Steve Fanale

Steve began his career in the interactive and digital media industry in 1997. After initially working in senior exec roles at Young & Rubicam and APL Digital he decided to take the plunge and start up his own interactive agency, MassMedia Studios, in 2000.

MassMedia Studios was an Australian leader in the provision of digital and interactive services and moved on to the international stage when he opened offices in London and New York in 2006, and grew the team to more than fifty employees with global brands like Audi, Cadbury, Unilever, Diageo, Vue Entertainment and Yahoo!7 on its key client list.

Early on it became apparent that a digital agency's success could be enhanced with the inclusion of a product offering. So in 2003 work begun on the development of Traction, a relationship marketing platform that helps brands interact, learn and effectively target their customers across all marketing channels. Highly regarded across the digital marketing industry, Traction has grown into a global platform with clients across North America, Europe and Asia.

In 2007 MassMedia and Traction were sold to the publicly listed BlueFreeway group. During his time within the group, Steve was asked to move into an interim COO role to improve the groupʼs internal processes and stabilise its financial position. With new investment in the group and solid strategy for long-term growth in place at BlueFreeway, Steve then returned to MassMedia to manage a very successful phase of the business within the IPMG Group.

In 2010 Steve left the business to take some time off but his interest in digital innovation brought him back into the world of apps in 2012. As the founder and creator of AppVillage, Steve believed he had developed an incubation model to meet the needs of innovators, designers, developers, investors and consumers who love being part of the app world.

In 2014 founded Drive Yello which drew him back into building enterprise platforms for global businesses again.