Lawrence Catchpole – President and CEO.
Catchpole brings to Zenda Technologies over thirty years of technology industry experience as a leader and entrepreneur. He has held senior positions at M1 Global, WebTone Technologies, S1 Technologies and Dun & Bradstreet Software (formerly MSA). As Chief Strategy Officer and Founder of M1 Global, Catchpole was responsible for setting strategic business direction and technology vision while raising $15M and using innovative development techniques that returned $6 of software for every dollar invested. As Founder and CTO with WebTone, Catchpole grew WebTone into a recognized leader in multi-channel financial services sales and service market with 230 employees and $38 million in sales. WebTone was acquired by Fidelity National (NASDAQ: FNF) in September 2003. As an early employee with S1 he served as S1’s first Vice President of Services. He graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Applied Biology and a minor in electrical engineering.
Mitch Gilstrap - COO.
Gilstrap brings 20+ years of senior and executive management experience to the Zenda Technologies team. Mr. Gilstrap has been responsible for business development and market launch for a variety of hi-technology based products for companies including Hitachi, Sprint, Telecorp Systems and eOn Communications. Most recently Mr. Gilstrap served as COO for eOn Communications, a global provider of VoIP systems and applications, and was responsible for company P&L, global marketing, sales, engineering, manufacturing and professional services. Under his leadership the company delivered a stock price increase of over 800% - the largest annual gain in the company’s history. Prior to joining eOn, he served as Vice President of Product Marketing at privately held Telecorp Systems, a provider of customer contact center solutions. He was responsible for product strategy and business development and helped drive the company’s exit strategy when it was acquired by Syntellect Systems. Mr. Gilstrap began his career by holdig several product management and operations roles in the contact center and telecommunications industries for such companies as Sprint and Hitachi. Mr. Gilstrap holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Management Advisory Board
John Baumstark, Chairman and CEO - Suniva
Prior to Suniva, John was an Operating Partner at H.I.G. Ventures, where he played an active role in the overall strategy of the fund as well as the development of portfolio companies.
John has over 20 years of technology experience in early and late-stage private and public companies. Most recently, he was responsible for overseeing global operations of IBM’s WebSphere Customer Center unit, part of IBM’s newly formed Enterprise Master Data Solutions group within the IBM Software Group.
Prior to IBM, John was president and CEO of DWL, the leader in Customer Data Integration software. Under John’s leadership the company was cashflow positive for 20 consecutive quarters, was profitable and was named one of the fastest growing technology companies in North America three years in a row by Deloitte and Touche. DWL was acquired by IBM in 2005.
Prior to DWL, John served as the Chief Operating Officer of TRADEX Technologies. Under John’s leadership, TRADEX became the market leader in digital marketplace platforms. In March of 2000, TRADEX was acquired by Ariba for $5.6 billion, making it one of the largest software acquisitions in history.
Before TRADEX, John directed worldwide field operations for Infinium Software. There he built over $100 million in revenue, led a successful initial public offering and acquired two companies. Before joining Infinium, Baumstark held sales and sales management positions with Management Science America (MSA), a mainframe application software provider.
John graduated from Colorado College with a BA in Business / Economics. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Procuri, Inc., an on demand software as a service company.
Scientific Advisory Board
Michelle LaPlaca, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Dr. LaPlaca is a member of the Laboratory for Neuroengineering at Georgia Tech, the Georgia Tech / Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissue, the Neuroscience Program at Emory, and the Southern Consortium for Injury Biomechanics at the University of Alabama Birmingham. She has received an NSF CAREER award and has active research projects funded by both NIH and foundations. Visit her Laboratory for Neuroengineering website.
David Wright, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Director of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Wright is Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and the Co-Director of the Emergency Medicine Research Center at Emory University. He is a board certified Emergency Medicine Physician, practicing at both Emory University Hospital and Grady Memorial Hospital. He is program faculty for the Graduate School’s Department of Behavioral and Biological Sciences at Emory University, core faculty for the Center for Injury Control and Prevention at Emory University, and program faculty for the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. See more Emory Emergency Medicine
