James Christopher
President & CEO
James has more than 30 years of experience in the international technology industry, particularly in the creative, communication and collaboration solutions sector. His expertise is in sales, marketing and channel development, and in the leadership and growth of technology businesses.
James’ past positions include C.O.O. with Jump I.T. one of the top 100 technology integrators in Canada, VP, Global Services for Platform Computing where he was responsible for all service offerings including maintenance (support and software development), professional services and training; and VP, Global Services for Alias, where he built a global services business including consulting, maintenance, education and publishing. Prior to Alias, James was Director, National Channels for SGI Canada and prior to that held progressively senior positions in sales and marketing for Apple Canada.
Mark Millar
CFO
Mark has 30 years experience in the international technology industry, with most of that time spent at the VP Finance or CFO level. Prior to joining Northplains, Mark was CFO at Syncapse Corp, CFO and Platform Computing and VP Finance at SOLCORP. During this time, Mark has been responsible for all aspects of Finance, including numerous acquisitions, capital raises as well as a number of successful exits. Mark started his career at Deloitte where he obtained his C.A. designation.
Mohan Taylor
CTO
Mohan joins the office of the CTO from OpenText. Mohan was one of the founding members of Artesia Europe prior to its acquisition by OpenText. At OpenText, he was the Practice Principal of the Digital Media Group, Europe, and managed the digital media professional services team along with being a Chief Technology Architect. Mohan holds a first class BSc with honors in computer science from Brunel University London.
Anthony Nehme
VP, Revenue
Anthony oversees Finance, and Operations at North Plains including IT and HR. He brings more than 15 years of experience in operations, strategic planning, and financial planning to the company. Before joining North Plains, Anthony was director of M&A and Major Accounts as part of the global sales operations team at Autodesk. There, he successfully managed the acquisitions and integration of various software companies and worked closely with Sales to develop and execute on major account strategy. He also held the position of Director of Finance – Media & Entertainment and Global Accounts at Autodesk. Prior to that, Anthony was Director of Finance, Corporate Controller at Alias, which was later acquired by Autodesk. He also worked at KPMG in Toronto. Anthony is a Chartered Accountant and has a B.A. in Finance and Economics from the University of Western Ontario and a MBA from the University of Toronto.
Eric Courville
VP Marketing and Corporate Development
Eric brings more than 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and business development and a solid track record at improving top line growth. Prior to North Plains, Eric was co-founder and COO at Futurestate IT and VM6 Software, Inc. Prior to Futurestate IT and VM6 Software, Eric had executive roles at Embotics Corporation, PlateSpin Ltd., Platform Computing Corporation and SGI. Eric holds a Business Management and Marketing degree from The University of Montreal (HEC business school) in Montreal.
Kevin Tureski
VP Product Development
Kevin oversees Engineering, Product Management, and the Office of the CTO. He joined Alias in 1987 and managed very large and complex software products for 22 years, including Maya®, the defacto standard for high-end animation, visual effects and game development. In 2003 he accepted on behalf of Alias|Wavefront an Oscar® for Scientific and Technical Achievement for the development of Maya. His expertise in agile & sustainable software development methodologies led to consulting engagements at Lucasfilm, Nemetschek Allplan GmbH and others. He started his career at Omnibus Computer Graphics in 1984. Kevin has an Honours B. Math degree in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo.
Michael Stamler
VP Global Customer Services
Michael has an extensive background in developing and expanding successful packaged service offerings and increasing customer satisfaction. He joined North Plains from Autodesk where he was Director of Consulting and Support Offerings, responsible for a portfolio with more than $200M in revenue. He also held positions as Director of Worldwide Product Support and Director of Subscription Products and Planning. Prior to Autodesk, Michael was Director of Global Packaged Services at Alias Systems, a global enterprise software company specializing in 3D computer graphics. He has also worked for companies such Sprint Canada/Fonorola Inc., IFR Employee Screening and Gibson Design. Michael received a Bachelor with distinction in Industrial Design from Carlton University.
Ron Lokaisingh
Director of Channel Sales, Americas
General Manager, Americas (acting)
Ron has over 20 years in the Graphics and Technology Industry.
Ron’s experience and understanding of workflow, process, sales and technology has proven to be a great asset with clients and partners alike. Ron also developed, sold and implemented an Online Digital Delivery System to many of the advertising agencies, which refined the digital delivery process.
Ron has held several leadership positions during his career from Sales & Marketing, Engineering and product development. He also founded and ran his own company Syncron CyberKare for over a decade, implementing DAM and workflow solutions for the Creative space, retail and pre-media facilities. Ron has been involved in the DigitalAsset Management vertical, selling and supporting the Xinet product line and various workflow and collaboration products. Ron also has a deep understanding of storage architecture and network design and implementation.
Andy Peters
General Manager, Europe & Middle East
Andy Peters has been CEO of VYRE since 2002. Andy’s leadership and vision has taken VYRE from humble beginnings in Iceland to the major European player in the MRM marketplace that it is today. Before taking the reins at VYRE, Andy spent 13 years at Schlumberger Ltd, the world’s leading oilfields service provider, in a number of Regional Senior Management positions driving Business Development, Project Management, Technical Sales and Recruitment. A pioneer of video and DVD compression and DAM technology, Andy is a Chartered Engineer, member of the Institution of Electrical Engineering and holds a Degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Board of Directors
James Christopher
President & CEO
James has more than 30 years of experience in the international technology industry, particularly in the creative, communication and collaboration solutions sector. His expertise is in sales, marketing and channel development, and in the leadership and growth of technology businesses.
James’ past positions include C.O.O. with Jump I.T. one of the top 100 technology integrators in Canada, VP, Global Services for Platform Computing where he was responsible for all service offerings including maintenance (support and software development), professional services and training; and VP, Global Services for Alias, where he built a global services business including consulting, maintenance, education and publishing. Prior to Alias, James was Director, National Channels for SGI Canada and prior to that held progressively senior positions in sales and marketing for Apple Canada.
Hassan Kotob
Executive Chairman, North Plains Systems
Hassan has been recognized by fellow industry leaders and analysts for his commitment and achievements in the digital asset management industry. From 1997 until 2011, Hassan served as President and CEO of North Plains. He brings more than 20 years of experience in executive management, global market development, and corporate growth strategy. Prior to North Plains, Hassan served as President and CEO of Medasys from 1991-1997. Under his leadership, Medasys grew from a small privately held developer of medical imaging software to a publicly traded global corporation. Prior to that, he held management and director positions at various corporations including CText and Irwin Magnetic Systems. Hassan has served on the boards of both public and private companies. He holds a Bachelor and a Masters Degree in International Trade and Economics from Eastern Michigan University.
Doug Walker
CEO and Co-Founder, WhoPlusYou.com
In his 30 years in the technology industry, Doug has been a leader in some of the industry’s most innovative and successful companies, including – Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems, Alias Systems, and IBM.
Doug was CEO of BitTorrent, the world’s largest file sharing technology with more than 130 million users, and he developed and led the company’s strategic plan. For five years Doug served as President and CEO of Alias Systems – the world’s dominant provider of 3D software technology to the entertainment and product design industries. Alias operated in more than 50 countries and its customers included some of the world’s most creative companies including Disney, Industrial Light and Magic, DreamWorks, Pixar, Electronic Arts, Sony, Nike, Motorola, Apple, and “every automotive company in the world”. In his tenure, Doug and his team repositioned Alias to become the revenue and growth leader in each of the markets it served. He managed the process of divesting the business from its then-parent Silicon Graphics, developed the relationships with the company’s new investors – Accel-KKR and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Fund, and within two years sold the business to Autodesk Corporation for a significant return on investment. Prior to his term at Alias Systems Doug was the President of SGI Canada which became one of the corporation’s top performing subsidiaries and a strategic partner.
Tom Barnds
Managing Director at and founding Partner of Accel-KKR.
Prior to joining Accel-KKR in 2000, Tom was a Managing Director at Nassau Capital, a private equity firm engaged in investing $2.5 billion of Princeton University’s endowment, where for four years he led growth equity investments and buyouts in technology, energy, media and healthcare. Prior to Nassau Capital, Tom worked as a strategy consultant at Bain & Co. Before Bain, Tom ran Business Development at McGaw, a successful leveraged buyout led by DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and ABS Capital. Tom started his career in the Investment Banking Division at Alex. Brown & Sons, where he worked with emerging growth and technology companies. Tom has been a guest lecturer on private equity topics at Stanford University and Princeton University. Tom received his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and his A.B. from Princeton University.
Rob Palumbo
Managing Director, Accel-KKR
Prior to joining Accel-KKR, Rob co-headed the software investment banking practice at Thomas Weisel Partners in San Francisco. Prior to Thomas Weisel, he spent three years at Deutsche Bank where he built the technology investment banking practice in the southeastern U.S. and later headed the software practice in Silicon Valley. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Rob spent five years at Stephens, Inc. where he directed the firm’s information technology banking practice. As part of that effort, Rob originated and executed direct private equity investments on behalf of Stephens Group, the private equity investment arm of the firm. Rob started his career as a mergers and acquisitions analyst at Alex. Brown & Sons in Baltimore, MD in 1990.
Rob was formerly a Director of IntrinsiQ Research (sold to AmerisourceBergen Holding Corporation in 2011), Saber (sold to EDS in 2007 for $460 million) and Systems & Software. Rob holds an A.B. from Princeton University.
Dean Jacobson
Principal at Accel-KKR.
Prior to joining Accel-KKR, Dean was a Vice President with Summit Partners where he was involved in private equity investments in the technology and financial services sectors. Prior to Summit, Dean worked as a Director of Corporate Development at Vonage, a leading provider of digital phone services. Before Vonage, Dean was an Associate Director at 3i, a leading global private equity firm where he focused on the firm’s later-stage technology investing practice in the United States. Dean started his career in the technology group at Robertson Stephens where he worked with growing companies in the semiconductor, hardware, storage and digital media sectors.
Dean is a former Director of the Endurance International Group (sold to a private equity consortium in 2011 for $1.0 billion). Dean received his M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he was an Arjay Miller scholar and his A.B. from Harvard University.
Maurice A. Hernandez
Senior Associate, Accel-KKR
Maurice Hernandez joined Accel-KKR in 2007. Prior to joining Accel-KKR, Maurice worked at Deutsche Bank’s Technology Mergers & Acquisitions group in San Francisco. While at Deutsche Bank, Maurice was involved in a variety of mergers, acquisitions, buyouts and leveraged financings in the software, services and Internet sectors. Maurice previously worked at Needham & Company, an investment bank focused on emerging growth companies. While at Needham, Maurice was involved in advising mid-market technology companies on mergers, acquisitions and capital raising. He received a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University.
