Noshir Contractor
Chairman
Noshir Contractor, Chairman of Syndio Social, is the Jane S. & William J. White Professor of Behavioral Sciences in the
School of Engineering,
School of Communication and the
Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. At Northwestern, he is the Director of the
Science of Networks in Communities (SONIC) Research Group, one of the foremost Social Network research laboratories in the world.
Through his work with
SONIC and Syndio Social, Nosh develops and tests theories to map, understand and enable more effective networks in a wide variety of business and research contexts. His research has been continuously funded for over a decade by major grants from the
NSF,
NIH,
NASA, the
Rockefeller Foundation, and the
MacArthur Foundation. This research has lead to over 250 published research papers and a published book:
Theories of Communication Networks.
Outside of academia, Nosh has consulted for
Boeing,
Charles Schwab,
Fiat,
McKinsey & Co.,
Merrill Lynch, the
National Cancer Institute,
Paramount Pictures,
Kraft,
Vodafone and many others.
Zachary Johnson
CEO
Zachary Johnson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Syndio Social. In January 2009, he initiated the expansion of the company by partnering with Nosh to provide scalable network analysis solutions. In less than a year, he has secured and led projects for numerous clients, including
Procter & Gamble.
Zack spent over two years studying applied social network analysis with Professor Contractor before graduating with a BS in Communication. During this time he collaborated on research projects for
NIH, the
McArthur Foundation, and the
Cornell Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC), as well as aided in the teaching of network science at the undergraduate, master's and Ph.D levels. Furthermore, he actively participates in the
SONIC Research Group at Northwestern University. At
SONIC, Zack provides input on the development, design, and application of the
C-IKNOW network analysis platform.
Prior to founding Syndio Social, he applied network analysis methodologies to numerous independent music marketing projects. During that period he also co-founded another company: b:Social Creative Media, which later merged with Syndio Social. His most successful collaboration was with pop-star
Mike Posner. In 2009, Zack advised the digital distribution of Posner's debut mixtape, "A Matter of Time," which has established him as a premiere up-and-coming artist. Posner's hit single "Cooler Than Me", at its peak, reached the tops of both
Billboard and the
iTunes music store.
Michael Kaye
CTO
Michael Kaye is the Chief Technology Officer for Syndio Social. He graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2010 with a BS in Physics. Michael is an expert on social network analysis algorithms. At Syndio Social he oversees all data-analysis as well as the development of social network analysis technologies and tools. Before joining the Syndio Social team, Michael worked on various research projects. He used his skills in analytical coding for simulations of optomechanical crystals, LIGO massive-graviton-detection capability, and coordinated robotic exploration. Furthermore, he published a paper in the
Journal of Nuclear Medicine on tests of medical imaging devices.
After graduating, Michael worked for
Hbar Tutoring and helped students ranging from kindergarten to senior year of college to perform better in math, science, and chess. He also taught enrichment classes for elementary schoolers in games and neuroscience.
Sean Gransee
Developer
Sean is an student at Northwestern University studying Computer Science. Sean was hired by
SONIC to manage digital media and produce software tutorials. This led to a chance encounter with Syndio Social CEO Zack Johnson, who brought Sean onto the team to take Syndio's marketing materials to the next level. Sean has since moved on to an active role in software development as one of the initial three programmers of Syndio's first software product. He is also in charge of coding Syndio's website.
At Northwestern, Sean is the technology chairman of the Delta Chi Fraternity, VP of Events for Northwestern's Creative Arts and Technology Studio, and publicity head for the student charity organization Applause For a Cause.
