Otava’s team has decades of experience managing, leading and supporting successful high-tech businesses, from startups to Fortune 500 global providers. Meet the x factors – the legendary people that set us apart—not just executive leadership, but also our dedicated team of engineers. Bonus? We’re all nice, too!
Brad joins Otava as a grizzled veteran technology executive and entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience. His professional expertise includes corporate finance, sales and business development, engineering, technical operations, marketing, product development and mergers and acquisitions. He has helped launch companies and organizations at WOW!Business, Zayo Group, Qwest Communications, Onfiber Communications, Level 3 Communications and MCI Communications.
Brad is an active alumnus at the University of Northern Colorado, Monfort College of Business. He currently sits on the Board of Directors there and supports the organization’s entrepreneurial programs. He’s a sucker for a good bourbon and enjoys jamming out on his guitar more than anything except possibly being with his family.
Tom is Chief Financial Officer of Otava, who has built his career around corporate finance and strategy. His previous experience includes Qwest Communications, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and strategic business review. Tom capped his career at Qwest by leading the process for the $22 billion merger with CenturyLink–no small feat!
Tom holds an MBA in finance and accounting from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in economics from Cornell University. When he’s not guiding Otava financially, you can find him hanging out with his family of three children, serving on the Board of Trustees for the Colorado/Wyoming Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Good Shepherd Foundation board, or kicking around a ball as a volunteer recreational soccer coach.
Nick has invested 20 years as a leader in early stage and growth companies, principally focused on healthcare, data analytics, and cloud computing. He joined Otava in 2013, bringing a deep skillset in cloud infrastructure and development operations. Before Otava, Nick was one of the early engineers at Inovalon driving rapid scale growth from a handful of employees to a multi-billion-dollar valuation during his seven-year tenure. There, he was responsible for the infrastructure organization supporting over 5000 employees and one of the largest medical data sets in the U.S. He holds a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Michigan Technological University and is particularly active in entrepreneurial mentorship, serving as an advisor both in his capacity as a leader and as an alumnus.
Nick is also a father, adventurer, bookworm, coffee-fueled-late-night coder, musician, and weekend woodworker. When he’s taking a break from enabling Otava’s clients to transform their businesses, you will find him exploring canyons or breaking things with his kids.
Jason is Otava’s Vice President of Business Development & Strategic Solutions, Risk Management Officer and Security Officer. Throughout his career at Otava, he has held practically every position in the company while simultaneously guiding the company through the successful completion of many audits, including SAS 70 Type I, SAS 70 Type II, SSAE 16, SOC 1-3, HIPAA, PCI 2.2, PCI 3.0 and EU-US Privacy Shield. In addition to overseeing solutions architecture across all of Otava’s data centers, Jason is also the vice president and founding member of the Southeast Michigan Chapter of 7×24 Exchange. Prior to joining Otava, he was manager of Internet operations at 20/20 Communications, where he spent eight years developing the company’s wireless and Internet initiatives.
Jason is a rabid University of Michigan fan and has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance and accounting from Eastern Michigan University.
Kathy joined Otava in 2015 and is the company’s Vice President of Finance, leading the development and management of industry-leading financial modeling, analytics, and tracking and forecasting data across all segments of the business. She came to Otava with extensive experience in finance, accounting, auditing, contracts, and financial operations, with more than 30 years across diverse industries such as technology, consulting, and government contracting.
Kathy holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas, and she was a registered CPA for several years in the state of Texas.
Laurel has an uncanny gift for transforming previously unknown corporate brands into thriving powerhouses. Her award-winning career includes serving as the Vice President of Marketing for Faction Inc., a large cloud infrastructure provider, and ViaWest (now Flexential), a nationwide data center service provider. She has also served as a Fractional CMO for IQ Wired, Big Compass, HotQuant, Nuvalo, Aligned Energy and two confidential businesses (oooh, mysterious!).
Laurel holds both a Master’s in Telecommunications Engineering as well as a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Colorado. When she is not working, you can find her enjoying mountain living with her four-legged friend Wilma by her side.
Kurt has been delivering products that people love for over 30 years. His experience spans a wide range of verticals, including healthcare, finance, staffing, insurance and many others. Kurt insists that all Otava’s products deliver exceptional experiences, from the moment clients first learn about them on the website or in a solution discussion, through deployment and on-boarding, right on through to how they show up on an invoice.
Kurt holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Michigan, where he is also the head coach of the cycling team.
Cyndi brings over 20 years’ experience focused on improvement process and overall customer experience to Otava. She is responsible for managing and scaling the client services, deployments, and data center operations teams to better serve our clients. An enthusiast for first impressions and the overall customer experience, Cyndi is focused on creating a seamless customer-centric experience which brings together diverse internal expertise to establish best practices and simplify process for our customers. Before coming to Otava, she was the Director of Professional Services with Foresee, managing a team of analysts, setting the overall onboarding strategy for customers, and building out the professional services consultant role and product offerings. Prior to that she was the Planning Director for the City of Romulus, where she established the city’s first Planning Department. Cyndi works out of our headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, office and has an honors Bachelor degree from Eastern Michigan University.
When she is away from the office, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and heading north to enjoy the Michigan seasons.
Mike officially joined Otava in April 2018 after 3.5 years as a third-party recruiter helping to find talent in this tight labor market. Mike’s 15 years of professional experience reads like someone who went to University of Michigan undergrad thinking he’d get into law school (that’s Mike!) – 4 years as an English teacher, a year or so in social media, driving and dispatching for a taxi company, and 6+ years of IT recruiting. Not exactly a straight line to Otava, but one he’s happy has brought him here.
Mike’s BA in English Language and Literature is good for proof of solid book recommendations and grammar corrections. He will visibly cringe when he hears someone say “I seen it” or “Irregardless.” An insufferable music addict, Mike strangely struggles to keep a beat, although he does clap on the 2s and 4s. He enjoys golf, international travel, and keeping up with…his young nephews.
