Our Mission

Afif is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SOCi, and has been at the forefront of technology for over 25 years.

With a BS in Neuroscience and Genetics from UC San Diego, and a JD from Northwestern University School of Law, Afif has enjoyed a decorated career as a scientist, an attorney, a venture capitalist, and founder of two successful startups—including SOCi, which he has built to a 7-time Inc.5000 Fastest Growing Company in America and G2-ranked Top 5 Marketing Platform in the World.

Afif is now passionate about changing our relationship with software, from a tool to a partner that can be trained to do the work for us. To that end, SOCi has recently released the CoMarketing Cloud, an autonomous data analytics and marketing platform that is changing the martech landscape.

Monica Ho, CMO of SOCi, Inc., has had nearly 20 years of digital marketing, advertising and research experience, including a solid foundation in sales, strategy and data analytics. Prior to SOCi, Monica served as Global CMO at GroundTruth (formerly xAd, Inc), where she helped grow the business from an early stage start-up to an award-winning global brand. In addition to her role at SOCi, Monica serves on the board of the Advanced Digital Marketing and Media Community of Austin (AUSAM), as well as serves on the advisory boards of several digital marketing and technology start-ups within NY, TX and CA.

Gardiner brings over 25 years of experience in the software industry, with a successful track record at both publicly traded and private equity-backed companies, as well as international organizations spanning across 30 countries. Gardiner’s diverse experience includes leading companies through periods of significant growth and transformation. Most recently, Gardiner was the COO and CFO of Pantheon. Prior to this, he was the CFO and chief strategy advisor at Sitecore, and president and CFO of ZoomInfo. During his tenures, these companies have been named to the Inc. 5000 List, Deloitte’s Fast 500, Fortune’s Top 50 Best Places to Work, Inc.’s Best Workplaces, and Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work in America.

As SOCi’s CFO, Gardiner focuses on refining operational processes, enhancing customer trust, and driving expansion into new markets. As SOCi continues its global expansion, Gardiner’s vision includes maturing systems and refining pricing and packaging strategies to make it easier for customers to leverage the full suite of SOCi’s offerings.

Dan Izen, Chief Sales Officer, has over a decade of experience leading high-performing sales organizations in SaaS and digital marketing, with a focus on enterprise and multi-location brands. Dan first joined SOCi in 2020 and, after nearly four years, left in late 2023 to serve as SVP of Sales at Eulerity before returning to SOCi. The company’s evolution into AI-powered SOCi Agents and its ability to transform how brands manage local search, reviews, and social engagement inspired his return. Dan has also held senior leadership roles at MomentFeed (acquired by Uberall), driving growth across retail, QSR, franchise, financial services, healthcare, and automotive. At SOCi, he oversees revenue strategy and enterprise partnerships, and is passionate about mentoring sales leaders and helping enterprise brands leverage disruptive technology to solve complex challenges.

David Marler is a growth-oriented executive with 25+ years of experience scaling SaaS organizations, building world-class customer success teams, and driving revenue retention and expansion across enterprise and SMB markets. David brings a blend of strategic leadership, operational rigor, and personal resilience — coupled with a renewed sense of purpose. Whether continuing in executive leadership, joining a forward-thinking innovator, or creative venture, David is excited to contribute with authenticity, impact, and vision.

Richard Lumsden serves as Chief of Staff at SOCi, working alongside our CEO on key strategic initiatives to drive our Agentic Growth and Roadmap. Over his 8 year tenure, Richard has held the roles of Vice President and Senior Vice President of Business Development, leading teams responsible for strategic partnerships and resellers, new product ideation, M&A, referral partners, and publisher relationships.

Before SOCi, Richard built a career at the intersection of business development, partnerships, and go-to-market strategy across SaaS and fintech. He was part of the executive team at SinglePlatform, leading Business Development, Strategy, and Marketing through its acquisition by Endurance International Group, and continued to guide that integration as VP of Business Development at Endurance. Earlier, he was a founding member of the merchant sales team at Truaxis (acquired by MasterCard), and held sales and marketing leadership roles at Next Jump in both the US and UK.

Richard holds a BSc in Social Sciences and Economics from the University of Bath. He is based in Austin, Texas.