Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association (CATRA) is an internationally known research and technology organisation in Sheffield, England which specialises in knives, cutlery, tableware, metallic holloware (such as saucepans), shaving razors, industrial knives/ blades and hand/garden tools. CATRA was originally set up by the British Government in 1952 to carry out developments for the UK's cutlery and knife industries, for which the area of Sheffield in Yorkshire is world-famous. CATRA has developed a range of unique machines for measuring the cutting performance of all types of cutting edges from razor blades to large knives
Heidi Messer recognized a core problem that existed on the World Wide Web making it difficult to value online traffic. They set out to create an online distribution network that would allow websites to monetize their traffic through performance based links. Messer served as President and COO of LinkShare until its sale in 2005 to Rakuten Inc. for $425 million. In 2006, Messer exited the company, which was later renamed Rakuten LinkShare. In 2008, Messer co-founded Cross Commerce Media with her husband, Tad Martin and brother. She currently serves on its board of directors as the company's Chairman. Messer and her co-founders