Eugene Carr, Founder & CEO

Eugene Carr, founder and CEO of Patron Technology, has been an innovator in the area of e-marketing for arts & cultural organizations since 1996, when he founded CultureFinder.com. Initially funded by AOL.com and Comcast, it became an award-winning nationwide arts calendar and online ticketing service.

Gene earned a BA in history from Oberlin College, and a music degree from Oberlin Conservatory, earning Phi Kappa Lambda honors, and then earned an MBA from Columbia Business School. Gene worked in arts management serving as the executive director of the American Symphony Orchestra from 1991 to 1996.

Gene is the author of  Breaking the Fifth Wall: Rethinking Arts Marketing for the 21st Century (2011) as well as three previous books on e-marketing: Wired for Culture: How E-mail is Revolutionizing Arts Marketing  (Third Edition) (2007), Sign-Up for Culture: The Arts Marketer’s Guide to Building an Effective E-mail List  (Second Edition) (2007), and Web Sites for Culture: Essential Principles for Great Arts Web Sites (2005). He also writes a blog: Wired for Culture.

Ross Kudwitt, Co-Founder, CTO, and Board Member

Ross is the co-founder, CTO and a board member at Patron Technology. Ross has experience as the CIO and CTO for public and private companies ranging from startups to large enterprises, including: Advanta, Auctions.com, Comtex News Network, GFI Group, Netkey, New York Public Library, Timex Corporation, and TrivialPursuit.com.

Ross received a BS in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University and was with IBM and Philips Medical Systems. At IBM Ross worked on computer hardware and operating system design with the technology that was part of the original IBM PC, and at Philips he worked on the first computerized x-ray generator. Ross is also presently the CEO at Crisply, the CEO at Nine Summer, a trustee at Eagle Hill School, and a member of the CTO Club of New York and the Fairfield & Westchester Chapter of the Society for Information Management.

Lorna Dolci, Vice President, Business Affairs

Since 2006, Lorna Dolci has spearheaded and managed the dynamic growth of Patron Technology’s management and operations, overseeing finance, human resources and marketing.

Lorna’s background is a blend of business, non-profit management, and Fortune 500 advertising. During the 1990s she served as General Manager of New York’s American Symphony Orchestra and managed a month-long concert tour of Japan along with the ASO’s then Executive Director, Eugene Carr. She went on to manage The Concordia Orchestra under the music direction of Marin Alsop, and performed consulting work for the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center Festival, and High 5 Tickets for the Arts.

In her first career, Lorna served as Account Supervisor for Grey Advertising in both New York and Brussels, where she worked on high profile brands for Procter & Gamble (Pantene Shampoo), and M&M/Mars (DoveBar ice cream). Lorna received her BA in Economics from Rutgers University, and was a passionate 4-year member of the Rutgers Wind Ensemble.

Robert Friend, Vice President, Business Development & Strategy

Robert Friend has thirty years of leadership in the non-profit and commercial performing arts and sports industries. He has extensive experience in strategic and financial business operations with significant expertise in fundraising, marketing, sales, and technology. As global head of business development and strategy for Patron Technology, Robert is responsible for developing and implementing market strategies that drive sales, market intelligence, and revenue growth for the PatronManager CRM software solution and plays a major role in the company’s growth and transformation objectives.

Robert is an Adjunct for the Brooklyn College Graduate Training Program in Performing Arts Management. He served as Executive Director for the Arenafootball2 Mohegan Wolves, as Director of Institutional Advancement for Connecticut’s Garde Arts Center, as Director of Marketing and Operations for California’s Tony Award-winning La Jolla Playhouse, and Associate Director of Marketing for Connecticut’s Long Wharf Theatre.

Robert is a graduate of Boston’s Emerson College and serves on the College’s Board of Trustees. He is also a member of the League of Historic American Theatres Board of Directors.

Michelle Paul, Director of Product Development

Michelle Paul, Director of Product Development for Patron Technology, oversees the company’s two main products, PatronManager® CRM and PatronMail, which are collectively used by over 1,000 arts and culture organizations. Michelle is primarily responsible for guiding the development of PatronManager CRM, Patron Technology’s integrated box office, fundraising, and e-mail system. She co-authored with Eugene Carr Breaking the Fifth Wall: Rethinking Arts Marketing for the 21st Century, published in April 2011 in the U.S., and translated into Spanish for publication in Spain in November 2011.

A close observer of social media trends, Michelle has been giving seminars on the topic since 2008, including sessions at the INTIX (International Ticketing Association) Annual Conference, NAMPC, the Arts Reach National Arts Marketing Conference, the Arts & Business Council of New York, and Patron Technology’s E-marketing E-mersion E-vent, as well as multi-city seminar tours in support of Breaking the Fifth Wall  in the U.S. and in Spain.

Michelle is on the board of ELNYA (Emerging Leaders of New York Arts), and has a BA in classics from Wesleyan University.