Angela Bole is Chief Executive Officer of Firebrand Technologies and NetGalley, LLC, both a strategic part of the Firebrand Group collection of companies owned by Media Do International that offer comprehensive technology solutions to nurture book publisher success. Before Firebrand Technologies and NetGalley, LLC, she was Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), a position she held for 9 years.

With over 20 years of book industry experience, Angela has spent her career creating and nurturing the kind of collaboration that builds best-in-class products and services. In 2019, she was named a Publishers Weekly notable person of the year for her work moving the causes of independent publishers forward. In addition, she has served on the boards of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) and the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). During her service to BISG, she was awarded both the Community Builder Award and the Industry Champion Award.

Angela has a master’s degree in Book Publishing from New York University and a bachelor’s in English with a minor in Gender Studies from Indiana University Bloomington. An avid reader, she lives in Redondo Beach, California where she runs a monthly book club of over 700 members, practices yoga as often as possible, and crochets blankets that are always looking for a good home.

Tom Shawver is a life-long technologist who has spent over 15 years leading companies ranging from seed-stage to the Fortune 500 in embracing cutting-edge solutions to drive growth and customer delight. Before Firebrand Group, Tom was the Chief Technology Officer at 360 Media Direct, working with both book and magazine publishers to drive digital content adoption among readers.

Starting at the ground level of the cloud computing boom, Tom specializes in building software platforms that scale globally, react quickly, and stay highly integrated with other industry-leading software. He maintains and contributes to widely used open source software products that power thousands of companies worldwide, focusing on security and customer identity. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Albright College, where he also studied in the Music and Digital Media programs.

When Tom's not building technology strategy, he enjoys kayaking with his wife and three children in New Jersey, writing music, designing electronics, and keeping his nose firmly planted in a sci-fi novel. His education was funded largely by a 13-year career in stage magic, so Tom is not to be trusted around a deck of cards.