Media. Kelsey is a digital advertising expert with nearly 15 years of experience designing and executing digital advertising campaigns representing hundreds of millions of dollars of investment. Kelsey began her career running digital advertising strategy for major political campaigns, national nonprofits, and advocacy organizations. At Applecart, she leads the company’s team of digital media buyers and strategists and oversees the technical aspects of the company’s digital advertising work. Kelsey’s clients include Fortune 500 companies, major trade associations, presidential campaigns and national nonprofits. Kelsey is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and lives in San Francisco with her husband and toddler.

Lauren Moran serves as Applecart’s Head of Growth Marketing, where she manages the content and campaigns that drive hyper-focused awareness and demand for the business. Prior to joining Applecart, Lauren developed and managed the content, campaigns, and global field marketing for Digital Asset, a Series D start-up in the financial services industry. Lauren also held senior positions in product marketing at IBM and MaritzCX, where she focused on expanding each business into new markets as well as supported the launch of several new products. Lauren lives in Brooklyn and is an active mentor to young professionals entering the world of marketing.

Justin Cutler leads Applecart’s People & Culture team. He is a certified human resources expert with extensive experience building and developing teams across companies at various stages. Prior to joining Applecart, Justin led recruitment and supported various people & culture  initiatives at Series-C ad-tech startup <intent> and HR consulting firm, PEAR Core Solutions. Justin is a graduate of the University of Maryland.