Kaleil Isaza Tuzman (born in October 1971) is entrepreneur, the chief executive officer and elected chairman of the board of KIT digital, Inc. Isaza Tuzman, a magna cum laude graduate from Harvard University, started his career at Goldman Sachs and stayed in its Investment Banking and Equity Risk Arbitrage divisions for 5 years.
Tuzman is best known as an entrepreneur and co-founder of govWorks.com, subject of the 2001 documentary Startup.com about the founding and liquidation of the company.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Isaza Tuzman graduated from Amherst Regional High School and entered Brown University in 1989. A year later transferred to Harvard University where he became a member of Harvard University baseball varsity team and joined the The Phoenix - S K Club .
After graduating from Harvard University, Isaza Tuzman worked on Wall Street for 5 years at Goldman Sachs before quitting his job in 1999 to launch govWorks, Inc., an Internet start-up along with his childhood friend Tom Herman. Isaza Tuzman as the company’s CEO was able to quickly raise $60 million in venture capital, however like many companies of the “dot com” era, govWorks, Inc. was negatively affected by the burst of the "dot-com bubble" and was sold to First Data Corp. for nearly $20 million. The journey from the founding days to the sale of the company was documented in a documentary “Startup.com”, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001.
Soon after govWorks.com, Isaza Tuzman founded Recognition Group (later known as KIT Capital), a company aimed at providing exit strategies, financial restructuring and interim management for distressed companies. Among dozens of projects, KIT Capital managed the sale of Tigris Corp., a privately-held strategic sourcing and supply chain consultancy based in New York City, to Verticalnet, Inc. in 2004. In 2001 KIT Capital/Recognition Group took over KPE, a struggling web development subsidiary of Grey Global Group, where Isaza Tuzman took the role of the CEO and chairman and sold the company to Mobilocity, Inc. (which was subsequently sold to Agency.com) less than a year later.
In May 2005, Isaza Tuzman was brought in as the President of JumpTV, a small start-up that focused on delivering foreign Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) content. Under his leadership, the company grew to become a leading company in delivery of syndicated foreign television content over the Internet around the globe. In August 2006, Isaza Tuzman led the IPO of JumpTV with Morgan Stanley as the lead underwriter, which allowed the company to raise over $60 million, and additional $100 million in a secondary offering less than a year later. In late 2007, Isaza Tuzman sold a substantial portion of his shareholding interest in JumpTV in the public market.
In 2008, Isaza Tuzman purchased a controlling interest in ROO Group and became the company’s CEO and chairman of the board. After financial restructuring and key acquisitions ROO, an Internet video technologies company, became one of the leading end-to-end IP video providers under the new name of KIT digital, Inc.. KIT digital listed on the NASDAQ Global Market in August 2009 under the ticker "KITD".
In August 2008 KIT Capital, MNA partners and RiverRoad Ventures merged to form KCP Capital, a cross-border merchant bank.
Isaza Tuzman has served as a U.S. trade representative under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
In August 2000 Isaza Tuzman accompanied President Clinton on Air Force One visit to Cartagena, Colombia during the first trip to the country by a U.S. sitting president.
Since 2007, Isaza Tuzman has been serving as a consular representative of Colombia in the United Arab Emirates.
Since 2009, Isaza Tuzman has been a member of President Barack Obama's Hispanic Leadership Council.