Michael Ruley, CEO
Mike Ruley brings an impressive record of leadership, experience and accomplishment in telecom, data access and managed services to his role as Sparkplug CEO. Most recently he was CEO of Hawaiian Telecom, an independent telecommunications company owned by The Carlyle Group, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that provides wireline, wireless, long distance, data, managed services and yellow pages. At inception, Hawaiian Telecom had about 1,850 employees with operations that serve all of the major Hawaiian Islands. Prior to that, Ruley was CEO of NextiraOne, a North American voice and data solutions business with about 3,500 employees. He also held several senior positions at XO Communications, including President of Market Sales where he managed about 1,500 people in sales, support, customer care and the indirect channel organizations that delivered nearly $1 billion in annual revenue. Prior to XO Communications, Ruley served in several senior roles at Teleport Communications Group, a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) that is now part of AT&T. Ruley currently serves on the boards of Tissue Genesis, Inc. and Allied Bioscience Services. Ruley attended the University of Kansas from 1978 to 1983.
Daman Wood, COO
As Sparkplug's Chief Operating Officer, Daman Wood is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of Sparkplug's sales, marketing, operations and engineering organizations. Along with other senior executives, Mr. Wood serves on the Senior Leadership Team that sets the overall strategy and direction for Sparkplug. Prior to his role as COO, Mr. Wood served as Sparkplug's Vice President of Sales managing all aspects of revenue growth for the company including commercial/enterprise, carrier and government, and channel sales. Before Sparkplug, Daman led sales and marketing for Next Level Solutions, a value added reseller and integrator of wireless solutions ranging from 802.11/16 and microwave point-to-point and point-to-multipoint. While at Next Level, Mr. Wood led worldwide sales across all product offerings and vertical markets realizing a 130% increase in revenues year over year. He has also held various management positions with TeleSpectra, XO/Nextlink Communications and Syntellect, Inc. He holds a BS in Systems Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University.
Steve Den Herder, Vice President, Finance
Steve oversees all business support activities for Sparkplug including accounting, customer service, and operational support systems. Prior to Prairie iNet's merger with Sparkplug and Telespectra, Steve was COO and CFO of Prairie iNet. Having joined the company in 2000, he managed Prairie iNet's day-to-day operations including finance, accounting, network operations, customer service and human resources. Prior to Prairie iNet, he worked for Engineering Animation, Inc., a high-end engineering and design software manufacturer, where he was responsible for revenue accounting and forecasting, SEC compliance and financial reporting. Prior to this, he was with Deloitte & Touche LLP Audit and Enterprise Risk Services. Steve is a CPA and a graduate of Iowa State University, where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting.
