SAN JOSE, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/11/12 -- The Churchill Club, Silicon Valley's premier business and technology forum, today welcomed new board members Jonathan Becher, CMO of SAP; Deep Nishar, senior vice president of products and user experience at LinkedIn; Paul Saffo, managing director of foresight at Discern Analytics; and Chris Stedman, head of venture capital relationship management at SVB Capital. The new board members will help drive the Churchill Club's mission of igniting conversations to encourage innovation and economic growth.

As the chief marketing officer of SAP, Jonathan oversees the development and execution of marketing strategy around the globe. Jonathan strives to drive improved business results, uncover new business opportunities, and guide strategic decisions that help SAP run better. Jonathan joined SAP during the company's acquisition of Pilot Software, where he was president and CEO. Prior to leading Pilot Software, Becher was president and CEO of Accrue Software, a publicly-traded website analytics company. Before that, he co-founded and led predictive analytics and data mining pioneer NeoVista Software as president and CEO. He is an active participant in social media, author of the popular blog, a frequent speaker at industry events, and a published author on multiple subjects. Becher holds degrees from Duke University and University of Virginia.

Deep Nishar is responsible for setting and executing LinkedIn's global product strategy. He also oversees product management, data analytics, online sales and customer operations, and supervises the user experience and web design teams. Prior to joining LinkedIn, Nishar worked for Google where he led product strategy for Asia-Pacific, leading the company's mobile initiatives and building the systems used for managing global customer base. He also founded Patkai Networks, where he served as VP of products. Nishar holds degrees from Harvard Business School, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Indian Institute of Technology.

Paul Saffo is a co-founder and managing director of foresight at Discern Analytics, and also teaches at Stanford University, where he is a consulting associate professor in the Engineering School. He serves on several nonprofit boards including the Long Now Foundation and the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. Saffo's essays have appeared in a number of publications, including The Harvard Business Review, Fortune, Wired, The Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, The New York Times and the Washington Post. He holds degrees from Harvard College, Cambridge University and Stanford University.

Chris Stedman manages SVB Capital's network of relationships with venture capital and private equity firms, as well as relationships with these firms' partners. Stedman is on the advisory board for the Entrepreneurs Foundation, a nonprofit that guides companies' corporate citizenship and philanthropic efforts. He also sits on the board of NextDoor Solutions, Santa Clara County's largest nonprofit serving victims of domestic violence. Prior to joining SVB Capital, Stedman worked in CIBC's Corporate Finance group, specializing in the issuance of high-yield debt, syndicated bank debt, leveraged transactions and corporate advisory arrangement. Stedman holds a degree from University of California at Santa Barbara.

"The diverse experience and valuable perspectives of our four new board members will further elevate Churchill Club as Silicon Valley's premier hub for technology and business discussions," said Karen Tucker, CEO of the Churchill Club. "These industry leaders share our passion and commitment to advance the stimulating dialogues, high-quality events, and relevant professional connections that set Churchill Club apart from other organizations today."

About the Churchill Club
Churchill Club is an internationally-respected independent business and technology forum located in Silicon Valley, where CEOs, thought leaders, global business executives, innovators, and senior political leaders meet to discuss and debate, inform and educate, forecast and evaluate. Founded in 1985, the Club is known for its smart, provocative conversations related to innovation, economic growth, and societal benefit. Its 7,000 individual and corporate members include senior executives from market-leading companies, investors, and entrepreneurs. Recent speakers to the Club include Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft; Michael Dell, founder, chairman & CEO, Dell; Larry Ellison, founder, chairman & CEO, Oracle; Jim Goodnight, chairman & CEO, SAS; Michael Eisner, former CEO, the Walt Disney Company; Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO of Xerox, Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn; and Reed Hastings, founder & CEO of Netflix. Further information about Churchill Club, a 501(c)(3) organization, can be found at www.churchillclub.org.

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