Team
Jim Hazboun, President & CEO
Jim founded Projjix - The Consulting Marketplace™, to help business leaders respond to change by continually bringing insight and expertise into their business. Jim is a veteran of early-stage companies and is a leader with deep experience in the development of human capital strategies to support business change and growth. As an executive and consultant, he has helped a wide variety of Fortune 1000 companies achieve success by improving their workforce strategies. Jim has served as a senior director and member of the human capital management governance board at Resources Global, a Deloitte spin-off. Jim was the first vice president of workforce management at Indymac Bancorp. He also served as a member of the human resources leadership team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL/NASA/Caltech) in Pasadena, California. Jim was the executive responsible for human resources at Business.com. Jim holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of the Pacific.
Michael Christian, Corporate Secretary, General Counsel, VP Corporate Development
Michael is a business leader and lawyer with extensive experience and success in internet start-up companies, corporate governance, public and private finance, and international business. Over the past 20 years, he has held positions with several companies and law firms including member and general counsel at Owners Advantage LLC (owners.com), an online media and real-estate services company; general counsel, secretary, director, executive vice president of strategy, and chief operating officer of Visual Sciences, a publicly traded internet technology company (now Omniture); attorney at Baker & McKenzie; international counsel to Banque Worms, a French commercial bank; and special adviser to the Ministry of Finance of Poland in Warsaw. Michael has a JD degree from the Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree from UCSD.
John Simonelli, Director, Strategy Advisor
John brings to our board more than 25 years of financial and operations experience. As a veteran of four successful Internet companies and a proven executive, John brings a strong track record in corporate governance, public and private finance, and operations management. John recently held the position of chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Looksmart, a publicly traded internet advertising services company. John was chief financial officer of Gap Inc. Direct, the company's online division. He also served as the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Business.com, a business-focused search engine and directory. John honed his finance skills in the media and financial sectors as vice president of corporate finance at The Walt Disney Company and vice president, private debt finance with Citicorp. John began his professional career with Deloitte. John holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Arif Haji, Director, Strategy Advisor
Arif contributes more than 20 years of experience leading strategy, development, and implementation in the technology, telecommunications, and publishing industries. He is a veteran of three start-up companies and a proven business leader. Most recently, Arif served as president of Affinity Mobile. Arif was vice president of technology at Business.com. Arif also served as technology director at Peoplemover/Opus 360 and as the director of systems and operations at The Orange County Register and The Los Angeles Times. Arif earned an MBA from the University of California, Irvine and a bachelor’s degree from California State University Fullerton.
Linda Harper, VP Business Development
Linda is responsible for strategic growth and business development in the Southern California region. She is an industry veteran with a proven track record of success in the project-based consulting industry. Before joining Projjix, Linda was Managing Director at Resources Global Professionals, where she led business development activities and client service delivery for the greater Los Angeles region, building partnerships with clients that range in size from Global Fortune 100 companies to small entrepreneurial companies. Over the past 20 years, Linda has held a variety of accounting and finance positions with large global organizations such as Disney and Nestle.
Sahar Shamoun, VP Talent
Sahar has deep experience helping executives acquire, develop, and retain the human capital they need to grow their business. She leads our efforts to deliver next-generation services to companies and consultants. She uncovers opportunities to continually improve the company and consultant experience. Over the course of her career, Sahar has held business development and executive recruiter roles with such organizations as The MPS Group, Remedy, and Roth Staffing, which are industry leaders in providing human capital to Fortune 500 companies.