EZE CASTLE INTEGRATION - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board

Andy is a Principal in the Boston office of H.I.G. Capital. Andy has over 10 years of...

Job Titles:

• Chief Financial Officer
• CFO of ECI

Andy Breton is the CFO of ECI. He is a finance and strategy professional with extensive experience in leading private equity backed companies to successful growth and sale processes. Previously, Andy was the CFO and COO at Connectria, specializing in financial analysis, business planning, treasury, financial modeling, product management, acquisitions, divestments, and the development of KPIs, among other areas. At Symmetry Corporation, he served as CFO where he transformed the business from a sole proprietorship to a mid-market GAAP compliant company and managed a successful sale process. He held various finance and treasury roles at Spacenet and served as the Director of Corporate Finance at TELESAT INC, overseeing day-to-day finance responsibilities and supporting strategic acquisitions. Breton holds an MBA in Finance from The Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School and a Bachelor's degree in Finance from the University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Job Titles:

• CRO at Skout Secure Intelligence
• Senior Vice President of North American Sales

Dan Jones is responsible for leading ECI sales and business development teams in North America and has more than 25 years of sales management experience. Dan has a proven track record in driving sales growth for technology companies. In his previous role as CRO at Skout Secure Intelligence, Dan established the sales organization, business initiatives and go-to-market strategy. Previously, he held multiple regional and global sales leadership roles at leading technology companies including Worksoft, EMC, Double-Take Software (acquired by Carbonite) and Storage Networks.

Job Titles:

• Chief Growth Officer of Avaya
• Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Operations

Dave Kristof is responsible for ECI's Global Service Desk, Project Management, and Customer Care organizations in addition to portfolio & pricing financial programs across ECI's global markets. Dave has significant experience in Lean Six-Sigma operational best practices, workforce management, collective bargaining, and growth enablement strategies.

Job Titles:

• Executive Director of ECI UK
• Executive Director, UK / Dean Hill Is Executive Director of ECI UK and Also Leads the International New Business.

Dean Hill is Executive Director of ECI UK and also leads the international new business teams in London and Asia. Dean's career in technology started with one of the UK's largest telecoms providers where he held numerous positions from engineering to business development and account management. With overall management responsibility in the UK, Dean is able to provide clients with swift decision making focused on delivering high service levels. Dean attended Kemnal Technology College. He also holds a number of industry specific certifications for technologies such as Cisco, Avaya and NetApp.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Vice President

Eric Guttridge joins the ECI board after serving as Chief Operations Officer at Alphaserve Technologies where he oversaw the entire operation of the firm, including resource management, human resources management, and overall execution of engineering industry-leading technology solutions. Eric's career as an IT professional and executive spans over 30 years. His proficiencies in product design and implementation, technology and business operations, and project management are founded in his positions held at Morgan Stanley, Prudential Securities, and HSBC. In 1998, Eric became the Vice President of an independent communications consulting firm called Communications Engineering (CE). Over the course of 5 years, he doubled CE's total revenue, providing global project coordination and deployment for clients such as Zurich Insurance, Center Reinsurance, and the Marsh & McLennan Companies. In 2001, Eric established a consulting company specializing in outsourced IT solutions for small to mid-sized private equity firms. He grew the company to 12 employees with over $1.5M in revenue by 2006, then merged with another IT consulting company, which then became Alphaserve Technologies. The combined resources of the two companies allowed Alphaserve to become a leading IT services provider to the financial services and legal verticals, delivering fully managed IT support services including managed services, helpdesk, project management, design, and strategy.

Job Titles:

• Chief Executive Officer
• CEO of ECI

Jeff Schmidt is CEO of ECI. He is an experienced corporate leader with nearly three decades of experience catalyzing high growth for world-class managed services, technology, and cybersecurity companies. Jeff is responsible for setting the vision and strategy for ECI's next phase of growth, building service offerings and expanding into adjacent markets to continue driving exceptional value for clients and partners. As a transformational executive, Jeff takes a people-first approach to build and elevate innovative technology companies to the forefront of highly competitive global markets. Jeff previously served as President and CEO of Avertium, successfully overseeing the merger of four companies, harmonizing the services portfolio and growing revenue threefold in four years. Avertium was recognized as No. 781 in the 2022 Inc. magazine annual listing of the 5,000 largest private companies in the U.S. Jeff spearheaded the cyber fusion strategy that leveraged the firm's consulting services and its managed services, helping to keep customers safe against bad actors.  Prior to Avertium, Jeff served as President and CEO of Authomate where he engineered the acquisition of five technology patents, and grew the startup from 0 to more than 100,000 users. Earlier, as chief operating officer of SQS North America, Jeff drove significant growth, executing go-to-market strategies for the company's automotive and gaming industry software, and building revenues tenfold in two years.  In addition to holding positions of increasing responsibility with prominent companies including Lucent and International Network Services, Jeff is a contributing author to books on cybersecurity and sales strategy and a frequent industry speaker at events held by Gartner, RSA, InfoSec, and Cisco. A resident of Atlanta, Jeff enjoys spending time with his wife, three children, and six grandchildren. He coaches little league baseball and plays competitive tennis.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors
• Technology Leader

John Brennan is a recognized technology leader and visionary who has served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at multiple highly respected hedge fund and alternative investment firms. Most recently he served as CTO at Highfields Capital, a value-oriented investment management firm in Boston. Previously John held CTO roles at Dawson-Samberg Capital Management, Andor Capital Management and Pequot Capital. He is also a founding member and former vice-chairman of AITEC, an influential alternative investments peer community trusted by firms across the globe.

Job Titles:

• Executive Chairman
• Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors
• Member of the Board of Directors
• Executive Chairman of ECI

John Cahaly is Executive Chairman of ECI, focusing on executing the company's long-term vision and strategic growth initiatives including M&A and partnerships. In 1995, John co-founded Eze Castle Consulting, which spun off five successful businesses -- Eze Castle Integration, Eze Software Group (formerly Eze Castle Software), Pivot Solutions (acquired by CME Group), Code Red, Inc. (acquired by FactSet), and Ledgex Systems. John served as the CEO of Eze Castle Integration until January 2021. John also holds positions on several Advisory Boards. John has more than 20 years of experience in computer engineering and business management and was instrumental in building the financial industry's first Windows NT trading room that was used by Fleet Financial Group in 1996. Prior to co-founding Eze Castle, John worked at Digital Equipment Corporation for nine years holding various engineering positions including a senior role as a member of Digital's Windows NT technical marketing group. John attended Northeastern University's computer engineering program.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Board of Directors

John is a Managing Director in H.I.G. Capital's Boston office. John is responsible for all aspects of the investment process including origination, transaction structuring, due diligence, financing and execution of post-closing growth and operational strategies. Since joining H.I.G. Capital's LBO group, John has led investments in a number of industries including printing, manufacturing, building products, consumer products, business services, digital media and outsourced human capital management. He currently serves on the board of directors of several H.I.G. Capital portfolio companies. John brings over fifteen years of investment, management and operating experience across a variety of industries. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital in 2004, John was a senior associate with several leading consulting firms, working with private and public middle market and large-cap companies to develop and implement financial, operational and strategic plans. John began his career in the Corporate Finance Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers. John earned his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Babson College.

Job Titles:

• Chief People Officer
• Chief People Officer at ECI

Kate Taunton-Rigby is the Chief People Officer at ECI, a global leader in cloud-based solutions for the financial industry. She joined ECI in January 2023 and oversees all aspects of the global HR function, including talent acquisition, talent management, compensation and benefits, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, and HR operations. Prior to ECI, Kate was the VP of HR Operations at Eze Software Group, a provider of investment management software and services. She led the HR operations and talent acquisition teams for over 1,200 employees across 15 offices worldwide. She was responsible for developing and implementing HR strategies, policies, and processes that aligned with the business objectives and culture. She also managed the integration of HR systems and processes during the acquisition of Eze Software Group by SS&C Technologies in 2019. Kate has over 15 years of experience in HR and business consulting, working with various clients in the non-profit, start-up, and managed services sectors. She founded and ran her own HR and business consulting practice, Team T-R, from January 2020 to November 2021, where she partnered with organizations to provide HR operations and business strategy and support. She also worked as a freelance human resources consultant from July 2020 to November 2021, offering HR solutions and guidance to clients on various HR topics and challenges. Kate started her career as a recruiter at Daniel Roberts, a staffing and recruiting firm based in Boston, MA. She worked there from 2007 to July 2010, sourcing and placing candidates for various roles in the finance, accounting, and administrative fields. Kate holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University. She is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). She is passionate about creating a positive and inclusive work environment where people can thrive and grow. She lives in Boston, MA with her husband and two children.

Job Titles:

• Chief Legal Officer
• ECI in 2020 As Chief Legal Officer

Matthew Wojtkowiak joined ECI in 2020 as Chief Legal Officer. Matthew is responsible for management of the global legal function, with a focus on strategic growth transactions, client relationships, and governance. Matthew has been providing strategic legal advice to executives for more than twenty years, and has worked primarily with technology-based businesses for the past ten years. Prior to joining Eze Castle, Matthew practiced law at a large New York law firm representing Fortune 500 clients, and he most recently served as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer for Alphaserve Technologies, a global technology service provider which was acquired by Eze Castle. Matthew holds a juris doctor degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he served on multiple legal journals.

Job Titles:

• Director, APAC

As Director of ECI's network in Asia, Michael Steinkuhl oversees service and business...

Job Titles:

• Chief Performance Officer

Pete is responsible for measuring and improving the organization's overall performance. He...

Job Titles:

• Chief Innovation Officer
• Chief Innovation Officer at ECI

Rich Itri is the Chief Innovation Officer at ECI. Rich has more than 22 years of IT executive experience, spending his entire career managing IT within the financial services industry. Prior to joining ECI, Rich was Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer for PJT Partners, a boutique investment bank, Principal and Chief Information Officer for Sky Road and held Chief Information Officer positions at Arrowhawk Capital Partners and Arbalet Capital Partners. Over the years, Rich has developed and managed innovative, business aligned platforms, that drive revenue and operational efficiencies. Rich holds positions on several Advisory Boards and volunteers his time to help non-profits leverage technology.

Job Titles:

• Chief Technology Officer
• Chief Technology Officer at ECI

Steve Schoener is Chief Technology Officer at ECI. In this role, Steve is responsible for guiding the company's long-term technology strategy and overseeing operations to achieve new levels of performance, product innovation and organizational synergy on a global scale. Previously Steve held the role of senior vice president, client technology for ECI. Prior to joining the ECI team, Steve was head of IT for DW Investment Management in New York, where he oversaw all technology initiatives for the firm. He was also previously employed by UBS Investment Bank as an associate director and ECI as an associate director of technology in the New York region. Steve holds a computer science degree from State University of New York at Albany.

Job Titles:

• Chief Compliance Officer
• Chief Compliance & Security Officer
• ECI Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Information Security Officer

William (Bill) Tan serves as ECI Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Information Security Officer. Bill joined the company in 1997 and focused on expanding the company's technical skills and staff. Today, his technology team focuses on internal training, research and development, network security and standards development. Key products architected by this team include cost-effective disaster recovery (Eze DR) and the Eze Private Cloud. Previously, Bill was the network manager for the Kraft Group, where he supported systems and communications for various privately held businesses such as International Forest Products, Rand-Whitney and the New England Patriots. He has also supported networks and systems for local governments and the U.S. Air Force. Bill holds a bachelor of science degree summa cum laude in computer science from Framingham State College.