Charlotte Regional Technology Executives Council > About CRTEC

	CRTEC Board of Directors

Paul Solitario, Managing Partner, Cerium Capital, LLC

Paul Solitario has over twenty-five years of experience in all aspects of corporate banking, corporate finance, entrepreneurship and wealth management services.Prior to Cerium Capital, Paul was a Managing Partner at Tobin Solitario Investment Banking Group and Senior Vice President in the Private Client Group at First Citizens Bank. From 1995 to 2001, Paul served as a Vice President in First Union Capital Market’s Healthcare Finance Group working in all aspects of corporate finance, strategic activity, and corporate banking. He has run his own company, PPN Wireless, which was a marketing and market research technology venture that provided services to the pharmaceutical and medical device industry and Paul served as the interim treasurer for MedCath, Inc., a $500mm specialty hospital company. Paul is also an advisor to and on the board of Direct Response Concepts, Inc., a software development firm in Charlotte.Paul’s finance experience includes originating exclusive sale side engagements; private placements, high yield debt, public finance, asset based lending, syndicated finance, and bank debt.Paul earned his BS in Economics from The College of William and Mary with an emphasis in International Money and Banking. Paul holds the Series 24, 7, 66 and 63 securities license designations from FINRA. Paul is also the Founder and President of both the Charlotte Regional Technology Executives Council and Wed3 --The Angel Forum of Charlotte and he is also a member of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Circle and the Association for Corporate Growth.

Michael Coleman, Senior Vice President & CIO, Comporium Communications

Mike Coleman is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Comporium Communications, which provides a quintuple play of local phone, cable TV, high speed internet, AT&T wireless, and home security monitoring services in North and South Carolina. Comporium also provides hosted data centers, owns cell phone towers, provides statewide telecommunications services through ownership in PalmettoNet and Spirit Telecom, and is a national leader in home security monitoring and automation through ownership in iControl. Mike is responsible for the Information Technology strategy and execution for the family of over 20 Comporium companies, the first of which was founded in 1894. He also serves on the Enterprise Strategic Planning and New Business Ventures teams, evaluating potential venture capital investments or acquisitions. Michael graduated from Berea College in Berea, Kentucky with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Electronics.Michael enjoys stimulating the ink jet economy with nature photography, especially of the Amazon where he lived for a few years as a teen. He produced a photo book on the Amazon, and his gifts of that book to family and friends have accounted for 100 percent of his sales. He was born in Brazil, speaks Portuguese, can fake Spanish, and enjoys travel to unusual places. He lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina.Mike joined the Charlotte Regional Technology Executives board in 2011.

Michelle Coviello, CPC, Director, HireNetworks

Michelle Coviello joined HireNetworks as a Director of Business Development in December 2002. With over twelve years experience in the executive search business, Michelle prides herself with a proven track record in developing new business and providing exceptional service to both her clients and candidates. In 2000, she became a Certified Personnel Consultant, which focuses on the laws and ethics in the human resource and recruiting fields. Michelle has conducted extensive search work within the information technology industry with a focus on programming, operations, administration as well as technology sales positions. Prior employers include DCRI, a national personnel and employment services company, and the Sapient Corporation, a Cambridge, MA based software consulting firm.Michelle received a Bachelors of Art degree in Economics from Boston College, and lives in Charlotte with her husband and two children.Michelle is a founding board member of the Charlotte Regional Technology Executives Council, joining the organization in 2010.

Rob Cummings, Operating Partner & CIO, Falfurrias Capital Partners, Treasurer

Rob joined Falfurrias Capital Partners in October 2007. He has over twenty years of professional operating experience, including the past ten years in Senior Management roles with enterprise software companies Chordiant Software, J.D. Edwards, and PeopleSoft. Prior to joining the firm, Rob served as President of MobileHWY, where he led the overall operations of an enterprise software company that provides mobile solutions to builders, contractors, and city/county building inspectors. He began his career in the Business Consulting group of Arthur Andersen and was also a member of the Executive Management Team of YOUcentric, a former Charlotte-based enterprise CRM startup that was acquired by J.D. Edwards in 2001.Rob holds an undergraduate degree in Management Science (MIS) from Virginia Tech and an MBA in Finance from Seton Hall University. In 2007, Rob was recognized in Charlotte's "40 Under 40" list of up-and-coming business leaders under the age of 40, and is a member of Leadership Charlotte's Class XXIX.Rob also services on the Board of Directors of Charlotte Center City Partners, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic and cultural development in Charlotte's urban core.Rob is a founding board member of the Charlotte Regional Technology Executives Council, joining the organization in 2010.

Chris Halligan, Founder, OtherScreen, Chairman, Events Committee

Chris Halligan is an experienced, successful technology executive and entrepreneur. Upon graduation from the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1989, he started his career with more than 10 years at Dell Computer Corporation in Austin, Texas and Tokyo, Japan. During Mr. Halligan's time at Dell, he was the company's Salesman of the Year in 1991 and then held several sales and marketing management positions, culminating in responsibility for over $2B per year in commercial revenues conducted over the Internet in 1999. Following Dell, Mr. Halligan ran North America for webMethods during a period highlighted by explosive revenue growth and the firm's IPO - one of the most successful in software history. He then became part owner of Mascot Books, a leader in the self publishing space for children's authors and co-founded Kieden, a software startup which was purchased by Salesforce.com. Next, Mr. Halligan became Chief Executive Officer for PokerTek (nasdaq: ptek), a Matthews, NC based gaming company and the world leader in automated poker technology. During his tenure, PokerTek grew from $4M to $13M in annual revenues, while reducing company operating expenses by more than 10%.Presently, Mr Halligan serves on the board of Mascot Books and is engaged with a handful of startups focused on emerging technology markets. He is married to Sarah and has three cool kids who attend Providence Day School in Charlotte.

Keith Haskett, VP, Operations & GM, RISCS, ATTUS Technologies

Keith has over 15 years of experience in business operations and has been with ATTUS Technologies, an industry leader in regulatory compliance software, since 2003. He is responsible for managing cross-functional teams focused on strategic business growth, efficiency, customer service, and product/process development.During his time at ATTUS, they have grown from 1000 clients to greater than 4500. Additionally, they have diversified their client base with customers ranging from small community banks to Fortune 50 companies in several vertical markets, including insurance, travel, internet ecommerce, securities and real estate.

Prior to ATTUS, Keith was the General Manager for two separate companies based in Chicago. The first was SWI Consulting, Inc., an HR Management Consulting firm whose clients were Fortune 50 clients including McDonalds and Eli Lilly. The other was International Sound Corp, a global communications firm specializing in telecom rental services.Keith is a graduate of University of North Carolina Charlotte with a BS in Finance and resides in Charlotte with his wife, Sherrie, and two daughters.Keith joined the Charlotte Regional Technology Executives board in 2011.

Jim Marascio, Chief Technology Officer, 11Giraffes,Chairman, Technology Committee

Jim joined 11Giraffes in 2007. He has a strong track record in developing technical solutions for large-scale retail media networks. As Vice President of Network Operations for Muzak, Jim was responsible for facilitating Muzak’s evolution to a digital media solution while overseeing the company’s content aggregation, creative and distribution infrastructure.Jim now leads product development and technical operations for early-stage SaaS provider, 11Giraffes. 11Giraffes offers end-to-end digital signage branding and advertising solutions implemented throughout North America in support businesses in the retail, restaurant, healthcare and hospitality verticals, as well as advertising networks.Jim earned a BSBA in Computer Information Systems from Bryant College, and an MBA from the University of Maine. He resides in Charlotte with his wife and two daughters.He also serves on the board of The Delta Chi Educational Foundation, a charitable organization promoting academic and leadership programming and scholarships for college students.Jim is a founding board member of Charlotte Regional Technology Executives Council, joining in 2010.

Gary Smith, Member & Director, Wishart, Norris, Henninger & Pittman, P.A., Secretary

Gary joined Wishart, Norris, Henninger & Pittman in 1998 and is a shareholder and Director of the firm. Gary has more than 11 years of experience assisting owners of domestic and international businesses with organizational, structural, tax, securities and general business issues. His clients range from owners with businesses in their initial start-up phases to those with business operations globally. A 1995 summa cum laude graduate of the University of Mississippi, Gary received his J.D. degree with Honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1998. He is also a 1994 graduate of the Bryce Harlow Institute on Business and Government Affairs at Georgetown University. While at UNC, Gary concentrated his study in the areas of General Business and Mergers and Acquisitions, and was recognized by the faculty for outstanding achievement in Mergers and Acquisitions. He was elected to the Order of the Barristers for service to the Holderness Moot Court Board, and was the winner of the national and international championships of the 1998 Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition in Melbourne, Australia. Gary is actively involved in several community organizations and was a founder of The Wishart Norris Henninger & Pittman Charitable Foundation, Inc. Gary also dedicates a substantial amount of time assisting non-profit organizations with their legal needs on a pro-bono basis.Gary is a founding board member of the Charlotte Regional Technology Executives Council, joining the organization in 2010.

Josh Wolff, SVP / GM Carolinas, Northridge Systems, Sponsor Coordinator

Josh serves as the Senior VP & General Manager Carolinas for Northridge Systems. He’s an active member of the Charlotte business community with more than ten years experience with technology companies in the region.

He joined Northridge Systems in 2011. Prior to this, he was Regional Director for Hosted Solutions, where he played an instrumental role in growing the company’s operations and customer base within the region. Josh and his team work closely with customers to understand their IT environments and custom design solutions to meet their needs. They serve an impressive customer base in the Charlotte area including Belk, LPL Financial, Bojangles, Speedway Motor Sports, Bank of America, Harris Teeter, and several others.

Prior to joining Hosted Solutions, Josh was the Division Director for Robert Half Technology in Charlotte. In 1997, Josh was one of the original employees in Charlotte with Trivergent Communication, which later became NuVox Communications. In 2004, he launched a local chapter for a non-profit trade organization called The Help Desk Institute and served as President in its first year. Josh is the founder and current President of the SaaS User Group as well as a founding member of CRTEC. He has grown the group to be become a powerful networking organization with nearly 1,000 individuals from the SaaS community in the Southeast. Josh was named a “Mover & Shaker” by Business Leader magazine in 2009. He is a graduate of Emory University in Atlanta, GA and prior to that a graduate of Providence Senior High School in Charlotte. Josh resides in Charlotte with his wife and two children.

Next CRTEC Meeting Wed, Feb 22, 2012