Meet our leadership team

Our leadership team has many decades of experience leading high-growth, customer-centric technology brands. As leaders at Emburse, they work tirelessly to help their teams learn and grow, so they can offer more value to our customers.

Adriana Carpenter

Adriana Carpenter

Chief Financial Officer

As Chief Financial Officer of Emburse, Adriana is responsible for financial strategy, accounting, treasury, payroll, and financial reporting, planning and analysis. Adriana has 30 years of finance and accounting experience. Prior to joining Emburse, Adriana was the SVP Finance and Chief Accounting Officer at Ping Identity where she managed through several significant transitions, including preparing and operating Ping as a public company. Prior to joining Ping in 2013, Adriana was the Global Controller at TeleTech where she managed multinational accounting and shared service operations. 

Adriana also spent 12 years in the assurance practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), where she served large multinational clients in technology, information and communications, aerospace and defense, as well as high-growth technology startups. She has significant experience in M&A transactions, debt offerings and fraud investigations.

Adriana received her BBA in Finance from Texas A&M University and MMAS in Accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas. She is a certified public accountant licensed in Colorado and Texas.

What’s your why?

I think it’s important to lead with authenticity and integrity, even if that means my leadership style looks different. I want to help others get those opportunities to lead as their authentic selves, as I truly believe that leads to developing and maintaining great teams, which translates into extraordinary performance.   

Where is the best place you’ve traveled to?

My mother was born in Ukraine and immigrated to the United States by way of Germany. When I was in high school, we were stationed at an Air Force base in Germany, so I had the opportunity to travel with my mom to Ukraine, as well as to the town in Germany where she and her family lived for a while prior to coming to the United States. Being able to visit these places and hear the stories of my mother's childhood are memories I will always cherish.  

What did you want to be as a kid?

I've always wanted to be in finance. Growing up I used to play pretend office at my dad's desk, pounding away on his 10-key calculator and typewriter. 
 

What fact about you would surprise people?
I was a cheerleader throughout high school. That desire to cheer people on and keep everyone motivated to keep going still comes through in my interactions with others to this day.
 Christian Na

Christian Na

Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary

As CLO, Christian leads the company’s global legal, risk and compliance teams that enable and protect the company’s key assets and operations.

Christian has 25+ years of legal experience in government, law firm and enterprise organizations. Most recently he served as CLO at Magnitude Software, a PE-backed SaaS platform, where he helped lead the company’s transformation through its acquisition in November 2021. Before that, he led the legal function at several growth-stage, mid-market and large cap public companies. In addition to his legal roles, Christian served as a board member of an AI venture in Singapore and was an Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs.

Christian holds dual B.A. degrees in Psychology and Sociology from Boston University and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law.

What’s your why?

To solve. As a young kid I really enjoyed figuring out multiple geometric proofs for a given math problem. But I didn’t particularly like math – it was more about the challenge (and satisfaction) of solving for a problem or an issue and finding better ways of doing it. This threads a lot of the interests I pursue.

Where is the best place you’ve traveled to?

The Amalfi Coast. I still reminisce scooting around on a Vespa from town to town, soaking up the scenery and eating up the local foods. And limoncello! The place makes you feel like you’re inside a living watercolor canvas and makes you wonder if all the locals gathered to color coordinate their houses and buildings, or if it all just happened naturally. And it’s my favorite place for photography – even the most unassuming shot of laundry hung on a clothesline outside of a random house comes out beautiful.

What’s your favorite movie of all time?

Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow. It’s lesser known, but so good. It starts off with her character running to catch the subway as the doors are sliding shut. The movie then splits into the one reality where she makes it and the other where she just misses it. From there it shows how differently the character’s life evolves based on that one difference. And it always reminds me how so many events in our lives that are seemingly trivial can be a sliding door.

Who is your greatest inspiration?

My kids.

 Danielle Tabor

Danielle Tabor

Chief People Officer

As the chief people officer for Emburse, Danielle guides the strategic direction for the company’s employee development, performance management, talent acquisition, and employee experience initiatives.

Danielle has over 15 years of experience in human resources, working in various industries. She began her career with Emburse working for Certify and continued to build her team and her role through several mergers and acquisitions.

Danielle holds a B.A. in Psychology with a minor in Education from Clark University. She also holds the Senior Certified Professional designation from the Society of Human Resources Management and is a graduate of the K1 Advanced Management Program.

What’s your why?

Watching people (whether it be employees, family, or friends) grow and improve their lives is something that brings me great joy. I have naturally taken on the role of confidante, mentor, and mediator in my life and with this role I’m also able to translate that into my work. Being able to use creativity and care in providing employees with the tools they need to further develop their own talents and find fulfillment in their careers is incredibly rewarding.

Where is the best place you’ve traveled to?

Right after my husband and I bought our first house and paid for our wedding, we had limited funds for a honeymoon. We planned a budget trip to Ireland where we rented a small stick shift car and drove around the southern half of the island staying at inexpensive B&Bs. While I know there are more exotic and luxurious places to travel, this was my favorite as we had a true adventure without an itinerary.

What did you want to be as a kid?

When I was a child, I wanted to be a news anchor. I loved to get in front of audiences and talk. Being one of the first people to know something and to have the responsibility of crafting that message to the masses was incredibly intriguing to me. Getting people excited about good news and showing empathy for news that may be perceived negatively are two things I have translated into my current career.

What do you do to relax?

I love to go to the outdoors to clear my mind. In the warm weather months, I enjoy running, paddle boarding, wake surfing, and hiking. In the less friendly New England winters, I try to get out on the mountain for downhill skiing or hit the trails with a pair of snow shoes.

 Eric Friedrichsen

Eric Friedrichsen

Chief Executive Officer

As CEO of Emburse, Eric drives the overall strategic direction of the organization, from new market growth through to product direction.

Eric has 30 years of experience driving growth for software companies. Prior to Emburse, he was Global Head of Commercial, SMB and Growth Markets for Marketo, a division of Adobe. Before joining Marketo, he was SVP and General Manager for SAP’s North American mid-market and ecosystems division. Earlier in his career, Eric had sales, technical, and general management leadership positions at SAP Concur, Business Objects, and Information Builders.

Eric has a BBA in Management Information Systems from the University of Iowa.

What’s your why?

As a company, our charter is to “humanize work.” We have a team of more than 750 who collectively work together to achieve our goal of making people’s business lives much easier and giving them back their precious time so they can focus on the important things at work, at home, and in their communities. As individuals, each person can contribute significantly, but as a group, we can achieve exponentially more. As a father of three, I try to teach my three children exactly the same approach: by collaborating with each other, they can achieve far more than they ever could on their own. It’s a very useful life lesson.

What’s your favorite movie?

It has to be The Usual Suspects. With its unexpected ending, it’s one of the few movies that I actually wanted to watch over and over again. Every time I see more clues about Keyser Soze’s real identity that I completely missed first time around.

What do you do to relax?

I love both road and mountain biking, and Colorado is a great place to live for that. It gives me two extremes: riding up a long hill on my road bike gives me a great opportunity to think with no distractions. On the other hand, going down a rough mountain trail requires 100% concentration or you end up with a broken bone – or far worse! Both types of biking are therapeutic… in their own way. I also thoroughly enjoy watching and coaching our three kiddos in just about every sport you can imagine from soccer to flag football to Taekwondo to skiing.

Where’s the best place you visited?

My wife and I took a bike tour around Andalucia with some friends. Going from village to village at such a slow place gave us a real opportunity to actually get to know the region and meet local residents. In a car you simply can’t get that level of intimacy with an area.

 Heather Peterson

Heather Peterson

SVP, Global Services

Heather is responsible for the performance, strategy, and execution of all Emburse services including implementation, support, and managed services, ensuring that customers have a wonderful and effortless experience.

She has more than 15 years of experience in employee spend management. Heather joined Emburse as VP of Customer Success Management in 2019. Prior to that she spent more than a decade at SAP Concur where she held various roles in services, training, project management and implementation Heather holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance from The University of North Texas

What’s your why?

I love to be inspired. This is what gets me out of bed every day. I find inspiration in so many things and places. In my home life, it might be sitting on the patio having a long talk with my husband about his favorite bands or listening to my kids play the piano or watching them play baseball. In my work life, inspiration might come from finding ways to make our customers’ lives easier through innovating our products and services or by taking the time to connect with my colleagues about what inspires them.

What did you want to be as a kid?

I wanted to be an actress. Growing up, I spent my afternoons in acting, dance, and voice classes and my evenings rehearsing for the play I was doing at the time. I ultimately found that business was a better fit for me but this training helped give me the confidence to speak in front of groups, which I thoroughly enjoy.

What’s your favorite movie of all time?

I love Mr. Holland’s Opus. Glenn Holland is a musician who takes a job as a high school music teacher so he can have time to compose. After decades of teaching, even though he is not a famous composer, he realizes he is very successful by how he helped change the lives of his students. It is a great reminder of what defines success.

Who is your greatest inspiration?

My greatest inspiration is my dad who was not only the smartest person I have ever known but also the kindest. He taught me that I could accomplish anything but what mattered most were the relationships I built while reaching my goals. This lesson guides me in all aspects of life.
 Jamie Anderson

Jamie Anderson

Chief Revenue Officer

As Chief Revenue Officer, Jamie is responsible for setting the strategy and executing on the revenue goals for Emburse. 

He has over 25 years of experience in the enterprise applications software industry serving in a variety of roles from product development, through marketing, to sales. Jamie has held key executive leadership roles at SAP, hybris, Marketo (Adobe), and most recently Xactly Corp, where he served as CRO. Jamie holds a BSc in Computer Information Systems from Glasgow Caledonian University.

What’s your why? 

I’m deeply passionate about selfless, authentic leadership. Often people confuse leadership with power, or power in an individual. To me leadership is about empowerment, encouraging and motivating others to trust in themselves, to be accountable and to achieve their potential. 

What did you want to be as a kid?

I really, really wanted to be an astronaut. I’ve always been fascinated by Space. My dad and I used to watch all of the great science-fiction programs and movies together when I was a child – things like Space1999, Star Trek, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and rare gems like Silent Running (which I still love to this day). Unfortunately I sucked at Physics!

What’s your favorite movie of all time?

Given my other answer, you may expect me to say something from the sci-fi genre, BUT I would have to say For a Few Dollars More is right up there. I love the whole Spaghetti Western trilogy but the second movie has the depth, humor and heart that just pips the other two.

What do you do to relax?

I run. I watch old movies. I hang out with my family. I listen to music (and occasionally play music too). I like to dial things right back – nothing is nicer than sitting with a glass of wine in one hand, my wife’s hand in the other, gazing into an open fire beneath the stars. 

 Jeroen van Velzen

Jeroen van Velzen

SVP, Solutions Strategy

Jeroen van Velzen joined Emburse in 2021 when it acquired Roadmap, a leading mobile-based travel technology company he co-founded. As SVP, Solutions Strategy, Jeroen is responsible for delivering a superior end-to-end travel experience for customers, overseeing the company’s Travel & Mobility Solutions group. 

A winner of BTN 2015 Innovator Award, Tech.eu “hottest startups” in 2017 and a Skift’s Corporate Travel innovator in 2019, Roadmap was Jeroen's third consecutive venture and combined his passion for travel and building human-centric organizations. 

Before starting Roadmap, Jeroen was CEO of Sound of Data, which created customer happiness solutions for the customer care, travel and broadcasting industries until a successful exit in 2015. He previously served as CCO and co-founder of mobile payment and sales platform, Mobile2Pay.

Jeroen holds a Master’s degree in Economics, Marketing Management and Information Management from the University of Amsterdam.

What’s your why?

Making work not feel like work. Strange things go on in workplaces that do not make sense. Why would I be someone different at work than I am among friends? So I enjoy creating work environments that feel safe to be in and welcoming of our full selves. 

 What is the best place you’ve traveled to?

Los Roques, Venezuela. I’m not sure it was the best but it for sure was one of the most beautiful - It’s where they shoot all the tropical island commercials. I love to travel to South America. If you have never been there, start in Ecuador. It has the entire continent in one country: jungle, mountains, desert and beaches.

What’s your favorite book? 

The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama. I always had some resistance to esoteric matters until I came across this book. It led to a profound change in my lifestyle and got me to meditate daily.

What did you want to be as a kid?

 An ambassador. Shaking hands and visiting a lot of parties felt like my dream job.

 Johann Wrede

Johann Wrede

Chief Experience Officer

As Chief Experience Officer, Johann is responsible for leading a cross-functional marketing and customer success organization, with the goal of delivering a world-class customer experience from first awareness through subscription renewal.  

Over the course of the last 25 years, Johann has written, implemented, sold and marketed a variety of customer database, CRM and customer experience (CX) products. An evangelist for customer experience, he has delivered keynotes and press interviews in 18 different countries, and written numerous articles on the topic.

Prior to Emburse, he served as Chief Marketing Officer at Xactly Corporation. Before joining Xactly, he held several executive leadership positions within SAP Global Marketing. Earlier in his career, Johann held a variety of technical, field, and go-to-market leadership positions at SAP CX, NewScale (Cisco), Nightfire (Neustar), Clarify (Amdocs) and IBM.

Johann holds a BS in Commerce and Engineering from Drexel University.

What’s your why? 

As passionate as I am about CX, my ‘why’ is sustainable growth. Growth that strengthens our society, restores our environment and expands our economy. Whether raising a child, building a business, developing a team or volunteering in my community, I see the opportunity for supporting growth everywhere–and that fires me up!

What did you want to be as a kid?

When I was young, I read Chuck Yeager’s autobiography and dreamt of being a test pilot.  I bought countless books on airplanes, played every flight simulator they made for the Commodore 64 and eventually started private pilot training at age 16 (and quickly learned what happens when expenses exceed your income). Unfortunately, I was too big and too blind to become a pilot, but I still have plans to finish my private pilot training and fly for fun.

What’s your favorite movie of all time?

As a hardcore sci-fi nerd and a father, Interstellar has stolen my heart. Between Matthew McConaughey’s performance as a man deeply committed to his children, and Christopher Nolan’s determination to accurately model the wonders of our universe, I am moved every time I watch it.

What do you do to relax?

Relaxation comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s hours spent listening to music on the sofa alone, sometimes it’s riding my motorcycle through the mountains with friends, sometimes it’s a round of golf with my partner or a day of skiing with my son, sometimes it’s tinkering with a home automation project alone or playing a board game with my family.

Where’s the best place you visited?

One place that definitely stands out to me is Ljubljana, Slovenia. It’s a small, picturesque city with a river running through it. The downtown is a large pedestrian zone, and without cars the sidewalk cafes take up the whole street. I felt such a sense of peace as I sat sipping my coffee, listening to the burbling of the river, the buzz of conversation and the laughing of children. The city also has an amazing evening food market with local restaurants setting up stalls to sell their best dishes and delicious local wine.
 Rajeev Subramanyam

Rajeev Subramanyam

SVP and General Manager,
Emburse Pay

Rajeev leads all payments innovation efforts for Emburse, and is responsible for developing integrated payment experiences to enhance the Emburse product suite.
 
Rajeev joined Emburse in 2020 after a 19-year career at American Express, where he held a series of leadership roles in marketing and payments. Rajeev led most aspects of marketing from new customer acquisition to loyalty marketing. Most recently Rajeev led an AP automation startup business within Amex, leading all aspects of business development, product management and go-to-market. Seeing the growth potential in the B2B payments space, Rajeev joined Emburse to capitalize on the significant opportunities to create a market leading end-to-end P2P solution.
 
Rajeev holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the City University of New York and a B. Tech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology.
 
What’s your why?
On a personal front, I really enjoy spending time with my wife and my toddler. it’s a real joy to see him grow-up and experience being a kid again! On the professional front, I really enjoy solving problems for customers using technology and seeing the output of the work in customer and business benefits. I also strive to continually learn and grow to increase my contribution
 
Where is the best place you’ve traveled to?
Turkey. I loved the atmosphere and a country that is both modern and steeped in history. I love the food, the buzzing cities, and the amazing countryside
 
What’s your favorite movie of all time?
Gandhi by Richard Attenborough. I remember it being one of first movies I saw. The quality of the acting and production, coupled with narrative of the history of India made it very memorable, and I was awestruck as a kid.
 
What do you do to relax? 
My toddler is a constant source of entertainment and I find it very relaxing to watch him learn and get excited. Outside of that, I enjoy a nice glass of wine, listening to music, and reading up on history and current affairs, with a bias to the former.
 Richard Crum

Richard Crum

Chief Product Officer

Richard leads product strategy and development for Emburse’s suite of travel, expense, analytics, and payment solutions for businesses looking to simplify T&E, Purchasing and AP management.   

He is an accomplished senior executive with a diverse background in business development, product management, and leadership and success developing and implementing strategies to increase sales, improve efficiency, and drive growth. Richard has more than 30 years of leadership experience across the business travel and spend industries.

Prior to joining Emburse, Richard was the managing vice president and head of Capital One’s Smart Pay division. Before that, he spent eight years at Mastercard, culminating his role as executive vice president and head of its B2B Payments Innovation and T&E solutions division. During the first half of his career, Richard held executive leadership roles at AirPlus and UATP.

Richard holds a Bachelor of Science in economics from George Mason University.

What did you want to be as a kid? 

A baseball player. Now I am just a superfan of Cleveland baseball who will listen to or watch every game hoping to go well beyond the 162 game regular season. There is a baseball on my desk that people may see me holding on a Zoom call … this is to keep me from fidgeting noisily and distracting others.

What fact about you would surprise people?

I founded an online music magazine called Impulse Music Journal back in 1992; when the internet was purely usenet groups and email. We had a dorm room full of CDs and concert posters. Before we quit we amassed a readership of hundreds of thousands across 60+ counties. It was a great way to learn about finding product market fit.

What do you do to relax?

Our family enjoys visiting Virginia wineries with a picnic. Over the last few years we have been to over 25 wineries and found a few we really enjoy. If you come to Virginia, I can give you a suggestion of where to enjoy some nice local wine.

 William Vestal

William Vestal

Chief Technology Officer

In his role as CTO, William focuses on driving innovation across the Emburse suite of solutions while consistently focusing on and elevating product quality. During William’s career, he has served as a leader in software innovation, product development, and professional services, in addition to founding multiple startups.  

Prior to joining Emburse, William spent 10 years in various roles at healthcare payment integrity technology provider iHealth (which later went public and rebranded as Cotiviti). He spent the last four years of his tenure on the innovation team as it transitioned to be a people-first company.

He has also held several senior technology roles with organizations ranging from internet consultancy Thoughtmill to communications technology provider Scientific Atlanta (now part of Cisco Systems).

Throughout William’s career, he has co-authored several patents/inventions including unlocking your car with your phone, explainability of complex algorithms, remote banking, and privacy of PHI, just to name a few.

William holds a BS Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

What’s your why? 

My ‘Why’ used to be problem solving and technology, but I have grown to appreciate people and their journeys as my primary why. I desire to help overall at an organizational level and on an individual level. I get the most fulfillment seeing a person whom I work with energized and happy and growing. It is when I know I might have made a difference for them and they can own it 100%. If I can help set conditions to enable that, I will at every turn.

Where is the best place you’ve traveled to?

I lived in Australia for about a year with my wife, and I was able to see several parts, such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Blue Mountains, Sydney, and the Pacific Coast Highway, and explore. It was amazing. We took a big chance and bought one-way tickets for us to start a new company there and we made the most of the adventure.

What do you do to relax?

I practice daily mindfulness which helps me reset and energize. Everyday I find 35 minutes to do a routine. On top of that, I enjoy sitting outside among trees and birds.

What did you want to be as a kid?

When I was eight, I got a really nice t-shirt from my grandmother who had attended the launch of the Space Shuttle. I started watching every launch on television after that thinking maybe one day I would go. When I got into high school and Top Gun came out, I was sure I wanted to find a way to fly. I started college studying aerospace, and nearly joined the Navy. Then an electrical engineering professor asked me to volunteer for the SETI project, and Carl Sagan came to speak at Georgia Tech. That same quarter, I pivoted to electrical engineering specifically in signals, and never looked back.

Emburse is hiring!

We value our collaborative culture and believe that building positive relationships in the workplace is essential to success.

Careers

Find the right fit for you

We can tailor our solutions to meet the exact needs of your company, regardless of its size, industry, or geography.

Find my fit