
Meet the Sawa Team
Your leadership at Sawa puts kindness, open-mindedness,
and integrity at the forefront of our work.

Co-Founder & CEO
Charles Phillips
Charles has deep experience in business and financial development for industrial and technology companies. He has been a sales, marketing, and operations executive at a variety of new and established firms in the arenas of infrastructure, software, telecommunications, and professional services. He worked at the Boston Consulting Group, where he analyzed operations and planned strategies for domestic and international corporations. He has been an entrepreneur in multiple verticals, including telecom, defense contracting, private equity, and industrial water treatment. Charles received his MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business and a BA in Government from Harvard University.

Co-Founder & CFO
Andrew Henry
Andrew has an exceptional record of performance on Wall Street in his 20 years as a derivatives portfolio manager. He also has an impressive track record as a C-suite financial services professional with extensive expertise in volatility, trading, risk management, compliance, and fundraising. He is a skilled leader in negotiation, consensus-building, and forging alliances across diverse groups to drive growth of organizations and their values. He was previously the co-founder and CFO at CreditIQ, a leading provider of digital retailing APIs to the automotive industry. Andrew has a BS in Finance from Indiana University's Kelly School of Business.

CMO
Aaron Hackett
Aaron launched product innovations such as Folgers ground flavored coffee and Healthy Choice's Asian steamed meals, resulting in first-year revenues of $10MM and $23MM respectively. He summarized what he learned as a Procter & Gamble brand manager in his book 80/20 Brand: Brand Building with a P & G Edge. He teaches these concepts at Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business, earning the prestigious Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching: CIOS Award. He is a coach for Georgia Tech's CREATE-X incubator where he works with startup founders to help them scale. Aaron has an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business, an MS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Director of Product & Customer Engagement
Clara Cott
Clara has a passion for how people make decisions and interact with brands. Prior to joining the Sawa team, she ran a marketing consulting firm that worked intimately on branding & product design for multiple startups who aimed to disrupt their industries and emerge as industry leaders. An expert in product experience, digital marketing, user experience, branding, customer communications and go-to market digital strategy, Clara leads our customer engagement and digital experience at Sawa. An entrepreneur at heart, Clara holds a BS in Marketing Management & Business from The University of St. Thomas.

Operations Manager
Chauncey Dewey
Chauncey is a graduate of Santa Clara University’s undergraduate business school. Chauncey’s prior work has included internships at multiple early-stage start-up companies in the San Francisco Bay area. He is an operations and product management professional with a knack for research and data analysis. Chauncey has led cross-functional teams, optimized processes, and fueled innovation through product development. His expertise lies in operations for Sawa, spotting market trends, identifying customer needs, and strategizing ways to elevate business performance.

Chief Legal Officer
Neil Peretz
Neil has been General Counsel of multiple high-growth fintech companies, including SmartBiz Loans, the #1 marketplace for SBA-guaranteed loans. He co-founded the Office of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and served as a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he represented federal agencies in complex financial litigation. He also worked for the SEC and a large international law firm. Outside of his legal practice, Neil co-founded two successful technology startups, and was an investment banker and U.S. diplomat. He is co-inventor on three patents. Neil has an LLM from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (where he was a Fulbright Scholar focused on consumer protection issues), a JD from UCLA School of Law, Bachelors and Masters degrees from Tufts University, and was ABD at the George Mason School of Public Policy.

Product & Operations Analyst
Theresa Yu
Theresa is an experienced startup leader and operator. She started her career in investment banking at Rothschild & Co, before joining Stint, a marketplace startup as the Chief of Staff and later, Director of Operations. While at Stint, she was responsible for marketplace liquidity, user acquisition and retention, and live operations, and led a team of 60 launching operations in 30+ cities and servicing thousands of users each week. She now works with a variety of startups consulting and advising on growth strategy, product, and business operations. A former professional pianist, Theresa holds a BMus (Hons) from the Royal College of Music, and is an incoming MBA student at Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

Customer Engagement Manager
Terrance Burks
Terrance holds a BA in Psychology from California State University, Fresno and an MBA in Business Administration & Management. He has worked extensively in the customer service field prior to joining Sawa, focusing on customer retention and customer success. As a Relationship Manager at Captial One Auto Finance, Terrance was responsible for maintaining dynamic relationships with over 80 dealerships. An expert in customer solutions and brand partnerships, Terrance has a passion for dynamic customer engagement and customer support.