About Us

The xcavator.net search portal is built and maintained by CogniSign, a San Francisco based company dedicated to providing innovative visual search and content management product solutions for both image and video. The company’s award winning and patented Intelligent Image Recognition Technology powers these solutions.

The origin of this technology is a decade’s worth of research by our CSO, Dr. Leonid Kontsevich. An innovative computing model has been developed that emulates the process of human cognition – the way visual memory and spatial attention cooperate in the human brain.

The end result is image and video search technology that is more like that of humans, which makes the search process more intuitive to users. Our search is tolerant to viewing perspective, and can focus more on the subject matter of the image rather than from what angle and distance it was photographed.

Senior Management Team

Dr. Leonid Kontsevich – Founder and CSO

Dr. Kontsevich has 25 years of experience as a Research Scientist studying cognitive psychology, human and computer vision, and Artificial Intelligence. The proprietary search algorithms behind xcavator.net are based on his academic research of visual attention and visual memory, and their interaction. Dr. Kontsevich holds a Masters degree in in computer science and applied mathematics, and a doctorate in physics and mathematics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

Bryan Calkins – Founder and CEO

Bryan brings over 20 years of management experience to the company from leadership roles in both consumer and technology companies. His previous experiences in ecommerce and traditional retail, enterprise software and services, and applied technology stem from management roles at eToys.com, Urban Outfitters, Pottery Barn, EDS, and General Motors. He has a deep background in providing high quality consumer experiences from highly branded companies. Bryan earned an B.S. in Engineering at Michigan Tech. University and an MBA from Stanford University.

Jordan Hardy – VP Internet Marketing

Jordan has proven himself as an online marketing expert, specializing in organic search. He also has a tremendous breadth of experience in online marketing, paid search engine optimization, and Internet marketing research. He has managed Search Engine Optimization for over 300 clients.

Dr. Vladimir Vildavski – VP Engineering

Dr. Vildavski has over 30 years experience in systems engineering and software development, and has lead several teams in developing scientific computing systems. He has played a leading role in the deployment of award-winning commercial applications, and enjoys User Interface design as well.

Advisory Board

Doug Rowan

Doug is a former CEO of Corbis Images, and brings many years of stock photography industry experience to the company. He is currently CEO of Zoom Album, a company dedicated to making photo printing and sharing easier for consumers.

John Marcom

John is the former Senior Vice President of Yahoo!’s International Operations, and brings extensive search, print and online publishing,, and advertising expertise to the company. He began his career with Time Inc. and also worked for the Financial Times unit of Pearson PLC.

Lawrence Lee

Lawrence is a former Microsoft executive, and brings extensive management experience in product development, program management, corporate development, business development, and OEM licensing to the company. He is an inventor, has authored several technology patents, and has also written several articles and a book on technology.