About Us

Management Bios

David B. Coulter
Founder and Chief Executive Officer

David B. Coulter started Consumer Direct in 2003 to address voids in the vast market for online identity protection and credit management. Mr. Coulter also serves as the Chief Software Architect, leading the patented designs and innovative technologies at the heart of Consumer Direct products and called Credit 2.0. SmartCredit.com is the consumer product that best represents the ease and simplicity originally envisioned by Mr. Coulter when the Company was founded.

Mr. Coulter developed his passion for empowering consumers to control their credit nearly ten years ago, when attempting to buy his first home. During the process, he discovered errors on his credit report that negatively affected his credit score and ability to qualify for a loan. The frustration he experienced in trying to resolve those errors sparked his inspiration for an online tool where consumers could easily control their own credit. As an entrepreneur, Mr. Coulter leveraged background in software engineering when he set out to make Credit 2.0 a reality.

Mr. Coulter's entry in to credit management began as the founder and CEO of Junum, Inc. from 1999 to 2002. He took this Company public at a difficult time in December 2000, shortly after the Internet bubble crashed. The Company had a peak market value of $240 million in 2001. Consumer Direct purchased the assets of this company in 2004.

Prior to entering the online credit management world, Mr. Coulter founded and developed eSAT, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) with a peak market value of $350 million in 1998. 

Mr. Coulter was also the original angel investor in e-Project (name changed to Daptiv in 2008). This is an on demand enterprise project management and collaboration software platform with Fortune 500 clients such as Boeing, Citibank and PriceWaterhouse. For six years, as Chairman of the Board and then Chair of the Audit Committee, Mr. Coulter helped lead the company to a top tier on-line project management service and was the lead in the successful venture capital financing with Kennett Venture Partners.

Mr. Coulter has extensive experience managing private and public companies with GAAP responsibilities, SEC issues, mergers and acquisitions, as well as public and private financing offers.

Ethan Taub
Chief Marketing Officer

Ethan Taub is the chief marketing officer for Consumer Direct, overseeing strategic planning and marketing for the company. Mr. Taub has extensive experience in multi-channel strategic planning, interactive marketing and business development. Prior to joining Consumer Direct, Mr. Taub was vice president of new business for Acxiom's Online Interactive division for more than five years. During that time, he developed some of the world's largest online marketing programs for Sun Microsystems, Countrywide, Intuit, Gap, Dell and Gateway, to name a few. Mr. Taub's work contributed to recurring annual revenues of $23 million, more than 35% of the total revenue for the division. He was also the only leader in Acxiom's history to receive the company's highest achievement award for two consecutive years.

Prior to joining Acxiom, Mr. Taub was director of Channel Sales, Partner Marketing, and Strategic Relations at Angara, an online direct marketing and merchandising company. In this position Ethan developed online direct marketing programs for large Fortune 500 brands. Before Angara, he helped develop vertical strategies and professional services for a leading purchasing platform serving the print and direct marketing industries. Mr. Taub holds a B.A. in International Business from UC Berkeley.

Neil Godfrey, Jr.
Chief Technology Officer

Neil Godfrey Jr. serves as Consumer Direct's chief technology officer. Prior to joining Consumer Direct, Mr. Godfrey was the founder of Codemark, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in the engineering of payment systems. Neil Godfrey and the Codemark engineering team developed and brought into production the second generation e-Check settlement system at TeleCheck. Neil Godfrey and the Codemark team also developed the first generation processing systems for handheld devices and IrDA.

Prior to founding Codemark, Mr. Godfrey was director of software development and information systems at eFunds Corporation and at Bancard. Mr. Godfrey was responsible for bringing the first implementations of e-Check to the payment industry, as well as other commercial payment services utilizing the Automated Clearing House. Mr. Godfrey has a Bachelor of Science in physics and mathematics from UCLA and a Master of Science in physics from Long Beach State.

John Ulzheimer
President, Consumer Education

John Ulzheimer is a nationally recognized expert on credit reporting, credit scoring and identity theft. Mr. Ulzheimer is the only recognized credit expert who actually comes from the credit industry. He has been an expert witness in over 70 cases to date and has been admitted and qualified as an expert in both Federal and State courts.

John has 19+ years of experience in the consumer credit industry including positions with Equifax, FICO (inventors of the FICO® credit scoring system) and Credit.com. He has authored or created numerous educational materials on the subject including:

• The book: You're Nothing but a Number
• The consumer handbook, Surviving Identity Theft
• The white paper: Common Mistakes Made by Ineffective Credit Expert Witnesses
• The article: The 12 Ways to Survive a Deposition

John has appeared numerous times on CNBC, FOX, CNN, CBS Evening News and Oprah's Oprah and Friends XM Satellite Radio show. He has contributed to CNBC's On The Money and The Millionaire Inside, Freddie Mac's Know Your Score campaign, Oprah's Debt Diet series and The Suze Orman Show. He is also a frequent commentator on credit-related issues in various outlets including Associated Press, USA TODAY, New York Times, MONEY Magazine, CNN.com, American Banker, Wall Street Journal, SmartMoney.com, Bankrate.com, and other regional business and consumer media.

In his hometown of Atlanta, John teaches an ongoing course of credit reporting and credit scoring, when offered, at The Emory University Center for Lifelong Learning and was named by the students the Top Personal Finance and Investments Instructor for the 2005/2006 term. He is also a regular guest lecturer at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta and the University of Georgia in Athens.

In addition, Mr. Ulzheimer is also the Founder of www.CreditExpertWitness.com, a weekly guest on The Willis Report on FOX Business Network, and Credit Contributor for Mint.com in his capacity as President of Consumer Education for SmartCredit.com.

Jean Chatzky
Advisory Board Member

Jean Chatzky has over 20 years of experience in personal finance as an award-winning journalist and best-selling author. She is financial editor for NBC's Today, a contributing editor for More Magazine, a columnist for The New York Daily News, and a contributor to The Oprah Winfrey Show. Jean regularly shares her advice and opinions as a guest on popular television shows, including The View, Larry King Live, and Morning Joe.

Mrs. Chatzky has authored seven books, including The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even the Toughest Times (Crown Business), Make Money, Not Excuses (Wall Street Journal and New York Times best seller), Pay it Down: Debt-Free On $10 A Day, and her latest, Money 911: Your Most Pressing Money Questions Answered, Your Money Emergencies Solved.

Mrs. Chatzky is CEO and Founder of Samuel Bennett, Inc. (SBI), a media, marketing and communications firm focused on helping people improve their relationship with money. She is also a well-respected consultant to corporations and executives in a wide range of industries, including banking and retail. She is a nationally recognized public speaker and frequently addresses and moderates government and corporate forums on matters of personal finance and public policy.

In 2009, the Consumer Federation of America awarded Jean the Betty Furness Consumer Media Service Award for her nearly two decades of pioneering personal finance education. She has also received the Clarion Award for magazine columns from the Association of Women in Communications and a Gracie Award from American Women in Radio and Television, Inc. The Chicago Tribune named Jean one of the country’s best magazine columnists.

Jean has a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and resides with her family in Westchester, NY.

Charles W. Stryker, Ph.D.
Advisory Board Member

Dr. Charles W. Stryker is the founder and president of a professional advisory firm, Venture Development Center, Inc. (VDC). VDC projects include creating new products that exploit market opportunity, developing new distribution channels to substantially increase revenue for existing Information Services products and identifying and advising Information Services companies on strategic acquisitions.

Prior to founding VDC, Dr. Stryker founded Trinet, Inc. (his first entrepreneurial venture) and was an executive at AT&T. Dr. Stryker received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. in computer science from New York University.

Paul Bergevin
Advisory Board Member

Paul Bergevin is vice president of the sales and marketing group and general manager of the global communications group for Intel Corporation. In this role, Mr. Bergevin leads all product and corporate communications worldwide. Mr. Bergevin has more than 20 years of experience in technology PR and marketing, having served in corporate and agency environments. Before Intel, Mr. Bergevin was president and CEO of Citigate Cunningham, a technology PR specialist firm, and earlier launched the global technology practice of Edelman. He has counseled a diverse mix of leading companies including Ericsson, Sybase, Sun Microsystems, Apple, PeopleSoft and Rambus.

Mr. Bergevin also serves as a marketing consultant to the national board of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). He received his bachelor of arts, magna cum laude, from Brown University, and his master’s degree in Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Tom Happel
Advisory Board Member

Tom Happel is the founder and chief executive officer of Auctioneer Investment Group, which has invested more than $2.5 million in start-up companies over the last two and a half years.

Mr. Happel is also the founder of several auction houses and owns two construction companies and several car dealerships. He also has extensive experience in the buying and selling of real estate.

Eric Taylor
Advisory Board Member

Eric Taylor is an accomplished business executive and entrepreneur, with 30 years of global experience in high tech electronic design, manufacture and sales.

Eric founded and co-founded five successful companies in the USA and South Africa. His first major success was in 1987, when he and others formed a conglomeration of companies and initiated a successful IPO on the JSE (South Africa). He and his family then immigrated to the USA in 1987. His most recent start-up in 1991 was in the field of digital video and security. By 2002, the company was the world leader with revenues of over $90M. It was sold through a lucrative earn-out and finally integrated into General Electric.

Eric is interested in helping companies succeed by contributing knowledge, experience and contacts. He presently advises and assists startups and smaller ventures. He's also branched out to philanthropy and is building a facility in Hawaii to provide free vacations for underprivileged children and teens.

Eric was raised and schooled in South Africa, served in the air force; higher education includes BSc Engineering (electronics) and post grad immersion MBA.

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Press Relations

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press@smartcredit.com

We will respond to you promptly.

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