Our Team
Michael Lewittes is the Founder and CEO of Ranktify. The product grew out of Michael understanding the need to put the power of search engine optimization and information gathering directly into the hands of content creators themselves.
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A noted content specialist and respected SEO thought leader, Michael has been invited to share his findings about unreliable results on various occasions with search engines, including Google. Michael is a media industry veteran who, in addition to writing or editing more than 75,000 articles, has held leadership positions at Hearst, News Corp., and NBC, and has been credited with having turned a relatively unknown Us Weekly into a household brand.
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In 2009, Michael founded Gossip Cop, the only website to fact-check entertainment news. The company quickly became known for its trustworthy, authoritative, and transparent reporting. Gossip Cop was acquired a decade later by a private equity-backed media corporation.
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As an authority on Google’s algorithm, with a particular emphasis on E.E.A.T. (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness), Michael regularly advises venture caps and startups, as well as major retail companies and media conglomerates, on SEO best practices and growth strategies. He also routinely gives speeches and seminars on SEO to universities and publishing organizations, including notably at Global Fact 7, the annual gathering of the Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network.
Last year, Michael was selected to be a Facilitator at Google’s third Search Central Unconference, during which he led a session on the importance of trust and transparency in content. He also edited both the media and SEO chapters of the 2022 Web Almanac.
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When he’s not A/B testing and analyzing search results, Michael lends his time and expertise to a number of boards and non-profit organizations, including the Yale Entrepreneurial Society and the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking.
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FOUNDER
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Anne Kornblut is a senior technology executive, book author, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. With deep experience helping drive digital transformation in both traditional media and Silicon Valley, she is currently VP of Global Curation at Meta, overseeing the team that powers multiple products, including Facebook News, in numerous countries. A leader at the company for many years, she has also played key advisory functions in communications and policy.
Anne has served on the boards of three global non-profit organizations, including the International Center for Journalism, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
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Before joining Facebook in 2015, she spent nearly two decades in the news industry. At the Washington Post, she won the prestigious Stanford John S. Knight fellowship in 2014-15, and oversaw the team that won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, for its coverage of revelations from Edward Snowden about NSA surveillance practices. She also spearheaded the development of the Washington Post Talent Network, a two-sided marketplace connecting freelancers with editors to power quality journalism at scale.
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Previously, Anne spent many years as a reporter, including covering multiple presidential campaigns and White Houses, at the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and the New York Daily News.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Barry Schwartz is one of the most recognized and respected names in SEO. He has covered the search industry for more than 18 years as the Founder and Executive Editor of Search Engine Roundtable and as the News Editor of Search Engine Land, which was founded by Google Search Liaison Danny Sullivan. Previously, Barry was also the News Editor of Search Engine Watch.
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Over the years, he has provided advisory work for Google, Microsoft’s Bing, and Yahoo!. A sought after speaker and moderator, Barry also hosts the Search Marketing Expo in Israel, and has participated in a slew of marketing and technology events, such as PubCon and the Search Engine Strategies conference.
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Barry has been honored on numerous occasions for his invaluable work on behalf of the search industry, including winning “US Search Personality Of The Year” at the 2018 US Search Awards, as well as the Outstanding Community Services Award at the 5th annual Search Engine Land Awards.
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In addition to his advocacy for and reporting on search, Barry is also the CEO of RustyBrick, a web service firm that specializes in customized technology and software, including advanced e-commerce, content management systems, mobile application, social networking sites, and CRM applications.
TECHNICAL CONSULTANT
Karthik Balakrishnan is an experienced software developer with more than a decade of global expertise in emerging technologies and implementing intricate platforms and solutions. Currently, he’s a Senior Software Development Manager for AWS.
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Previously, Karthik was the Chief Technology Officer of Wysdom AI, a leader in conversational AI. He’s also held various positions of leadership across the globe at Amdocs, a publicly traded company that specializes in software for communications, media, and financial services providers.
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Karthik is regularly called upon to speak at conventions about AI. He holds a B.E. from the University of Mumbai, an M.S. from Carnegie Mellon, and received a license in data engineering from Google.