Lets get personal
Arroweye is a card marketing and production partner that provides just-in-time, highly customized plastic gift, incentive and payment cards and carriers. With an integrated combination of web-based design tools and on-demand manufacturing and personalization capabilities, Arroweye is the only fully-digital manufacturer of plastic within the open- and closed-loop industry. We provide card solutions for:
• Gift services for e-commerce
• Closed loop gift cards
• Prepaid and stored value card
• Credit and debit cards
• Reward and incentive cards
Our full suite of gifting solutions – including customized greeting cards, branded card communications programs and a variety of stored value gift card solutions – add revenue to a retailer’s business, reduce costs and excite consumers.
History
Arroweye was founded in 1999 as 4YourSoul.com, Inc., with the goal of enhancing the online gifting experience by enabling retailers to offer personalized greeting cards with their outbound gifts. In early 2000, the company converted from an LLC to a Delaware C-Corporation. In 2004, Arroweye then extended its solution set and launched a patented gift card product that combined personalized gift cards with personalized greeting cards. With the increasing popularity of gift cards, Arroweye recognized the opportunity to leverage its personalization technologies and fulfillment expertise to make gift cards more unique and thoughtful by allowing consumers to create their own custom gift card designs with their own photos and messages. This product has been widely adopted by many of the top retailers in the industry.
In early 2009, Arroweye acquired CardintheBox, another leader in the space of personalizing the gift experience by offering a greeting card to an online gift purchase. The company's success to date and continued growth can be credited to the fact that it solutions reduces cost, create profit, and improve the online gift-giving experience.
Also in fall of 2009, Arroweye became the first Visa certified, fully-digital manufacturer, and brought several new benefits to customers in the payment card industry, including: zero inventory, design flexibility and incredible speed to market. To end the year, Arroweye obtained approval to print and manufacture Mastercard payment cards.
Today Arroweye is a card marketing and production partner that provides just-in-time, highly customized plastic gift, incentive and payment cards and carriers. With a unique combination of web-based design tools and on-demand manufacturing and personalization capabilities, Arroweye is the only fully-digital manufacturer of plastic within the open- and closed-loop industry. The company also provides gifting solutions, including customized greeting cards, branded card communications programs and a suite of stored value gift card solutions.
Intellectual Property Statement
Products and services offered by Arroweye may be protected by one or more of the following US Patents: 6,965,912; 7,359,954; 7,370,076; 7,606,857; 7,478,143. Other Patents Pending.
Community Outreach
"Pitching In"
Art education is fundamental for inspiring ideas and bridging cultural divides; promoting self-confidence and enriching lives. As education budgets become tighter, basic art supplies become a luxury schools and art programs cannot afford. Arroweye Solutions is proud to support the arts in Chicago by collecting and delivering unused and unwanted art materials to local schools and arts organizations that need it most.
Arroweye is the first corporation to partner with Creative Pitch, a Chicago based not-for-profit working with the Chicago advertising and design community to make art materials available to over 75 under-funded schools and tens of thousands of students.
To learn more about Creative Pitch, please visit www.creativepitch.org.
Leadership
Doron Friedman, Executive Chairman
Doron Friedman is the founder of Arroweye Solutions and has led company development and growth from inception, including conceptualizing products, fundraising, client sales and developing strategic relationships.
Friedman developed the concept of Arroweye Solutions after receiving a box of chocolates without a personalized note inside. He saw the opportunity to make mail-order gifts more personal and thoughtful through the use of technology and sophisticated printing. This idea has grown into what is today a suite of gifting solutions, including gift and payments cards as well as greeting cards and carriers.
Before Arroweye, entrepreneur Friedman also founded and operated a chain of restaurants, Bagel Café, Inc., where he managed more than 60 employees. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with concentrations in Finance, Accounting and Multinational Management.
He and his family live in Chicago.
Render Dahiya, President & CEO
Render Dahiya began his career at Dallas-based FedEx Kinko’s where he last served as the company’s Senior Vice President of US Operations overseeing 16,000 team members at 1200 locations. Dahiya joined Kinko’s in the company’s early years and is listed as one of its founding partners. He helped grow Kinko’s into a national brand that was eventually acquired by FedEx. After 19 years at FedEx Kinko’s, Dahiya left the company to become part of the management team at Culligan International where he served as EVP of North American Dealers. There he helped lead a turnaround of the over 70-year-old brand, improving both sales and operating results.
Dahiya joined Arroweye in November 2007, and became CEO in May 2008. Once earning his stripes in the closed loop sphere—with a client roster that includes Macy’s, Borders and eBay, to name a few—Dahiya helped lead Arroweye into the open loop industry in 2009, by obtaining Visa Vendor approval. This certification marked Arroweye as the first company to manufacture and print the Visa logo on-demand while simultaneously personalizing a payment card.
Dahiya is most proud of Arroweye’s innovative culture, its focus on operational excellence and the company’s ability to bring fully customizable open and closed loop cards to their world-class partners and clients.
He is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and the Illinois Technology Association. Dahiya and his wife and four children live in a suburb of Chicago.
Brian Huse, Chief Information Officer
Brian Huse is a founding member of Arroweye Solutions. As Chief Information Officer, Huse is responsible for all IS and IT activities as well as corporate physical and network security. He is also credited with leading Arroweye’s production and operations efforts for the company’s first eight years.
Prior to co-founding Arroweye, Huse served as Director of Information Systems for Mercer Global Advisors and Director of Information Systems for Sputtered Films, Inc. He also worked for Electronic Data System (EDS) and Xerox as Implementation Team Leader managing large scale deployments. Before that, Huse served 10 years in the United States Navy submarine force specializing in research and development of computerized control and communications systems, and performing systems installation, administration and integration. Huse has vast experience in network design and telecommunications, software development and multi-site deployments and integration.
Huse and his wife live in Henderson, Nev.
Steve Henkels, Chief Technology Officer
Steve Henkels serves as Arroweye’s Chief Technology Officer. Henkels came to Arroweye from OutStart, a Boston-based e-learning technology company. He also served as the Vice President of Development at business intelligence provider SPSS (now a division of IBM) during his 11-year tenure at the company. Currently, Henkels manages all aspects of Arroweye’s computer technology development.
Henkels came to Arroweye in December 2007 and lives in the Chicago-land area with his family.
Kim Hoyt, Chief Financial Officer
As Chief Financial Officer for Arroweye, Kim Hoyt oversees all financial and administrative functions. Hoyt brings 20 years of financial, strategic and operational experience in the software and services industry.
Prior to joining Arroweye, Hoyt was the Chief Financial Officer of Hubbard One, a provider of marketing solutions for law firms, and continued to serve as the financial leader for the business after it was acquired by Thomson Reuters. Before Hubbard, Hoyt was the Controller of Finetrics, a Divine InterVentures company, and spent four years in the United Kingdom as the European Finance Manager for Platinum Technology, a global database software and services corporation. Hoyt also served four years with KPMG’s audit technology practice. Hoyt is a Certified Public Accountant, a magna cum laude graduate of Miami University and received her MBA with highest honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Hoyt joined Arroweye in Fall 2009. She and her husband live in a suburb of Chicago with their two children.
Robert McCormick, Vice President of Operations
Robert McCormick, Arroweye’s Vice President of Operations, brings more than 12 years of card manufacturing experience from three continents. In 1997, McCormick sought a technology related industry with product innovation and growth, and found the plastic card industry and manufacturing process provided all of these elements.
McCormick brings experience from ABnote as Vice President of Secure Card Operations and Plant Manager (Buenos Aires). He also served various management positions at Gemalto, Ltd. in both the USA and the UK ranging from operations, software development, quality and engineering.
During his career, McCormick has been involved with many industry technology ground-breaking products and services, for example: translucent cards, chip banking cards and high security ID card programs, such as TWIC, CAC and U.S. Passport Cards.
McCormick received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Bucknell University. He and his family live in Henderson, Nev.
Matt Hillgard, Senior Vice President of Sales & Business Development
As Arroweye’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Matt Hillgard is focused on expanding relationships between Arroweye and its clients and developing new market opportunities. Prior to joining Arroweye, Matt led Western Union’s International Payments Business as Senior Vice President. In this role, he was responsible for developing and leading Western Union’s strategy to aggressively expand its commercial payments business globally.
Matt’s initial role at Western Union was as General Manger of Paymap Inc., a Western Union acquisition servicing the payments needs of the mortgage industry. Prior to serving in that capacity, Matt was a Senior Vice President at First Data Resources (FDR) where he led the product team and was responsible for new product development and market strategy. While with FDR, he also served as General Manger of three separate First Data companies: First Data Solutions, Call Interactive and Hogan Information Services.
He received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Southern Illinois University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania. Hillgard resides in the Chicago area with his family.
Jill Ellis, Director of Marketing
Jill Anderson Ellis is the Director of Marketing for Arroweye Solutions where she leads all internal and external communication for the company as well as overseeing all aspects of the customer experience. After joining Arroweye in 2002, Jill served in various roles, including Creative Director where she helped design Arroweye’s suite of products and Web-based tools. Today, her responsibilities include delivering creative business solutions to the payment card industry. While maintaining her focus on the user experience, Jill seeks to bring compelling, strategic and thoughtful products to both open and closed loop partners and clients.
A graduate of the University of Michigan, Jill lives with her husband in Chicago.