Our team is comprised of high tech veterans who have built successful companies in the past and who have demonstrated commitment to our company. They are all uniquely qualified with experiences in public sector, software, and fast-growth companies.

Robert Kill, Chairman:  Mr. Kill is presently serving as the President of the Minnesota Technology Council.  He was most recently Chairman of the board for Ciprico, a storage and networking manufacturer.  Prior to that, Mr. Kill served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ciprico. Prior to joining Ciprico, Mr. Kill held  management positions with Northern Telecom Inc. and  with Burroughs Corporation. He holds an Economics Degree from the University of Minnesota. Mr. Kill sits on the Board of Directors of Ciprico Inc. and JASC Software.

Patrick Christie, CEO and Founder: Mr. Christie has over 14 years experience in technology development and consulting. Most recently, he was the VP of Operations for WAM!NET’s government division, which he helped build into a 350 employee business unit, projected to deliver over $1.6 billion of network services under contract with the US Navy. Before WAM!NET, Mr. Christie was President of Cybernet Systems, a systems integrator which he built into a highly profitable professional services organization. Under Mr. Christie’s leadership, Cybernet grew to a 50 employee and $6 million a year technical services provider implementing projects on a national basis.

Robbie Cordo, VP Sales & Marketing: Mr. Cordo most recently served as an Investment Executive at Miller, Johnson, Steichen and Kinnard (MJSK), a regional investment bank. Prior to MJSK, Mr. Cordo was President and CEO of Instrumental, Inc., a software company that specializes in system management tools for Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and computer system vendors. At Cray Research, Mr. Cordo held several executive positions from 1980 to 1992, with his last position being Senior Director of Product Marketing. He has defined and developed markets for software technology, both domestically and internationally, and forged strategic relationships with prominent market leaders. His background includes successful sales, sales management, and business development roles for entrepreneurial and rapid growth software companies.

Paul Larson – Mr. Larson is President & CEO of Alebra, which provides data movement optimization solutions to the financial industry.  He has held sales, sales management, marketing and general management positions with Scientific Atlanta, Integrated Systems Inc. (now Wind River) and Talarian (now TIBCO).  As President and CEO of Talarian, he led a successful IPO. Talarian was subsequently sold to Tibco.  His passion is helping early stage technology businesses establish and grow around a new vision.

Jon Norberg – Mr. Norberg is a Partner and Founder of Contego Capital Partners, LLC (a hedge fund) and a member of the Investment Committee.  He has held previous leadership positions at Winton Partners, a Minneapolis-based family office and Blue Rock Advisors, Inc., a fund of funds organization. He was also an officer and director of two development-stage technology companies, Cybernet Systems, Inc. and Tech Squared, Inc.  He began his career as an attorney practicing in the areas of securities law, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions.

Laura Merriam – Ms. Merriam has over 20 years experience in business strategy and communications management in the information and medical technology markets. She was Director of Investor Relations for St. Jude Medical from 1997 until 2006. Prior to this, she headed investor relations for Cray Research, Inc.  A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she holds a B.A. from the University of Minnesota and a Master’s degree in Public Affairs from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.  She has studied at the Universities of Nice, France and Madrid, Spain.