Team

Bruce Haymes, Co-Founder of Stage18, spearheads corporate strategy, channel partnerships, and M&A activities. Before this, he served as Chief Partnership Officer at Northeastern University and spent over a decade at Nielsen and NielsenIQ, pioneering their venture capital fund, leading the Digital Media Manager business, and guiding corporate strategy. Bruce’s experience includes leadership roles at Spectrum Cable and PanAmSat, participating in notable ventures like management buyouts and public listings. Currently, he chairs Toluna Holdings, a significant global digital market research firm, and collaborates with Progress Partners, specializing in advertising, media, and data sectors. Bruce holds a BA from Tufts and a JD from The George Washington School of Law.

Michael Himmelfarb, Co-Founder of Stage18, leads marketing optimization and product marketing engagements. Before Stage18, as a Growth Partner at Mercury Fund and Manifold Group, he held CxO and advisory for numerous startups and mid-sized firms in Business Services, MarTech, CPG, and Data & Analytics, with many achieving successful exits. He held various leadership roles at NielsenIQ, including running its $250M global shopper panel business. His experience spans product marketing with various tech startups, marketing at Clorox, and investment banking at BlackRock and Lehman. Michael earned his BS from Wharton and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Jessica Lukas is a Principal at Stage18, focusing on growth strategies for middle market companies. Prior to this, she served as Chief Commercial Officer at BDSA, overseeing a notable expansion in revenue and team size. Through her consultancy, JLLukas LLC, she provides strategic guidance to Cannabis Brands, Retail, and Tech sectors. Her experience also spans roles at Nielsen, managing client relationships and product market research, and at Dr Pepper, where she directed shopper marketing initiatives. Jessica earned her MBA from the University of Florida and holds a Bachelor’s in Business Marketing from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

Dr. Kemi Jona an Advisor at Stage18. He is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Digital Innovation and Enterprise Learning at Northeastern University, overseeing the design of digital experiential learning platforms and forming strategic enterprise partnerships. He established the Lowell Institute School at Northeastern, focusing on industry-aligned bachelor’s completion programs for working adults. Prior to this, he served as a Research Professor at Northwestern University, advancing STEM education through the development of online tools and was the Director of the Northwestern University Office of STEM Education Partnerships. Dr. Jona offers advisory services on talent strategy and employer-higher education partnerships and has published extensively on learning technologies and STEM education. He earned his PhD in Computer Science from Northwestern University.