Our Leadership Team
We have a strong vision for democratized philanthropy. Starting with Sparo's platform to weave giving into shopping, we're building a whole digital ecosystem from donation games to a special credit card, and working with the best global marketing partners to grow a movement of shoppers who only want to spend with Sparo-certified brands.
Rob Sobhani
"The birth of Sparo happened the day I was born and the first drop of milk my mother gave me went to my lungs instead of my stomach. I was supposed to die," says Sohrab ("Rob") Sobhani, Sparo's founder and CEO. His esophagus was attached to his lungs, but doctors performed a miracle."I spent the rest of my life being thankful and wanting to give back," he says. With a Georgetown PhD in political economy, Rob has been a university professor and active political advisor who now serves as a valued corporate board member (e.g., ZAC, an Artificial Intelligence company, and Sienza, a battery company incubated at CalTech). He is the chairman/CEO of Caspian Group, supporting companies with business interests in the U.S., and the Middle East.
His love of books is boundless, as is his joy in doing pushups while dancing to Donna Summer and the Village People.
Ian Gerrard
Ian Gerrard, Sparo's CFO, has over 30 years of experience in Corporate Finance, Capital Raise, Accounting, and Investment management with specific expertise in business transformations, corporate restructurings, capital financings, mergers & acquisitions, asset and company valuations, financial modeling, and strategic partnering. Previously, Mr. Gerrard, served as Comsat’s CFO and Executive Director of Corporate Business Development for Global One/Equant. Prior to joining Global One, Ian served Sprint International in several key management roles where he managed the launch of several offshore telecommunications entities in Australia, Europe, Asia, and Russia.
Andrea McNaughton
Andrea McNaughton brings to Sparo a rare, broad knowledge of the nonprofit world, having served (among others) Georgetown University, The Smithsonian, the Parkinson's Foundation, and Chicago Public Radio. Her understanding of donor interests - from planned giving to capital campaigns - is unique. When not on (or planning) a bike adventure, Andrea lives in Chicago, walking distance to two grandchildren she can't see enough.
Kyril Revels
Kyril Revels brought to Sparo a University of Maryland degree in Information Systems and nearly twenty years of experience as a software engineer focused on advertising technology. He's Sparo's leading "technologist," the designer of software guaranteeing efficient merchant integration and flawless backend technology. When not busy with his multiple work assignments, Kyril is busy as (his favorite role in life) a father.
