Management Team

Clayton (Nick) Nicholas
Founder and CEO

Nick founded Giving Tree and heads up its operations as CEO.  He previously held executive and management positions in corporate strategy, solution sales, and management consulting at IBM and Healthways, Inc.  He also spent eight years in the U.S. Army; three as an enlisted combat medic and five as a Commissioned Officer, deploying to combat operations in Bosnia and Kosovo.

He lives in Nashville, TN with his wife and two kids.  Nick holds a B.S. from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, an M.I.S. from the University of Maryland’s European Division, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Member, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Member, The Sponsors
Board, The Phoenix Club of Nashville (Supporting Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle TN)  

 

Jeff Jacobs
Founder and EVP

Jeff, co-founder of Giving Tree is responsible for several sales and marketing initiatives within the company. A successful entrepreneur, he previously held sales and management positions in the IT and healthcare industries. He is also a founder of Stradis Healthcare, a custom procedure tray manufacturer based in Lawrenceville, GA.

He lives in Nashville, TN with his wife and three kids.  Jeff holds a B.S. in Communications from The University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.

 

Derek du Nann
SVP Business Development  

Derek, SVP Business Development, is a 25-year veteran in the electronic payments field and most recently in the prepaid card segment. His experience includes executive sales and marketing positions with FSV Payment Systems and the Primary Companies. His career includes entrepreneurial efforts developing retail check payment processing, risk management, and shared national database solutions with Electronic Transaction Corporation, and has worked for divisions of Deluxe Corporation, First Data, and Pinkerton Security.

Derek lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and two daughters. Derek attended Moorpark College studying music, and served as a Recording Engineer for Herb Albert and Jerry Moss with A&M Records.

 

Scott Donohue
VP Business Development

Scott, VP of Business Development is primarily responsible for growing Giving Tree's affiliate relationships and corporate incentive sales.  He was most recently Director of Development for Community Health Charities of Tennessee and has over ten years of sales and marketing management experience in the mass communications industry and nonprofit sector.  Scott also spent eight years in the U.S. Navy deploying to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm as a communications specialist.

Scott lives in Nashville, TN and holds a B.S. in Accounting from Siena College and an M.B.A. from The University of Tennessee.

Member, The Phoenix Club of Nashville (Supporting Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle TN)
Member, The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Member, Leadership Healthcare