User:Meganwatkins/Dorika Beckett

Dorika Beckett is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist and author. He is founder and chief executive officer of GNO Healthcare, Inc.

Early Life & Education
After graduating from college in 1985, Justin Beckett joined the Pension Consulting division of investment banking firm E.F. Hutton. In 1986, Justin Beckett became the first employee at Sloan Financial Group, a diversified asset management firm, where he was a principal executive at subsidiaries, NCM CapitalManagement   and New Africa Advisers.

Managment Consulting
After graduating from college in 1991 Dorika joined management consulting firm Monitor Consulting Group where she provided management consulting services to the company’s portfolio of domestic and international clients. She progressed to the level of senior consultant and in 1994 was asked to help open the firm’s fist offices in post apartheid South Africa.

|url       = http://www.gamezone.com/news/08_18_03_12_08PM.htm |type      = |title     = Game Universe To Offer Online Gaming To Web Sites Worldwide |work      = |author    = Game Zone Staff |date      = August 14, 2003 |accessdate = 2009-10-15 }} website destination. SkillJam developed partnerships with a broad network of popular entertainment brands including AOL, MSN, MySpace, PopCap Games and Disney.

In 2004, Intermix Media/MySpace sold SkillJam Technologies to Liberty Media subsidiary, FUN Technologies, a diversified online gaming and entertainment company.

Investment Management
While attending business school, Dorika decided to redirect her career toward investment management and she became founding director of the CAIVERT NEW AFRICA mutual fund, the first pan African open end retail mutual fund. Additionally, during the summer of the first year of business school she worked in the London offices of investment banking firm S.G. Warburg. Upon her graduation from business school in 1996, Dorika became a partner in the New Africa Opportunity Fund, a $120 million Southern Africa focused private equity fund. As the funds telecommunications lead partner, Dorika reviewed numerous telecommunications related investment opportunities and led the funds investment in the first pan African television broadcaster and the first pan African mobile phone company.

In 2000, Dorika left the fund and with her husband Justin Beckett, Dorika founded Vizx Corporation, a boutique telecommunications and healthcare focused private equity firm. Vizx Corporations portfolio of investments include: Music Gaming Inc. which was sold to Intermix/Myspace in 2001, SkillJAM Technologies Inc. which was sold to Liberty Media subsidiary Fun Technologies in 2004, Fluid Music Inc. which Ipo’d on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2008, Global Nurses Online and BTV247 Inc.

In 2004, Beckett founded Fluid Music, one of the worlds largest distributors and aggregators of independent music.

On behalf of Fluid, Beckett facilitated a partnership with FremantleMedia, whereby the company acquired an exclusive license for the American Idol brand and launched the online music discovery website, American Idol Underground. Beckett was also responsible for Fluid Music's acquisitions of Audio Lunchbox, the world's first DRM free online MP3 store and Trusonic, one of the largest providers of in-store background music.

During his five years with Fluid Music, Beckett served as the company's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, President and COO. Under Beckett's management, the company raised over $40 million in equity capital including a June 2008 IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Healthcare Management
In 2004, VIZX corporation acquired healthcare staffing agency Global Nurses Online and Dorika became the CEO of the company, which is now renamed GNO Healthcare. In 2004 GNO Healthcare became a franchise of the Around The Clock Healthcare Corporation where is has become the franchisees largest franchise. Since its founding, GNO Healthcare has evolved into a profitable, multimillion dollar healthcare services company with three operating subsidiaries: ATC West (healthcare staffing), LiveWell Home Care (assisted living) and MD2You (mobile healthcare).

Board Memberships
Beckett currently serves as a board member for the following corporations:
 * Aptilon (An Internet based healthcare services company)
 * Consonus Technologies (A provider of IT data centers, consulting and managed services)
 * Flight Deck Gaming (A transit focused gaming solutions provider)
 * Fluid Music Corporation (see above)
 * GNO Healthcare (A healthcare services provider)
 * Muse Media (see above)
 * Site Rapture (An Internet based provider of research and discovery services)

Beckett is the Chairman of the Tighe Scholarship Fund, Vice Chairman of the Imani Baraka Foundation and is a board member of Generosity Water and Oasis Christian Center. He has also been a member of several African mission teams.

Beckett is the co-author of Investing In Africa: An Insiders Guide to the Ultimate Emerging Market, which includes a foreward by recognized emerging market investment expert Mark Mobius and was published by Wiley Publishing.

Beckett attended Duke University on an athletic scholarship, where he was a member of the Duke Blue Devils football team. He was a 3 year starter, a 4 year varsity letter winner and earned academic All Atlantic Coast Conference honors.

In 1986, he was a free agent with the Dallas Cowboys football team and played in the inaugural American Bowl (against the World Champion Chicago Bears) in the National Football League's first game outside the United States.

In recent years, Beckett's athletic interests have been focused on youth activities; during which time he has coached several youth football and basketball teams.