About Urban Mapping
Background / History
Urban Mapping's origins can be traced back to 2003, when founder Ian White developed the Panamap, a unique multi-dimensional map displaying multiple layers of imagery. The Panamap received multiple awards, including coverage in The New York Times, VOGUE, and distribution in MoMA, Takashimaya and others.
By 2005, Ian had created the industry's first database of informal delineated space, and began the company's transition away from a print-focused business model. Building on Urban Mapping's success with the industry's first database of rich neighborhood data, the company began to service the needs of interactive publishers demanding high-value localized content via a "Neighborhoods" feature, and relocated to San Francisco. Leveraging its research expertise, Urban Mapping expanded its product footprint to include highly detailed spatial (and attribute-laden) databases for mass transit and off-street parking, typically delivered via FTP or CD.
In 2008, Urban Mapping began the rapid transition to become a software company. Routeserver, a robust multi-modal routing engine, and development of APIs for neighborhood data, enabled Urban Mapping to begin formally offering hosted geoservices. In January 2010, the company introduced Mapfluence, a powerful hosted mapping platform with a wealth of on-demand geospatial data. The evolution of the company, from data aggregation to interactive delivery of content to on-the-fly analysis and visualization has attracted kudos from industry pundits and customers.
Management
Ian White, Founder and CEO
Ian founded Urban Mapping in 2001 and has grown the company to profitability. He has 20 years experience in marketing strategy and product development. His past clients include Harvard University, General Motors, Trader Joe's, Xerox Corporation, Parsons School of Design, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. White has served as Adjunct Professor at Parsons School of Design. He is also the co-author of a chapter in "Next Generation Business Handbook" published by Wiley, and an article in The Journal of Business Venturing. He is an active speaker in the area of geospatial data and local search. Ian holds an MBA from Babson College and a BA from McGill University and was educated in the US, France and Ireland.
Board of Directors
Jake Baillie, Managing Director, STN Labs
Jake is the Managing Director of STN Labs, an early stage incubator and seed fund focusing on new media companies. Previously, he was CEO of TrueLocal. Baillie is considered one of the leading strategists in search engine optimization. His primary research focus is organic search ranking algorithms as they relate to large-scale dynamic websites. He also specializes in categorization and data techniques in the local search market.
Greg Sterling, Founding Principal, Sterling Market Intelligence
Greg is the founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm focused on the Internet's impact on local consumer and advertiser behavior. He also is a Senior Analyst for Local Mobile Search, an advisory service from Opus Research. Before Sterling Market Intelligence, Sterling ran The Kelsey Group's Interactive Local Media program, the first advisory service devoted to local search. Before that Sterling was at TechTV and AllBusiness.com. Prior to joining AllBusiness, Sterling was a practicing attorney in San Francisco. He also serves as an advisor to AdMission Corp. and Palore.
Chutta Ratnathicam, Financial Advisor
Chutta holds more than 25 years in finance and executive management in the transportation and logistics industry. He has experience in financial and accounting functions, SEC reporting, investor relations, strategic planning and IT. Chutta is the former CFO and SVP of Conway, a $4B+ global transportation and logistics company. He was Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee and currently sits on the board of Franklin Resources, a $3B financial services company.