Corporate
Executives
Joseph Lipton
CEO/Founder
Joseph brings more than 30 years of business, investment, and real estate development experience to Secured Worldwide as CEO and the inventor of the company’s product, VULT.
As a real estate developer Mr. Lipton, built, owned and operated high-end properties in the Northeast US. While building and marketing the International Gem Tower in New York he developed a vision of the diamond and gold industries and built significant relationships.
Mr. Lipton’s entrepreneurial experience includes Gemshares LLC, the holder of multiple patents enabling the creation of financial instruments from diamonds; as President of the consumer packaged goods company Barricini, where he was responsible for the financial restructuring, re-marketing and reverse merger of the 60-year- old brand into a publicly traded corporation. He is also a founding member and former President of The Strategic Forum, a not-for-profit business development and educational forum.
Contact
International Gem Tower
50W 47th Street, Suite 910
New York, NY 10036
(o) +1.646.828.3263
(m) +1.917.359.1133
(e) joseph@vult.com
Jay Plourde
Executive Director/Founder
Mr. Plourde brings more than 25 years of investment banking and operations management experience to Secured Worldwide and VULT as its Executive Director.
Prior to Secured Worldwide and VULT, Mr. Plourde worked in the educational book publishing industry, where he eventually served as the Vice President and Director of Marketing and Sales at CBS Educational Publishing Inc. from 1974-1985. Mr. Plourde then worked with the Scientific American at W.H. Freeman Publishing Co. as the Vice President and Director of Marketing at the company for two years.
In 1987, Mr. Plourde was part of the founding team at 13D Research, Inc., an independent research firm producing in-depth reports on publicly traded companies for institutional investors.
Mr. Plourde transitioned into investment banking, serving as Managing Director and Head of Sales for CLSA Asia Pacific Market, Ltd. from 1992-1997.
During this time, he contributed to the expansion of the firm into the U.S. market. After his time at CLSA, Mr. Plourde became Managing Director and Head of Asian Equities in the Americas at Credit Suisse First Boston from 1997-2001.
In 2001, Mr. Plourde became the Founder and CEO of Scius Capital Group LLC, an investment banking boutique focused on intellectual property and early stage companies. After successfully growing Scius Capital Group, Mr. Plourde headed back to CLSA Asia Pacific Markets, Ltd in 2007, where he served as an Executive Director and the CEO of CLSA Americas LLC. Under his leadership, he led a team of 185 professionals producing more than $350 million in revenues annually, earning the #1 market share ranking by Greenwich Associates and McLagan for Asian business in the Americas. Since 2013, Mr. Plourde has been the CEO of Asianomics Group Limited, Asia’s preeminent macroeconomic research firm with institutional clients globally.
Throughout his career, Mr. Plourde served on the Board of Directors at several companies and groups, including Credit Agricole Securities Inc., Covenant Bancshares Inc., EAI Corporation, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Association, and the Tanzanian Educational Trust.
Contact
International Gem Tower
50W 47th Street, Suite 910
New York, NY 10036
(o) +1.646.927.5427
(m) +1.917.412.1622
(e) jay@vult.com
Key Employees
Scott Acker
Controller
Before joining the company in 2014 Scott was the finance and accounting senior executive at Garden State Growers LLC, New Jersey’s largest commercial greenhouse with distribution to big box retailers and supermarket chains. His expertise is in strategic planning, inventory control, forecasting, information technology, and financial management. Mr. Acker has longtime experience in business organization, payroll supervision, human resource management, cost accounting, banking relationships and credit lines, and selection and implementation of all software.
Contact
International Gem Tower
50W 47th Street, Suite 910
New York, NY 10036
(o) +1.646.828.3265
(m) +1.570.730.8528
(e) scott@vult.com
Unmesh Desai
Diamond Buyer
Unmesh is the diamond buyer for Secured Worldwide, overseeing the purchase of diamonds from its New York offices. He began his career in the diamond trade in marketing, and has more than 20 years experience purchasing and marketing investment-grade diamonds to manufacturers and private clients in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
Contact
International Gem Tower
50W 47th Street, Suite 910
New York, NY 10036
(o) +1.646.856.8656
(m) +1.917.415.4766
(e) unmesh@vult.com
Mo EL-Arishy
Director, Business Development
Mo EL-Arishy brings more than 20 years of ultra-luxury industry sales consulting for high-net-worth individuals to the role of Business Development at Secured Worldwide. His deep international experience in the ultra-luxury automobile and real estate industries informs Secured Worldwide’s understanding of our affluent customers’ specialized needs.
Previously, Mr. EL-Arishy managed the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars operation in Dubai and was directly responsible for developing the Dubai Rolls-Royce Dealership into the second highest sales volume worldwide. Mr. EL-Arishy was also highly sought after across the globe to work on specifying a discerning and unique level of Bespoke Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, receiving many awards for his harmonious results from the Rolls-Royce Factory in the UK. Through his efforts, Dubai was consistently among the top 5 International Rolls-Royce Dealerships, and contributed to the overall success of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars sales figures.
After moving back to Miami, Mr. EL-Arishy transitioned to the ultra-luxury real estate industry working for One Sotheby’s, one of the most reputable property agencies in South Florida.
Mr. EL-Arishy earned a degree in Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston and is based in Miami. He has a passion for motorsports and classic cars, both driving in and organizing prestigious automotive events in Miami and Dubai.
Contact
International Gem Tower
50W 47th Street, Suite 910
New York, NY 10036
(Miami) +1 305 986 5376
(Dubai) +971.50.556.1933
(e) elarishy@vult.com
Advisors
Abhay Javeri
Board of Advisors
As the fourth generation diamantaire, Abhay manages part of the M.Suresh Company Private Limited, a large diamond sight holder of DeBeers
In 1997, he founded S.D.C. Designs. As SDC’s CEO, Abhay’s vision and leadership saw the company successfully transition from a loose diamond business to a global diamond jewelry company. SDC is one of the larger suppliers of diamond jewelry to some of the largest jewelry retailers in the world.
In 2011, through S.D.C Design’s Branded Ventures, Abhay partnered with Vera Wang to create the Vera Wang LOVE jewelry brand. The Brand has rapidly grown into one of the leading mid-market jewelry collections in the world.
Ken Sitomer
Board of Advisors
After receiving a BBA and MBA, Ken went on to obtain his CPA and practiced with a large CPA firm for 5 years until he entered the fashion business
For over 14 years with Bidermann Industries Ken served as the CFO, COO and then the CEO. Bidermann was the forerunner of licensing of brands like Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, among others. Bidermann Sales went from a virtual start up to about $300 million USD during his tenure.
After Bidermann, Ken moved on to run other public company brands such as Sam and Libby footwear, Diane Van Furstenberg and Diesel Jean company.
In 2000, Ken became a partner and President in the startup company Caribbean Joe. Within 5 years, Caribbean Joe sales exceeded $250 million USD when he and his partners sold it.
Subsequent to the sale of Caribbean Joe, Ken consulted with S.D.C. Designs LLC. and finally joined as head of Branded Ventures arm of S.D.C. Designs.
Bill Boyajian
Board of Advisors
In his 31-year tenure with the prestigious Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the last 20 years as its President, Bill impacted the lives and careers of thousands of people and left a lasting legacy of leadership. He is largely credited for taking the Institute to its preeminent global position today
Arguably one of the most knowledgeable and sought- after leaders in the gem and jewelry industry, Boyajian published, Developing the Mind of a Leader — Your Path to Lead and Inspire People. In it, he communicates his philosophy of leadership and shares principles and values that served him so well over a decorated career.
An internationally respected author, educator, speaker, and business coach, Boyajian consults for leading companies in the jewelry industry and business community, and is in demand as a keynote speaker by prominent groups from both within and outside the jewelry trade. He holds numerous positions on boards, both for-profit and non-profit: Chairman of the Board of VeriChannel, LLC, a company he helped found in 2010; Director on the Stuller, Inc. Advisory Board; Director on the R.F. Moeller Jeweler Board; Director on the Secured Worldwide, LLC (DBA VULT) Advisory Board; Director on the S.H. Silver, Inc. Advisory Board; Trustee of the Armenian Jewellers Foundation; Member of the Women’s Jewelry Association Foundation; and Chairman of the Board of Infocore, Inc., a list brokerage, list management, and data acquisition company.
Bill is a proud member of: 24Karat Club of the City of New York, 24Karat Club of Southern California, The CEO Forum, Jewelers Vigilance Committee, Women’s Jewelry Association, American Gem Society, and the World Presidents Organization.
Awards:
- Robert M. Shipley Award from the American Gem Society, 2013
- Honorary Life Membership Award from the Armenian Jewelers Association, 2007
- Excellence in Service Award from the 24 Karat Club of Southern California, 2006
- Ben Kaiser Award from the Women’s Jewelry Association, 2005
- Triple Zero Award from the American Gem Society, 2002
- Honorary Life Membership Award from the American Gem Trade Association, 1999
- Vanguard Award from the New York Diamond Industry Steering Committee, 1991
Torsten Gross
Board of Advisors
Torsten Gross is a 15-year veteran of the marketing and entrepreneurial world. From traditional and digital to media and innovation, spanning start-up to monolith agencies, Torsten has run the full strategic marketing gamut. His last position was a Chief Marketing Officer of McIntosh Labs, where he transitioned the high-end luxury audio holding company once targeted at an audiophile market into a sought after luxury brand.
Prior to McIntosh, Torsten founded and exited from Partners & Partners, a NY based marketing strategy and creative consultancy. Leading up to P&P, Torsten has been the SVP, Group Planning Director at Deutsch overseeing Microsoft’s global marketing strategy and was at R/GA as Group Planning Director where he ran a portfolio of clients including Verizon, AARP and PwC. Other agencies include FatBaby, PhD, BBDO & Fahrenheit 212. Torsten is on the board of Proximity Insight, Sail to Prevail, Momentum Accelerator and Sacred People Foundation.
Peter Dolch
Board of Advisors
Peter is the president and co-founder of Tgix, the firm that helped create VULT’s powerful mobile authentication, and has more than 20 years of experience in leading technology implementations with organizations both large and small. He has an extraordinary track record helping businesses translate their requirements into successful technology solutions, and has a passion for helping start-ups get off the ground quickly. He combines sophisticated technology skills with savvy business experience to find the best way to use technology, while never losing focus of the business objectives.
Prior to founding Tgix, Peter was an early member of the technology teams at both Cambridge Technology Partners and ICon, Inc., both of which did cutting-edge technology work and went on to see tremendous growth. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Science from M.I.T.
Peter is an active contributor to the community and has served as a Founding Board Member of UnChat LLC, an online-democracy platform; a member of the Board of Advisors of Transclick, a wireless multi-lingual gateway and translation platform; a Founding Board Member of CheetahMail, an email marketing company; a member of the Board of Advisors to Intellireach/Infocrossing, an IT outsourcing company; a Science Advisory Board member of DietPower; and a Founding Board Member of Port Indigo, a mobile solutions company.