What we do:

We know how it feels to book a flight or hotel room and not know if you got the best price. The very same flight or hotel room you book today for $350 could be available tomorrow for $250. Yapta aims to help travelers get a better handle on pricing by providing easy-to-use tools and information that assures they get the best value from their travel spending.

Who we are Join Us »

Yapta Team

Ken Myer, Interim President & CEO

Ken has over 20 years of successful experience in the technology industry leading companies ranging in size from start-ups to Fortune 100. As co-founder and CEO of Interval Systems, Ken positioned the company as one of the leading providers of software tools for process improvement. As Executive Vice President of publicly traded Active Voice Ken's successful efforts to launch a new product into the enterprise helped pave the way for an eventual buyout by Cisco in 2001 for $300M. Earlier in his career Ken spent 15 years at IBM in various executive positions and most recently, served three years leading the Washington Technology Industry Association. Ken is active in the Washington technology non-profit communities.

Jerry McGuire, CFO

Jerry McGuire leads Yapta's financial operations having spent more than 20 years as a consulting CFO to over 50 technology companies. He has helped his clients raise substantial equity and debt financing, aided management teams in strategic and tactical planning, established and managed financial controls and accounting systems, and has managed facilities, human resources and IT functions. Earlier in his career, Jerry worked as a marketing representative with IBM, as a consultant with Deloitte Haskins and Sells, and as Vice President of Finance at SeaMed Corporation. Jerry has an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.

Karim Meghji, VP, Product & Engineering

Karim came to Yapta after 10 years at Real Networks where he served as a key member of their executive team. Before leaving Real Networks, Karim was VP of Music Software and Services, overseeing Real's award-winning music subscription service, Rhapsody. Karim was a key member of the team that led the successful delivery of Rhapsody to portable, mobile and living room devices. He was also responsible for a number of successful product and business initiatives including partnerships with BestBuy, Sandisk, Google and Rolling Stone. Karim holds a BS in Computer Science from San Jose State University.

Valerie Layman, VP, Business Development

Valerie is a veteran of online travel, having previously worked at Orbitz as part of the company's corporate travel division, serving as Director of Product Management. As champion of the OrbitzforBusiness Product, Valerie delivered both online and offline capabilities which expanded the customer base and differentiated Orbitz from its competitors. While at Orbitz, she was also responsible for managing many of the company's direct-connect relationships with various travel suppliers. Prior to her work at Orbitz, she served as a consultant for Accenture in Chicago. Valerie has a BS in Marketing and an MBA from Kansas State University.

Roger Gould, VP, Sales

Roger is a veteran of the travel management industry. Prior to Yapta, he co-founded and managed Biz Travel Consultants, a travel management consulting firm. He also served as VP of Global Sales at Travel Leaders and spent 16 years at American Express where he held several sales leadership roles in Corporate Services including Business Travel, Commercial Card and Technologies and helped launch the Purchasing Card. Roger holds a BA degree from the University of Florida and an MS from the University of Hartford.