Executive Management

As Executive Chairman of AvePoint, Kai Gong facilitates the operations and deliberations of the Board and offers guidance and strategic direction to our senior leadership team. Previously the Chief Executive Officer and co-CEO, Kai co-founded AvePoint with Tianyi Jiang in 2001. Since AvePoint’s founding, Kai’s technical experience and stewardship have helped the company grow and deliver a multitude of SaaS and data management solutions to enable safer and more efficient collaboration.

Prior to AvePoint, Kai was a software engineer at Bell Labs at Lucent Technologies and Johnson & Johnson. He earned graduate degrees in computer science and computer engineering from Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College at Baton Rogue and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences respectively, and an undergraduate degree in electoral and electronics engineering from Dalian University of technology.

Dr. Tianyi Jiang (TJ) co-founded AvePoint in 2001 and has served as the organization's Chief Executive Officer since 2005. TJ is responsible for overall strategy and direction of AvePoint, which includes product innovation, investor relations, and business development. He is focused on delivering value to customers, partners, shareholders, and the AvePoint team, every day.

A recipient of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award in New Jersey in 2010, TJ received both B.S. and master’s in electrical and computer engineering from Cornell University, and a Master of Philosophy and PhD in Data Mining from Department of Information Systems, Operations Management, and Statistics, Stern School of Business, New York University.

Currently Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Director and Secretary on the Board, Brian has held a variety of leadership positions at AvePoint, including Chief Operating Office and General Counsel. As Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Brian spearheads legal posture and interests and ensures that practices, policies, and dealings of AvePoint meet regulatory requirements.

With AvePoint since 2004, Brian brings extensive legal knowledge and understanding of SaaS company operations to the company. A graduate of University of Michigan (B.A.) and Michigan State University (J.D.), Brian currently lives in McLean, VA.

Jim Caci serves as AvePoint’s Chief Financial Officer. In this role, Jim works to improve the company’s financial capabilities, provide quality insights for informed decision-making, achieve goals for financial transparency and integrity, and help the company scale both organically and through acquisition.

Jim has over 25 years of experience leading the strategic finance operations at both public and privately held SaaS and IT service companies. Prior to AvePoint, Jim served as CFO of Brand Value Accelerator, where he aligned the company to capitalize on meteoric rise of Shopify, Nicopure Labs, and Conductor, Inc., among others. Jim has a BS in business administration from Montclair State University.

As AvePoint’s Chief Strategy Officer, Mario is responsible for developing and executing the company’s growth strategy; aligning product, sales, marketing, and operations; and growth initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions activities.

Mario has been with AvePoint for more than 15 years. A seasoned executive with strategic vision and business development expertise, Mario has served in several executive roles at the company, including CTO, Senior VP, Financial and Engineering Services, and VP of Engineering Services. Previously, Mario has held roles at WPP, KPMG US, and Micro Modeling Association. He is a graduate of Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts and a resident of New York City.

Currently the Chief Technology Officer, Wei has been an integral part of AvePoint’s technical organization for more than 15 years. In his role as Chief Technology Officer, Wei helps drive the strategy and growth of AvePoint’s product lines and develop solutions for customer needs.

Wei is a graduate of New York University – Polytechnic School of Engineering and Baruch College. He currently resides in the New York City metropolitan area.

Clara Lim serves as AvePoint’s Chief Administrative Officer. In her role, she oversees the organization’s day-to-day operations and helps optimizes company processes, policies, and reports. Clara has been with AvePoint for nearly two decades and served in multiple leadership roles, including Chief Customer Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and General Manager.

Previously, she was a Software Quality Assurance Engineer at CSG International and Lucent Technologies. A graduate of Cornell University, Clara holds a degree in Applied and Engineering Physics.

As Chief Revenue Officer, Tom is responsible for ensuring AvePoint’s global sales teams continue to bring strong value to each customer’s unique business context, while scaling globally. Previously, Tom served as AvePoint's Chief Operating Officer, Chief Customer Officer and Corporate Vice President of Sales. With a specific focus on international expansion, Tom has held numerous operational leadership positions, including in Japan and EMEA.

Tom received his Bachelor’s Degree from Rutgers University in Political Science and Criminal Justice and began his tenured career at AvePoint as the company’s first Sales Representative.

John Peluso is AvePoint’s Chief Product Officer. In this role, he aligns product strategy with business strategy, leading the conception and design of software solutions with a focus on product market-fit and optimal customer value. Prior to this role, John has held several leadership roles over his 10+ year tenure at AvePoint, including SVP of Product Strategy, Director of Education, and Chief Technology Officer, Public Sector.

Before coming to AvePoint, John held a variety of technology and business roles at New Horizons Northeast and New Horizons of Central and Northern NJ. He earned his undergraduate degree from The New School.

In her role as Chief Risk, Privacy, and Information Security Officer, Dana is responsible for AvePoint’s privacy, data protection, and security programs. She manages a team of subject matter experts who stay informed on trends, technology, and best practices for risk management and compliance and provide guidance on product direction, technology enhancements, customer challenges, and market opportunities.

Dana holds an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a juris doctorate from Suffolk University Law School.

As Chief Brand Officer, Dux is responsible for AvePoint’s brand image, experience, and promise. Since joining the company in 2013, Dux has served in a variety of leadership roles, including Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Technology Officer, Public Sector, and Vice President, Customer Strategy & Solutions.

With over 20 years of business, marketing, and technology experience, Dux has driven organizational transformations worldwide with his ability to simplify complex ideas and deliver relevant solutions. He is recognized by Microsoft as regional Director (RD) and Most Valuable Professional (MPVP), as well as the author of LinkedIn Learning course How to Build Your Personal Brand, book SharePoint for Project Management, and numerous whitepapers and articles.

Prior to AvePoint, Dux had leadership roles at Innovative-e, Inc and Quantum X. He holds a BS in Telecommunications Engineering from Southern Polytechnic State University and a BS in Electronics Engineering from De La Salle University. Currently, Dux lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two kids.

Taylor Davenport leads AvePoint's North America sales teams, covering Public Sector (Federal, State & Local Government and Education) & Commercial verticals. Taylor focuses on scaling and building sales teams and supporting organizations to hit company growth objectives.

Taylor has been with AvePoint for over a decade, starting as a regional sales rep and working his way up the sales organization. Currently a New York City resident, Taylor is a former collegiate hockey player with a BS in Applied Economics from Cornell University. He spends his free time volunteering at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and New York Cares.

Sophia Wu is the Chief Accounting Officer and is responsible for planning and directing ledger accounts, financial statements, and cost control systems. She oversees the accounting function of the organization and assists in the design of the long-term financial strategy. Previously the Chief Financial Officer, Sophia was integral to the success of the company going public in July 2021.

Sophia is a versatile financial executive with a proven record in equity and debt financing, accounting, internal controls, corporate tax, mergers & acquisitions, and international expansions. Prior to AvePoint, Sophia worked at Deloitte & Touche, Goldman Sachs, and Deloitte. She holds a master’s in accounting from University of Albany, SUNY and a BA in International Business Administration from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

As Chief Marketing Officer, Mary Leigh leads AvePoint’s global product marketing and digital marketing products. With her team, she plans, develops, and executes product and digital marketing initiatives to drive demand generation while working closely with analytics to ensure our investments have maximum business impact. She strives to simplify the buying experience for potential customers by making it easy to find, try, buy, and use AvePoint products.

Mary Leigh joined AvePoint as an Account Rep, but found her niche in product marketing, growing with experience to Chief Marketing Officer. Mary Leigh holds an MBA from EMBA-Global, a Bachelor of Engineering in biomechanical engineering from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi.

As Chief Operating Officer, Stuart will focus on building leadership strength, scaling the global organization and operational execution, and leading a culture where AvePoint colleagues thrive. Previously, Stuart served as AvePoint's Chief People Officer, where he was responsible for talent, organizational scaling, and employee experience and performance.

Stuart has over 20 years of experience in HR leadership, specializing in talent management and leadership development with a focus on internal mobility and driving collaborative culture. Previously, Stuart has served at Fortune 500 company on three continents, including Pfizer, Tapestry, and Richemont Americas. Stuart holds a Master of Management from Macquarie Graduate School of Management in Sydney, Australia.

Heather is AvePoint's Chief Channel Officer, responsible for leading the company’s efforts to expand relationships with managed service providers, solution providers, and systems integrators, grow the Global Partner Program, and accelerate global distribution networks and cloud marketplace presence.

Murray is a renowned channel veteran who joined AvePoint from TD SYNNEX, a leading IT distributor and solutions aggregator for the IT ecosystem. Murray brings more than 30 years of experience in channel management, demand generation, partner recruitment, brand management, and building high performance teams, connecting with thought leaders across industries to discover new routes to market and executing profitable demand generation strategies.