Management Team
Vassil Mladjov
Vassil is an entrepreneur with over 15 years of executive and high-tech startup experience, focusing on innovative business collaboration with the latest web and media technologies.
Vassil started writing software applications while still in high school in the mid-80s and, later, in the Air Force he developed an e-learning training software. After graduating from SFSU in finance, he worked on a startup with Sun Microsystems executives for offering business software as a service over the Internet (today known as SaaS.)
Most recently, Vassil Mladjov founded Blogtronix after working for many years in the Financial sector where the need for better communication and collaboration using Web 2.0 technologies was very important. In 2002, Vassil founded StreamingMarketplace.com, an on-line portal focusing on streaming media technology and services. Vassil was also a CTO for AlwaysOn Network, a VP and director of technology for corporate communications at ABN AMRO Bank, a VP and CIO in charge of media streaming operations and media hosting at ITN, and as a technology consultant with UB Group, Preferred Technology, and Sage Clearing. Over the years, Vassil has created new business models for the digital media industry and has worked closely with Microsoft, Apple, Akamai, Speedera, PBS, Charles Schwab, Sun Microsystems, and Wells Fargo.
mobile: 415.420.2883 e-mail: vassil (at) blogtronix (dot) com skype: VassilMladjov
Mike Engmann
Mr. Engmann is chairman and investor in Blogtronix, LLC. Mr. Engmann is co-founder and an owner of Engmann Options, Inc. (1978); PreferredTrade, Inc. (1982); MDNH Trading, Inc. (1989); and Sage Clearing Corporation (1980) which was acquired by ABN AMRO Inc. in May 1998. PreferredTrade, Inc. was acquired by Fimat in May 2005.
One of the pioneer market-makers in the Pacific Stock Exchange's options program, Engmann began working as an options trader in 1976. Recognizing the need for a West Coast based clearing company that provided superior service and advanced technology, Engmann co-founded Sage Clearing Corporation in 1980. Two years later, capitalizing upon Sage's proprietary technology and Engmann Options' trading expertise, Engmann co-founded Preferred Capital Markets, Inc., a broker-dealer providing research and trade execution services for stocks and options on an agency basis. MDNH Partners, a broker-dealer that allocates investment capital among affiliate options traders, was formed in 1989 to allow private parties to invest in the business of market-making, heretofore closed to outsiders.
Engmann holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley (1971)
Nick Dimitrov
Nick was a co-founding member of the Blogtronix team since its inception in 2005. Nick was theSoftware Architect on the Blogtronix platform and lead the development team in this new endeavor over the years. His strong leadership and technology skills helped us from the start to make the Blogtronix platform into the award winning product today, which is now used by companies such as Reuters, RedHerring, NBSO, Entriq and many others. Nick brings many years of technology and managerial experience from his work with leading global companies like Bell Canada, Tenrox, and Norton Systems. Over the years Nick has worked and consulted on a number of web projects for StreamingMarketplace.com, Fimat USA, and Mitsubishi among others. He has graduated from the Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria with a B.S. in Engineering & Computer Science. Today, Nick is responsible to lead our development team and works closely with our customers and partners making sure that the Blogtronix platform is scalable, secure, and can integrate seamlessly with other internal and external systems and applications.
Daniel Connolly
Daniel Connolly has joined Blogtronix as VP of Sales and is responsible for developing and growing the business through high performance sales teams and strategic channel partnerships.
Daniel has 17+ years of high tech experience in several roles including, global account management, channel distribution, and enterprise sales. Prior to joining Blogtronix, Daniel held leadership roles at RedCannon Security, Whale Communications (acquired by Microsoft) and Qwest Communications. At the start of his career, he held various positions with organizations that provided first generation technology such as Skytel (nationwide paging), Relay Technology (PC to host technology) and McAfee (virus defense).
Dan lives in New Jersey and holds a BBA degree in Management from James Madison University.
Ivan PopGruev
Ivan brings to Blogtronix large scale corporate experience from his tenure at Bechtel in e-business, corporate strategy, six sigma operations, project management and engineering. His corporate leadership experience is complemented by his service in the military.
As a Project Director at Bechtel Corporation, Ivan was a member of the CEO-initiated 2000 e-Business Team, which formulated the e-business strategy for the firm and invested in strategic initiatives and start-ups. Ivan introduced and managed the successful implementation of a deal-driven knowledge management program at Bechtelʼs finance and ownership arm, communicated to Bechtelʼs executive team his vision for extended online social networking across Bechtelʼs value chain, and worked with Bechtel Fellows to develop a long-term strategy for collaborative tacit knowledge management.
He is formally trained in Six Sigma operations and has managed and put into practice operation improvement projects in information technology and corporate finance. His experience at Bechtel also included engineering and industrial scale project management.
Ivan has an MBA from the Rady School of Management at the University of California at San Diego and the Anderson School of Management at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has held appointments as a Teaching Assistant in investments, project management, financial accounting and financial analysis. Ivanearned his Bachelor of Science degreein engineering from the College of Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley.
Doug Engmann
Doug Engmann was the Chief Executive Officer of Fimat Preferred LLC, a direct access brokerage for active retail, professional and institutional traders. From 1998-2004, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ABN AMRO Sage Corporation, a subsidiary of ABN AMRO Bank, NV of the Netherlands, after its sale to the Bank of the Engmann brokers in 1998. While at ABN AMRO he had also served as Chief Executive Officer of ABN AMRO Clearing and Execution Services (AACES), Vice-Chairman of ABN AMRO Incorporated and was a member of the ABN AMRO Mellon Global Securities Services Supervisory Board. The AACES unit consisted of ABN AMRO's prime brokerage, futures and U.S. securities execution and clearing operations with 1200 employees in 14 offices worldwide.
An active participant in policy matters regarding securities trading and processing, he has served on the boards of the National Securities Clearing Corporation and the Options Clearing Corporation, SEC-regulated clearing houses responsible for the clearance of stock and options transactions. He also served on the Securities Industry Association's Options Committee from 1990-1992. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the Pacific Exchange (PCX) from 1982 to 1988, and was re-elected to the Board of Governors in 1993. He was Acting Chairman of the PCX in 1986 and 1987.
Engmann began his career in the securities industry in 1977 as an options market maker on the PCX. Formerly, he was Director of the White House Conference of Youth (1970-72) and worked as a management consultant in urban affairs and government. Engmann serves as the Honorary Consul for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in San Francisco.
Engmann was born in Shanghai, China and grew up in the Far East.
He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley and master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, both in economics. Engmann has held a number of civic appointments, including serving on the City of San Francisco's Planning Commission from 1988 to 1992 and the Board of Permit Appeals from 1977 to 1988.
The Engmanns have two children - Michelle (21) and Natalie (19)
Sean Engmann
Sean is a young executive with nearly a decade of management experience in several industries who has served Blogtronix in several roles since its founding in 2005. Engmann initially served as a strategic development advisor to CEO Vassil Mladjov before being appointed a managing member by Kendu Partners and becoming a Vice President in charge of budgets and finance in 2008. In June 2009, Sean was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, where he will continue to oversee budgets, finance and HR as well as be responsible for revising and overseeing the company’s operational and sales plans and procedures.
In addition to Blogtronix, Engmann has spent the past six years as the International Project Coordinator for Kendu, where he is in charge of the SEC-Edgar Project, which is in the process of producing a cutting edge financial data feed and XBRL solution. Sean is responsible for developing the strategy and keeping the budget for the project, while coordinating between management in the United States and teams of financial analysts in India and software developers in Bulgaria.
Prior to joining Kendu, Sean worked as a general manager in the restaurant industry. In college, he was one of the founders of the College Republicans at the University of San Francisco, serving as Vice President. Sean played semi-pro baseball and has served as a high school baseball coach for the past nine years, he also currently officiates basketball at the collegiate level. Engmann holds a BS from the University of San Francisco.