Avantrust's Plaut Enjoys Best of Both Worlds

Newly appointed chief technology officer Joel Plaut is excited about the challenges of his new role at Avantrust (New York), a joint venture formed by AIG (New York) and Dun & Bradstreet (Murray Hill, NJ) that helps companies to reduce the risks associated with e-commerce.

Plaut will be responsible for everything from the maintenance of Avantrust's Web site and infrastructure to the company's product development. "It is a rapidly changing market and we are selling a diverse set of products," says Plaut. Avantrust provides end-to-end solutions for sellers, buyers and e-marketplace members, including credit solutions, plus insurance to reduce risk and protect the trading environment.

"One of the challenges of my new role is tracking the evolution of B2B e-commerce and identifying further opportunities in this space," he explains.

Plaut is also participating in Avantrust's sales cycle. "It is helping me gain an understanding of the synergies and challenges of enterprise application infrastructure."

Prior to his role as vice president, software development, at thestreet.com, Plaut served for eight years as project programmer at Dun & Bradstreet.

According to Plaut, Avan-trust has the best of both worlds. "By starting as a new organization we are able to make choices easier, because we are without fixed investments," says Plaut. "At the same time, we have the financial backing to ride out this tough market. So, we have the flavor of a startup, but have the backing of our two parents."