Leadership Team

Mike has been a leader in the direct and loyalty marketing space since 1998. He is currently Chairman and CEO of Tenerity and was formerly Chairman of Catalina and Chairman of Data Axle. He recently led the sale of Catalina to Infillion and, combined with the sale of Nielsen Catalina Solutions to Circana, realized a successful debt and equity return for investors. Mike was named Chairman of Catalina by the debt investors upon its emergence from bankruptcy in 2023.

Elliott appointed Mike to the board of Affinion Direct Marketing (later cXLoyalty) in 2017, and he became Chairman in 2019. During Mike’s tenure as Chairman, the cxLoyalty platform and brand was sold to JP Morgan Chase in 2020 at very accretive multiples. The remaining business was renamed Tenerity and Mike became CEO in 2024. Tenerity helps consumer-facing businesses generate ancillary revenue through subscription-based products and membership programs and operates a leading and unique e-commerce and loyalty platform in Europe that operates under the brand Webloyalty.

Mike was CEO of Data Axle for 12 years and built the industry-leading business and consumer databases that help enterprise and small companies exceed their goals through powerful data and the company’s award-winning Axle Agency. While at Data Axle, he acquired several companies and created an industry-leading data-driven loyalty and marketing company.

Mike was also CEO of Epsilon from 2001 to 2009, transforming Epsilon into a leading database, direct, and loyalty marketing company. Mike was originally hired by Bain Capital and Greylock to be CFO of Epsilon in 1998 upon its spinout from American Express and, as CFO, led the sale to The Carlyle Group in 2001. He was named CEO shortly after closing. As CEO, Mike led the successful sale of Epsilon to Alliance Data Systems in 2004 and joined the ADS Executive Committee.

He has extensive experience working with financial sponsors, venture capitalists, and distressed debt funds, and has served as an operating partner at CCMP Capital. Mike has been an operator or served on boards with Bain Capital, The Carlyle Group, Court Square Partners, CCMP Capital, Elliott, Greylock, ICG, Montgomery Partners, Mudrick Capital, Silver Lake (Sumeru), and Trinity Capital.

He holds a B.S. in Accounting and English from Boston College, where he graduated magna cum laude, and is a former Certified Public Accountant. Mike held senior-level positions in the audit groups at both KPMG and PwC. He was also previously Corporate Controller of Summit Technology, a NASDAQ company that pioneered the excimer laser technology behind the LASIK procedure.

Michele joined Tenerity in 2007, holding divisional President and CFO roles across the international business. Currently, he leads the global commercial business, where he has successfully led its expansion by driving innovation and client acquisitions that include some of the world’s largest and most respected brands in e-commerce, retail, financial institutions, and telecommunications.

Prior to Tenerity, Michele spent ten years with American Express holding various key positions including CFO of Establishment Services International. Prior to American Express, Michele also held positions with Enel as VP/Head of Finance-Investor Relations and with DHL Int’l as Controller-Business Transformation.

Michele was born in Italy, is a CPA, and holds a first-class Honors Degree in Economics & Business, MBA (Università degli Studi Federico II, I.U.N – Italy) and a post graduate Management Degree in Finance (Formez/Fiat School of Management – Italy).

Alfredo Martini holds both the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief of Staff roles at Tenerity, where he is responsible for driving financial strategy, overseeing operations, and supporting the CEO and Executive Team in shaping and executing the company’s strategic agenda.

Since joining Tenerity in 2009, Alfredo has held a series of leadership positions across Finance, Corporate Development, Business, and Operations. His career has spanned roles including Head of Finance in Southern Europe, Commercial Strategy Director in Southern Europe, Country Head in Italy, and Head of Northern Europe and Emerging Markets.

In these positions, he has led major transformation initiatives, shaped commercial strategy, and played a pivotal role in executing mergers and acquisitions that advanced the company’s growth.

Earlier in his career, Alfredo spent nearly a decade with one of Italy’s largest banking groups, holding a range of finance leadership positions that built his foundation in financial management and operational excellence.

Alfredo graduated with a magna cum laude bachelor degree in Business Administration and Finance and with a magna cum laude master degree in Markets and Business Strategy, both from Università Cattolica di Milano (Italy).

Iphigenie was appointed General Counsel of Tenerity in January 2024 having previously served as the General Counsel for International markets (EMEA and LATAM).

She joined the organization in 2012 as a member of the Legal Department. Prior to her appointment to General Counsel for International in 2015, she held various positions within the department.

Iphigenie previously worked as an associate in the Antitrust and M&A/Competition Practice at Hogan Lovells LLP.

She qualified in France and holds a French and German Master of Laws from Paris X, Humboldt Berlin and Potsdam Universities, as well as a Master of Public Affairs from Sciences-Po Paris.

Jayesh Patel is the Chief Technology Officer at Tenerity, where he leads the company’s global technology vision with a strong focus on data platforms, scalable architectures, and high-performance applications. Based in the United States, Jayesh plays a pivotal role in shaping Tenerity’s technology strategy, ensuring that data and engineering capabilities power innovation, intelligence, and long-term business growth.

With over 25 years of experience in building and modernizing enterprise-grade data systems, Jayesh has a proven track record of designing resilient, scalable architectures that support complex, high-volume environments. His expertise spans modern data engineering, system integration, and performance optimization, with a consistent emphasis on simplifying complexity while enabling smarter decision-making across the organization.

Prior to joining Tenerity, Jayesh held senior technology leadership roles at Data Axle and Edith Roman Associates. In these roles, he led large-scale database transformations, built custom ETL frameworks, and developed advanced campaign management and analytics platforms for the direct marketing industry. Known for his hands-on leadership style, Jayesh combines deep technical acumen with a collaborative mindset, driving teams to deliver practical, future-ready solutions.

Jayesh holds a diploma in Software Engineering from Apple Computers India and a bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Gujarat University. Outside of work, he enjoys exploring emerging technologies, mentoring engineering talent, and actively contributing to technical communities and forums.

Simon Lanham serves as Chief People Officer at Tenerity, leading the company’s global people strategy across 14 countries.

Since joining in 2021 as Vice President of HR International, he has strengthened leadership capability, evolved organisational design, and supported the company’s international growth. Appointed Chief People Officer in April 2025, he now oversees the global HR function and manages a multi-million dollar budget aligned to business transformation and performance.

With more than two decades of senior HR and transformation experience, Simon has built a career guiding complex, multinational organisations through structural change. Prior to Tenerity, he was HR Director at FirstGroup plc, partnering with the executive team during significant divestments and corporate transitions.

At CBRE, he served as HR Transformation Director for EMEA, leading payroll consolidation and shared services programmes across 40 countries. Earlier, as an Associate Partner at IBM, he advised major financial and legal institutions on HR strategy, organisational effectiveness, and change execution.

Simon has also held senior HR leadership roles at Grant Thornton UK LLP, the Ministry of Justice, and Clifford Chance LLP, delivering large-scale transformation initiatives focused on operational efficiency and workforce performance.

He holds a BSc in Management Science from Loughborough University and a postgraduate diploma in Personnel Management.