Mike Ruley, CEO
David Aniol, CFO
Steven Den Herder, Vice President, Business Support
Ben Brimhall, Vice President of Engineering and Network Operations
Jason Mendenhall, Vice President of Product and Customer Operations
Daman Wood, Executive Director of Wholesale Markets
Mike Ruley, CEO
Michael 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. Mike attended the University of Kansas from 1978 to 1983.
David Aniol, CFO
As CFO, Dave brings to Sparkplug over 20 years of financial and operational experience in the software, Internet and manufacturing sectors of the technology industry as well as distribution and consulting experience. At Sparkplug, Dave leads all finance, M&A, legal, human resources and investor relations activities for the company. Prior to joining Sparkplug in July 2004 as CFO, Dave led numerous successful equity and debt funding rounds and acquisitions as CFO of several venture capital-backed companies including Rubicon Technology, Inc., a manufacturer of substrates for the lighting industry, DigitalWork, Inc., a software company targeting the small business market and Open Port Technology, Inc., a global developer of Internet messaging software. Dave began his career with Price Waterhouse, is a CPA and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master’s degree in taxation from DePaul University.
Steven Den Herder, Vice President, Business Support
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.
Ben Brimhall, Vice President of Engineering and Network Operations
Ben Brimhall leads Sparkplug’s engineering and network operations teams, and is responsible for all aspects of service delivery for Sparkplug customers. He was previously
co-founder and chief executive officer of Verde Communications, and joined Sparkplug’s management team in 2007 following Verde’s acquisition.
Prior to founding Verde, Ben served as the head of industry sales and product marketing for various enterprise software companies. With a focus on customer solutions, Ben has been successful in designing and delivering technology products and services to the market for various companies including webMethods and Novell, Inc. Ben brings a unique combination of proven business management skills and technology expertise to his position vice president of engineering and network operations. Ben holds a B.A. in German from Brigham Young University.
Jason Mendenhall, Vice President of Product and Customer Operations
In his role as VP of product and customer operations, Jason is responsible for the development and introduction of new products into the market and oversees all Sparkplug customer facing activities. He was previously the co-founder and chief operating officer of Verde Communications, which was acquired by Sparkplug in 2007.
Prior to founding Verde, Jason served as the head of sales, professional services, and product marketing for several venture capitalist-backed enterprise-level technology companies. His customer-focused entrepreneurship has kept him at the forefront of technology business start-ups. He has comfortably led the creation, roll-out, and sales of new products to Fortune 500 companies for more than a decade. Jason also worked as a consultant for the San Francisco office of Accenture, advising global clients from diverse industries on corporate growth. He holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Utah.
Daman Wood, Executive Director of Wholesale Markets
As Executive Director of Wholesale Markets, Daman is responsible for all revenue generating and customer facing activities related to carrier, cable, government, education and healthcare accounts. Prior to Sparkplug, Daman served as Director of Sales & Marketing of 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. Before joining Next Level, he was Director of Sales for TeleSpectra who was later acquired by Sparkplug. During his tenure with TeleSpectra from 2002 to 2006, Daman managed all sales for many of the same accounts for which he is now responsible. He has also held various management positions with 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.
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