Granger
Whitelaw built a career in finance and marketing which has brought him
ownership and management positions in businesses ranging from an investment
banking firm, a series of profitable eCommerce ventures, an offshore
finance corporation, and a developer of next generation eBusiness software
to partnerships in winning Indy 500 racing teams and an independent
film studio.
Most
recently, Mr. Whitelaw was EVP and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer
for CoreCommerce, a global provider of B2B eCommerce software, where
he was responsible for all sales, marketing, corporate strategic planning
and business development.
Mr.
Whitelaw came to CoreCommerce from EOCnet.com, a Bermuda based electronic
processing company which enables international companies to electronically
incorporate their own virtual businesses on the island and take advantage
of the tax and legal benefits that Bermuda offers all companies based
there. As CEO, Whitelaw pioneered the company, proposed and helped draft
the EBS Ltd. Act of 1999 that enables companies to set up virtual businesses
on the island without the need for a brick and mortar presence.
Mr.
Whitelaw’s interest in the Internet drew him to Wall Street in
the mid-90s and to the investment-banking firm of Grady & Hatch
where he served as Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions. While
there, he helped Xentel Interactive, Inc., an electronic commerce company,
list on the NASD and he assisted TSIG, TeleServices International Group,
Inc., in going public. In 1996, he launched his first on-line venture,
www.fashionplanet.com, one
of the leading fashion websites on the Internet, and he then rapidly
developed and profitably spun off Fashion Almanac, a magazine with over
100,000 New York City subscribers.
In
the next two years, he founded Whitelaw Ventures and advised and raised
funds for Phoenix Information Systems, a Sabre-like airline reservation
system for the Peoples’ Republic of China. He formed the Prospect
Fast Ferry Corporation between New Jersey and Manhattan and was a founding
investor in a fledgling investment bank, The New England Group, among
other ventures.
For
the last decade, Whitelaw has been involved with Indy car racing, most
recently as the partner of two winning Indy 500 teams – Buddy Lazier
in 1996 and Eddie Cheever in 1998. He formed Whitelaw Racing, Inc.,
with the objective of further partnership investments in high performance
racing. In a similar vein, an interest in film led to fundraising for
Steven Segal’s and Jim Belushi’s independent film companies
and ultimately to a CEO position of the motion picture division of Kalorama
Studios, the largest sound stage on the East Coast and the production
site for The Pelican Brief.
Mr.
Whitelaw’s charitable pursuits include his involvement in The Recovery
Network, a non-profit formed to help emotionally and mentally disabled
individuals, and an ongoing involvement with the Lennox Hill Neighborhood
House and the Mill Neck School for the Deaf. In 1991, he founded The
Homeless Foundation of America. Mr. Whitelaw is the New York chairman
for the Crystal Ball, an annual fundraiser for environmental improvement
through contributions to scientific advancement. He is currently Board
Chairman of ProSport Marketing, NYC and an advisor to Connecticut-based
MGT Capital Alliance and various other firms.
Mr.
Whitelaw studied International Trade & Marketing at the University
of Minnesota.