Eric Berman spent most of the 90s working at Microsoft.  He was a program manager who worked on Microsoft Word, a handwriting recognition engine for Windows, and a tablet computer.  He led the program management team that produced Outlook Express, which was Microsoft’s first HTML-capable and internet-standards compliant email system, and he led the team for Internet Explorer 5’s end-user experience, producing the browser that finally put Microsoft ahead in the browser wars.  He worked a predecessor to the Bing search engine before joining the Expedia team just as it spun out of Microsoft. 

 

At Expedia, he led a variety of teams before becoming the Vice President of a team of about 80 designers and product developers that produced all of the shopping paths (flights, hotels, cars, cruises, packages, and trip add-ons) and site infrastructure for the Expedia platform.  During this period, his team built systems that transformed the way travel was bought and sold.

 

Eric served as the Chair of E8’s Screening and Due Diligence process, bringing a rigor to the process, as well as drawing in and helping to educate members who were new to angel investing.  He served as Co-Chair of E8 from September 2015 through September of 2020.

 

He spends much of his time volunteering with environment- and education-oriented non-profits. He has served on the board of Zeno (a Seattle-based math non-profit), is a trustee for the Cheetah Conservation Fund, a national council member for the World Wildlife Fund, a partner at Social Venture Partners, a chapter director for Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), and a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight West.

 

Eric has degrees in Electrical Engineering and Physics from MIT and a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Stanford.