Leadership

Kurien Jacob, CEO
Kurien Jacob is an experienced, executive having held CEO or CFO positions at five different companies in the transportation, manufacturing, consumer electronics, automotive accessories and software industries spanning 25 years. Prior to moving into general management, Jacob was in audit and consulting with Touche Ross (now Deloitte Touche). He holds a B. Com. From the University of Madras, India, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, England and Wales, and holds an Advanced Management Certificate from the Sloan School of MIT.

Kim Curtis, VP Finance
Kim Curtis has more than 12 years of finance and accounting experience with specific focus in the areas of high-growth technology companies and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining AFS Technologies, she was Vice President of Finance for Thomson NETg, formerly a division of Thomson Reuters. She has also held various finance positions with KnowledgeNet and Cold Stone Creamery, and started her career in audit with Price Waterhouse in its technology practice. Kim earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from San Diego State University and is a Certified Public Accountant, certified in the state of Arizona.

Suhas Gudihal, CTO
Suhas Gudihal has over 25 years of experience in the Information Technology area. As CTO, Suhas is responsible for leading AFS Technology direction, strategy, including development of the company´s Products and ensure that AFS continues to bring cutting edge technology solutions to the industry we serve. Prior to joining AFS, he was the vice president of Software Services/Technology at a leading North American information technology consulting firm managing a team of 250 consultants generating annual revenue of over $220 million. His prior work experience includes development of software applications/products at Fortune 1000 organizations. Suhas has an engineering degree from IIT in India.

Lisa Whinnie, Executive Vice President, Customer Relations
Lisa Whinnie has experience as a software developer, designing, programming and managing IT projects in a distribution environment. Over the past 16 years, she has worked with end users to convert their business requirements into comprehensive, streamlined technical solutions. As Executive Vice President, Customer Relations she is responsible for customer relations including customer service, custom code, implementations, technical sales and Managed Services. Prior to joining AFS, Lisa served as the IT Director for an international espresso distributor Illy Espresso of the Americas, and was formerly the MIS Manager at the telecommunications company Executone Information Systems Inc. She holds a B.S. degree in Information Systems from the University of Phoenix.

Ken Yontz, Executive Vice President Mobile Computing and Profile Division
Ken Yontz has over 30 years of management experience in the Food & Beverage Industry. Prior to joining AFS, Ken was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Sales Partner Systems (SPS), a Florida based provider of software solutions and marketing services for foodservice Distributors and Manufacturers. Ken also served as the Director of Sales Technology for CP Foodservice, an independent Foodservice Distributor in Florida. Before joining CP, Ken had a career in the restaurant industry where he held various local, regional and corporate management positions. Ken is a member of several Technology Advisory Boards and is a frequent speaker at Industry Conferences.

Adam Bartkowski, Executive Vice President Warehousing and Logistics Division
Adam Bartkowski is an executive with significant experience in both software and technology investments. Prior to joining AFS Technologies, he was the CEO/President of Apriso Corporation, the world leader in execution enterprise software - a new event-driven, real-time, process-aware software that provides enterprises total global control of their manufacturing and supply processes. Mr. Bartkowski joined Apriso after holding executive positions at ADP, System Software Associates (SSA) and Pansophic, now a unit of Computer Associates. During Adam's tenure as Senior Vice President of Strategy and New Markets, ADP's Dealer Service Division grew from USD 395 million to USD 735 million in a span of four years. Adam was directly responsible for $120M of ADP revenue and initiated four new business units that grew over 200%. At SSA, he contributed to 350% product revenue growth over five years, created a worldwide product management organization and significantly expanded the company's product lines. SSA earned eight Buyer's Choice Awards during Adam's tenure. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Amherst College and an MBA from Northwestern University.

Frank Recht, Vice President, Professional Services
Frank Recht has over 15 years experience in consulting, project management and field operations in the distribution and food industry. As Vice President Professional Services, Frank is responsible for all customer implementations and consulting services. This includes resource management, financial tracking, training, and implementation. Frank has been with AFS over five years and has held various positions in consulting along with technical sales. Prior to AFS, Frank was Senior Project Manager for Frontstep Inc. and Senior Consultant for Distribution Architects Intl which specialized in ERP software to the distribution industry. Frank holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Arizona State University.

Keith Menking, Vice President & General Manager Supply Chain Division
Keith Menking has more than 20 years of experience in senior-level technology and operations positions managing the design, development, promotion and operations of mission critical software systems. As General Manager of the AFS Supply Chain Division, Keith leads the product offerings and operations of the WMS unit focusing on delivering winning solutions for AFS customers. Keith has worked for both private and public entities including Coopers & Lybrand, Octel and WebTPA for which he was a principal bringing a startup to $10 million in revenue in three years. Prior to joining AFS, Keith was Vice President of Engineering for IRM which has a 30 year presence in delivering technology and services to the Food and Beverage industry. Keith has an undergraduate degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Board of Directors

Walter Barandiaran, Chairman
Since March 2003, Walter Barandiaran has served as the Chairman of AFS Technologies, Inc.. He is a Founder and a Managing Partner of The Argentum Group, a New York-based private equity firm, founded in 1987. Argentum serves as a General Partner of several investment funds with aggregate investment capital of over $400 million and a portfolio of over 50 active investments. Walter is responsible for coordinating private equity investment opportunities in the software, business outsourcing and manufacturing sectors. Walter has more than 15 years of private equity experience, including assisting Argentum`s portfolio companies in corporate, management and operational issues. Since February 2002, Walter is the Chairman & CEO of HorizonLive, Inc., a leading software platform for live, web-based teaching, learning, and interactive communications. In addition, Walter also serves on the Board of Directors of Conner Industries, Inc., LifeStar Corporation, M3 Technologies, Inc., Medsite.com, Inc., Metalico, Inc., and StructuredWeb, Inc.. Walter received a Bachelors degree from Baruch College (CUNY) and attended the New York University´s Business School.

Art Roldan, Director
Art is a seasoned technology entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the software industry. Most recently Art was the CEO of SecurePipe before its acquisition by TrustWave in December 2006. While at SecurePipe, Art led an impressive transformation of the technology service firm into a leading provider of managed network security services. In four years, Art directed the broadening of service offerings, the development of alternate distribution channels, and the expansion of the company’s client base to over 1,000 clients, resulting in four consecutive years of 65%+ revenue growth. Prior to joining SecurePipe, Art was the president and CEO of Novarra, a wireless software company and raised $30,000,000 in venture capital within an 18-month period. Drawing on his experience and leadership, Novarra grew from a seed start up of three to a mature team of sixty professionals that developed cutting-edge products and acquired blue chip customers and strategic partners. Prior to joining Novarra, Roldan was president and CEO of The Premisys Corp., a leading sales engineering automation software company. Under Roldan’s leadership, the company’s revenue doubled in the year prior to its acquisition by J.D. Edwards (Oracle). Art’s considerable experience with growing other start-up companies has resulted in their acquisition by public companies. Art is a board member of the Illinois Technology Association and has been recognized in Crain’s Internet 100 Executives. He is also a sought after speaker for the entrepreneur programs at Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and the MBA program at The University of Chicago. Art began his career at IBM and holds a BS in business administration from DePaul University.

Tyler Wick, Director
Tyler Wick co-founded Ticonderoga and has over thirteen years of industry tenure including eleven years of private equity experience. His private equity experience includes serving as an Associate at Dillon Read Venture Capital and ten years at Ticonderoga Capital. Previously, Mr. Wick was an Associate in the healthcare practice of the investment-banking group of Advest, Inc., where he focused on private placements and mergers and acquisitions for middle market healthcare services companies. Prior to Advest, he was a consultant with the Mentor Group, an international legal consulting firm. In addition to his Board seat at AFS Technologies, Mr. Wick is a member of the Board of Directors of ALN Medical Management, Brainshark and Octagon Research, and is an Observer to the Boards of nuBridges, Inc. and Construction Software Technologies. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of NERASBIC and serves on the Board of Directors for the Boston Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. Mr. Wick received a B.A. degree Cum Laude from Amherst College.

David Butler, Director
Dave Butler is President of Ticketmaster North America, the diversified live entertainment and marketing company. In this role, Dave is responsible for the company's primary ticketing business in the United States and Canada and will oversee Ticketmaster's six North American regions. Previously, Dave was chief executive officer of Ticketmaster Irvine, formerly Paciolan, a venue ticketing software provider acquired by Ticketmaster in 2008. Prior to leading Paciolan, he was the President and chief executive officer of TCI Solutions, President of Sage Software’s Mid Market Division, and held leadership roles at enterprise solution companies, Lawson Software and MAI Basic Four. Dave is a graduate of California State University, Fullerton.

Alexis Boyle, Director
Alexis Boyle is Executive Director with the Venture Capital Group at CIBC (Boston), where she invests in business software and technology-enabled services at CIBC, focusing on later stage investments. In addition to her position on the AFS Technologies Board, Alexis is currently a director of CashEdge, Critical Mention and FuelQuest, and her deal experience includes Digital Paper (acquired by ePlus), Interwise, Lawson Software, Renew Data, SoftMed Systems and Verid. Prior to joining CIBC Capital Partners, Alexis was at TA Associates, a USD$5 billion private equity fund focused on growth investments in technology, financial and business services and healthcare. Prior to that, Alexis was in Investment Banking at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, working in the Industrial Technology and Basic Industries groups. Alexis received her BA, with honors, from Harvard University.