Board of Directors
Yoram “Rami” Abada
Mr. Abada previously served as the President of Factory Direct Enterprises, one of the largest licensees of Ashley Furniture Home stores from March 2015 until March 2016. Most recently, Mr. Abada served as Jennifer Convertibles Inc.’s President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, as well as a member of its board of directors, from September 1999 until 2014. From 1997 until 2003, Mr. Abada served as a member of the board of directors of CCA Industries, Inc., a public company engaged in the manufacture and distribution of health and beauty aid products, and Mr. Abada currently serves as a member of the board of directors of 168 5th Avenue Realty Corp., a privately held real estate corporation. Mr. Abada holds a B.B.A. from the Bernard Baruch College of the City University of New York.
Mr. Abada’s background and experience as a lead executive officer and board member of public and private companies provides him with extensive knowledge of, and insights into, financial reporting and oversight, corporate strategy and board functions.
Jason Katz
Jason Katz serves as the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Paltalk. He founded A.V.M. in 1998 and served as its Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its Board of Directors. In his capacity as an executive officer and director of A.V.M., Mr. Katz oversaw the strategic direction of A.V.M. and its subsidiaries, and also managed its system infrastructure. Mr. Katz is an authority on instant messaging as well as web-based voice and video. Mr. Katz has appeared at numerous industry forums as well as on Bloomberg Radio and CNN Radio.
Prior to A.V.M., Mr. Katz co-founded MJ Capital, a money management firm. Earlier in his career, Mr. Katz was a corporate lawyer at the New York office of Fulbright & Jaworski. Mr. Katz earned a JD from the New York University School of Law (1988) and a BA in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania (1985).
Lance Laifer
Lance Laifer has served as a member of A.V.M.’s Board of Directors since 1999. Mr. Laifer has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of each of Old Forge Media Management and Old Forge Asset Management (together, “Old Forge”), a network of social media advertising and marketing companies, since 2013 and 2011, respectively, as well as the Chief Executive Officer of Laifer Capital Management, Inc., a hedge fund, since 1992. Prior to his service at Old Forge, Mr. Laifer was the Chief Executive Officer of Wapiti Capital Management, LLC. Mr. Laifer also served on the board of directors of ValueVision from 1992 to 1995.
Mr. Laifer’s decades of experience provide him with unique investment and capital market insights, as well as background analyzing the risks and strategies of companies in the social media and online dating industries.
John Silberstein
Mr. Silberstein has been a member of A.V.M.’s Board of Directors since 1999 and was General Counsel of A.V.M. from 2000 to 2003. He began his career in October 1986 as a real estate attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and in April 1989 began working for The Mendik Company, which with its partners, owned and managed a portfolio of twelve million square feet of Class A commercial office buildings in New York City and its suburbs.He is on the Advisory Board of Willpower Labs, Inc., a startup that makes a weight loss lozenge. Most recently, Mr. Silberstein taught high school English at The Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts from September 2010 to June 2016. Mr. Silberstein earned a B.A. from Brown University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Mr. Silberstein’s experience representing A.V.M. and other companies in complex and sophisticated matters, as well as his expertise in real estate acquisition and management, provides him with unique insights into business strategy and leadership.
Geoff Cook
Geoff Cook was appointed to our Board of Directors in October 2023. Mr. Cook, a seasoned executive, was named CEO of Noom in July 2023, and has extensive strategic and executive experience building and leading large scale global teams, cultivating a portfolio of successful brands, and extending excellence in consumer offerings in the enterprise arena. During Cook’s tenure as co-founder and CEO of The Meet Group, he took the company public on the NASDAQ exchange and led it until its sale in September 2020 for $500 million to ProSiebenSat.1 Media. During his tenure, he presided over eight consecutive years of revenue growth, while also acquiring and successfully integrating four social dating companies and building a significant enterprise creator economy platform. Following the acquisition of The Meet Group, he was named co-CEO of The Meet Group’s parent company, ParshipMeet Group, which owns eharmony. Cook also serves as a Trustee of The Franklin Institute, one of the leading science and technology centers in the United States.
Kara Jenny
Kara Jenny joined Paltalk as CFO, and was appointed to our Board of Directors in December 2019. Ms Jenny has over 20 years of senior financial expertise. During her career, she has created overall corporate strategy and managed financial and accounting operations, including SEC and SOX compliance efforts. She has also overseen customer service, operations and legal functions as well as led strategic and annual planning processes and has been a key contributor in facilitating equity financing, including public offerings, PIPES. Ms. Jenny was Chief Financial Officer of Walker Innovation, a publicly traded intellectual property company. Previously, she was the Chief Financial Officer of Bluefly, Inc., an online retailer of designer apparel and accessories at a value. Ms. Jenny began her career at Andersen LLP and is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She was selected to join the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Advisory Committee Member on Small and Emerging Companies and served on the Committee from 2011 until 2013. Ms Jenny earned a BS from Binghamton University’s School of Management.
