In the 1990’s Michael Heinstein noticed a fundamental challenge for customers shopping for wall décor – while there were millions of wall décor pieces available for sale around the world, in a strictly bricks-and-mortar world, it was difficult for customers to access many of them. Realizing an opportunity to leverage the growing power of the Internet to improve the wall décor shopping experience, Michael co-founded Art.com Inc. As Chief Executive Officer since the company’s launch, Michael has made it his personal and corporate goal to make a difference in the world of wall décor and transform how people decorate and collect art.
Michael brings more than two decades of technology and entrepreneurial experience to Art.com Inc. from his work in pre-Internet gaming communities and gaming software. Prior to answering his true entrepreneurial calling, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He also has a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois, Chicago, where he practiced as a clinical psychologist and conducted research on the impact of communities on pro-social behavior and mental health.
Michael also serves on the Board of Directors of KidsArt Fairs, an organization that partners with schools and families to inspire children’s imagination and to promote lifelong learning through creative expression, while raising funds to support art education initiatives.
Among Michael’s favorite artists are Claude Monet, Ando Hiroshige and Edward Hopper.
Beth Devin is our Chief Technology Officer and is responsible for all aspects of technology for our business-critical eCommerce sites, backoffice systems, and IT infrastructure and operations.
Beth brings 20 plus years of technology development and leadership experience to Art.com Inc. from a variety of industries including financial services, telecommunications, and cable broadcasting. Prior to joining Art.com Inc., Beth was CTO of Blackhawk Network, a prepaid and payments network and market leader in stored value card financial solutions. Beth held several technology leadership positions at the Charles Schwab Corporation where she supported the retail enterprise, including the branch, call center and Schwab.com customer channels, the Schwab Retail Bank, and the Services for Investment Managers business. Beth has also held technology positions at Turner Broadcasting Systems, Pacific Bell Directory, and Bechtel Petroleum.
Beth is a member of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives (FWE&E), the Financial Women’s Association, and Women in Technology. She participated in a yearlong fellowship program sponsored by the International Women’s Forum (IWF) in 2000/2001.
Beth received a B.S. degree in Computer Science from San Francisco State University.
In her spare time, Beth enjoys bikram yoga, hiking, theater and traveling. Her favorite artists include Rothko and Calder.
Chuck Kurth joined Art.com Inc. as Chief Financial Officer in November 2008 and oversees the company’s Finance and Legal functions. He has 20+ years of experience in the retail industry, most recently as Executive VP, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer with Mervyns, a $2.5 billion regional department store. Prior to that, he was VP of Finance and Treasurer at Ross Stores, Inc., a publicly-traded retailer. During his tenure there, revenue grew from approximately $2 billion to more than $5 billion, and the store base increased from less than 200 stores to more than 700. He has also held leadership positions at Hanover Direct and The May Department Stores Company, and was a Senior Audit Manager at Arthur Andersen & Co.
Chuck received his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Economics from Iowa State University.
Chuck enjoys sporting events, fine wines and spending time with his family. His favorite artists include Roberto Lombardi, Howard Behrens and Alan Blaustein.
Geoffroy Martin has been our Chief Operations Officer since June 2005. He joined Art.com Inc. in 2004 as Vice President of Operations. Geoffroy oversees our worldwide operations, marketing and customer service divisions, and also ran our technology organization from 2005 until 2007.
Geoffroy brings over 13 years of international management experience in operations, engineering and program management, with both start-up and public companies.
Most recently, Geoffroy served as head of planning and materials for ONI Systems (acquired by Ciena Corporation), where he built the supply chain and planning organization from the ground up, and managed it to support quarterly revenue growth from $0 to $75 million within 18 months. Prior to ONI, Geoffroy held leadership positions with Object-Mart, Inc. and with USN Communications, a NASDAQ-listed telecommunications service provider based in Chicago.
Geoffroy received Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from both Ecole Centrale Paris in France and Politecnico di Torino in Italy.
Geoffroy’s interests include hiking, skiing, spending time with his family, and collecting Middle Eastern abstract paintings. His favorite art piece on art.com is Gustav Klimt’s Tree of Life.
With 20 years of experience in traditional and e-commerce retailing, Gary Takemoto joined Art.com Inc. in March 2001 and is Senior Vice President of Merchandising. Previously, Gary served as Director of Merchandising at Internet Shopping Network and also held product and brand development positions at leading retail companies such as Macy’s and Mervyn’s department stores.
Gary received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and East Asian Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
An avid tennis player, Gary also enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends. He has an affinity for art from Marc Chagall.