Red Ventures CEO and leadership

Ric Elias is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Red Ventures, an American media company that owns Lonely Planet, CNET, and other digital companies. Born in Puerto Rico, he attended Boston College and Harvard Business School and co-founded Red Ventures in 2000.

Dan Feldstein is the CMO and co-founder of Red Ventures. Dan focuses on new marketing, new business incubation and launch, and marketing innovation. Prior to founding Red Ventures, Dan held a variety of general management and senior marketing positions within CUC International (later Cendant). Dan's roles have included general manager of Sidewalk.com, a joint venture between Microsoft and Cendant, SVP, Marketing, for Cendant’s membership group; and general manager of Shoppers Advantage, a $300MM online and catalog retailer. Dan began his career with the global consulting firm Bain & Company. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and is also a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.

Mark Brodsky joined the Red Ventures management team in 2003, bringing a wealth of financial and general management experience.

He began his career at General Electric Co. in 1986 and in that capacity met Ric Elias, founder of Red Ventures. After GE, Mark held several executive positions at Merrill International, where he was involved in large-scale industrial project development. From 1999 to 2000, he worked at Arthur D. Little as EVP, Finance & Development, and in 2001 became CEO of ADL spin-off Nuvera Fuel Cells, based in Boston and Milan, Italy.

Mark received his undergraduate degree in accounting from Drexel University and is also a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.

In 2009, Mark was named a finalist at the Charlotte Business Journal’s CFO of the Year Awards.

Incredibly passionate technologist with expertise in IT Operations, Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Cloud, Procurement, and Leadership.

Over the last twenty years, Red Ventures has built a portfolio of influential brands, digital platforms, and strategic partnerships that work together to connect millions of people with expert advice. Through premium content and personalized digital experiences, Red Ventures builds online journeys that make it easier for people to make important decisions about their homes, health, travel, finances, education and entertainment. Founded in 2000, Red Ventures has 3,000 employees in 10 cities across the US, as well as in the UK and Brazil. Red Ventures owns and operates several large digital brands including Healthline, The Points Guy, Bankrate, MYMOVE, and Allconnect.com.

Shannon has been with Red Ventures since January of 2011. Her work at RV focuses on company culture, leadership effectiveness and talent management. Prior to joining Red Ventures, Shannon was Executive Vice President and Head of Human Resources & Corporate Relations for Wachovia Corporation, the nation's 4th largest financial institution in 2008, with $764 billion in assets and 120,000 employees globally. In this role, she provided leadership for Human Resources, Corporate Communications, Community Relations and Marketing. Named as one of the ''25 Most Powerful Women in Banking'' by US Banker, Shannon has also been recognized with the United Negro College Fund's ''Maya Angelou Women Who Lead'' Award, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund's ''Award of Excellence'', and the Dress for Success ''Paradigm Award''. Shannon graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Davidson College. She and her husband of 27 years, Greg, live in Charlotte and have two daughters, ages 20 and 17.

Thaddeus Jones joined Red Ventures in 2021 as Chief Talent Officer, leading People Operations and Talent Acquisition & Development. Over the last two decades he's had an extensive career leading Talent Acquisition teams for companies such as Amazon, Lowe's Home Improvement and Target Corporation.

Prior to joining Red Ventures, Thaddeus was the Global Head of Talent Acquisition Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Amazon Web Services (AWS). His role was to develop strategies, build mechanisms to improve diverse talent attraction across the global AWS ecosystem supporting one of Amazon’s fastest growing businesses.

Before that, Thaddeus led the Global Talent Acquisition for Amazon Worldwide Operations Global Logistics, Prime, Fresh and Last Mile Delivery. He was responsible for leading the design, development, implementation and execution of the strategic direction for global recruitment solutions that align with Amazon Worldwide Operations Delivery culture and growth objectives. A native of Mississippi, Thaddeus Jones attended Tennessee State University majoring in Business Administration before starting his career in Human Resources, Talent Acquisition with Tractor Supply Company.

Outside of work, Thaddeus is active in multiple community organizations, including serving as the Board Chair of the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts & Culture in Charlotte, NC. He is also member of the Board of Directors for Novant Health.

Ric Elias is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Red Ventures, an American media company that owns Lonely Planet, CNET, and other digital companies. Born in Puerto Rico, he attended Boston College and Harvard Business School and co-founded Red Ventures in 2000.

Dan Feldstein is the CMO and co-founder of Red Ventures. Dan focuses on new marketing, new business incubation and launch, and marketing innovation. Prior to founding Red Ventures, Dan held a variety of general management and senior marketing positions within CUC International (later Cendant). Dan's roles have included general manager of Sidewalk.com, a joint venture between Microsoft and Cendant, SVP, Marketing, for Cendant’s membership group; and general manager of Shoppers Advantage, a $300MM online and catalog retailer. Dan began his career with the global consulting firm Bain & Company. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and is also a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.

Mark Brodsky joined the Red Ventures management team in 2003, bringing a wealth of financial and general management experience.

He began his career at General Electric Co. in 1986 and in that capacity met Ric Elias, founder of Red Ventures. After GE, Mark held several executive positions at Merrill International, where he was involved in large-scale industrial project development. From 1999 to 2000, he worked at Arthur D. Little as EVP, Finance & Development, and in 2001 became CEO of ADL spin-off Nuvera Fuel Cells, based in Boston and Milan, Italy.

Mark received his undergraduate degree in accounting from Drexel University and is also a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.

In 2009, Mark was named a finalist at the Charlotte Business Journal’s CFO of the Year Awards.

Shannon has been with Red Ventures since January of 2011. Her work at RV focuses on company culture, leadership effectiveness and talent management. Prior to joining Red Ventures, Shannon was Executive Vice President and Head of Human Resources & Corporate Relations for Wachovia Corporation, the nation's 4th largest financial institution in 2008, with $764 billion in assets and 120,000 employees globally. In this role, she provided leadership for Human Resources, Corporate Communications, Community Relations and Marketing. Named as one of the ''25 Most Powerful Women in Banking'' by US Banker, Shannon has also been recognized with the United Negro College Fund's ''Maya Angelou Women Who Lead'' Award, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund's ''Award of Excellence'', and the Dress for Success ''Paradigm Award''. Shannon graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Davidson College. She and her husband of 27 years, Greg, live in Charlotte and have two daughters, ages 20 and 17.