Consonus Board of Directors
Nana Baffour
Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors
Nana Baffour has served on our board of directors since October 13, 2006 and has served as Chairman of our board since December 15, 2006. Mr. Baffour has served as Managing Principal at KLI, a New York City based private equity firm, since 2004. Mr. Baffour was an investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston in Europe and in the U.S. from 2000 to 2004, where he advised clients in the utility sector on mergers, acquisitions and capital financing. Mr. Baffour also served as an Equity Portfolio Analyst at Standard and Poor's from 1998 to 2000 and as a Financial Analyst in the Treasury and Capital Markets Group at CIT Group, Inc. from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Baffour is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has over ten years of experience in finance. Mr. Baffour has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Lawrence University, a Masters degree in Economics from the University of North Carolina Charlotte and a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from the Stern School of Business, New York University. He is also a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.
Michael G. Shook
Director
Founder, Strategic Technologies Inc (STI)
Michael G. Shook served as Chief Executive Officer from December 2006 through September 2009 - through the merger with Consonus - and as a director of the company since he founded Strategic Technologies in 1988. Previously, Mr. Shook served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. In 1997, Mr. Shook was awarded Carolina's Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System and USA Today. Mr. Shook served as the Vice President of Marketing and Sales and was a member of the Board of Directors of Rise Technology from 1984 to 1988. Mr. Shook also served as the Vice President of Sales for Bedford Computer Corporation from 1982 to 1984. Mr. Shook has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of the State of New York and he also attended the University of North Texas. He is currently a member of the Sun Microsystems, Inc. National Advisory Council and is the Co-President of their Advisory Board. He is also a member of Symantec Corporation's Global Advisory Council.
William M. Shook
Director
Founder, Strategic Technologies Inc (STI)
William M. Shook served as Executive Vice President of Channels and Alliances from May 2008 through September 2009 - through the merger with Consonus - and has served on the Board of Directors since October 2006. Mr. Shook served as our Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing from January 2007 to April 2007, and from September 2007 to May 2008. He also served as our interim Executive Vice-President of Solutions Consulting and Delivery from April 2007 to August 2007. Beginning in 1990, Mr. Shook served as the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Strategic Technologies Inc. During his tenure at STI, Mr. Shook was responsible for overall product direction, sales force architecture and team-selling models. Mr. Shook also served as the Director of Sales for MEI Software Systems from 1988 to 1990. Mr. Shook has over twenty years extensive experience in the sales and marketing of high technology products and services as well as the management of their deployment. Mr. Shook graduated from James Madison University with a degree in business administration. He has participated on the National Advisory Councils for Symantec Corporation, BMC Software Inc. and Network Appliance, Inc. He is also a board member of the Society of Information Managers North Carolina Chapter and leads panels for the Council for Entrepreneurial Development's executive briefings and InfoTech roundtables.
Justin Beckett
Director
Founder, CEO of Fluid Audio Networks
Justin Beckett has served on our board of directors since October 13, 2006. Mr. Beckett is the founder of Fluid Audio Networks, Inc., which provides an online digital music distribution system, and has served as Chief Executive Officer of Fluid Audio Networks, Inc. since 2004. Mr. Beckett has over twenty years of entrepreneurial experience and has focused exclusively on developing Internet based consumer product applications since 2000. Mr. Beckett's recent initiatives include the founding and sale of SkillJam Technologies Corporation to FUN Technologies in 2004; the founding and sale of Music Gaming Inc. to Intermix Media, Inc. in 2001; the design and sale of an IP-based video on demand application to Visutel Technologies in 2003; and the co-founding of Measurematics Inc. in 2003. Prior to Mr. Beckett's involvement in Internet based consumer product applications, he was Executive Vice-President and principal of Sloan Financial Group, an investment management firm from 1986 to 2000. Mr. Beckett has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University.
Johnson M. Kachidza
Director
Managing Principal, Knox Lawrence
Johnson M. Kachidza has served on our board of directors since January 22, 2007. Mr. Kachidza has been a Managing Principal at KLI, a New York City based private equity firm since 2001. Prior to his employment with KLI, Mr. Kachidza was an investment banker with Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. in New York from February 2000 to October 2001, and with JP Morgan Chase & Co. in New York and Johannesburg from 1997 to 2000, where he advised clients in the utility sector in mergers, acquisitions and capital financing. Mr. Kachidza has over eight years of experience in finance. Mr. Kachidza also served as a Project Engineer at General Electric Company from 1991 to 1995, where he led cross functional teams in developing new products from concept through to product launch. Mr. Kachidza is a holder of U.S. Patent Number 5,686,795 for a product design in fluorescent lamp technology. Mr. Kachidza has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from Knox College, a Masters degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago.
Hank Torbert
Director
Founder and Managing Partner, Avondale Ventures, LLC
Hank L. Torbert has served on our board of directors since April 2010. Mr. Torbert is currently founder and managing partner of Avondale Ventures, LLC and has over 10 years of experience in private equity, advisory, investment banking and the development of small and middle market media and communications companies. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Torbert served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Broadcast Capital, a media-focused private equity firm with a twenty-five year history. From 1999 to 2004, Mr. Torbert was an investment banker at JPMorgan Chase where he served as a vice president of the Financial Sponsor Group, Middle Market Banking, at JPMorgan Chase Bank. There, he was responsible for sourcing and financing private equity investment opportunities for financial sponsors investing in the middle market. Additionally, he completed over $100 billion in transactions in the media and telecommunications industry as a senior associate in the Equity Capital Markets Group, at JPMorgan Securities. At present, Mr. Torbert serves as a strategic advisor to several companies, including Tunaverse. He is an Advisory Board member of Celeritas Management and serves on the Board of Directors at Medstar Research Institute and Strive DC. Mr. Torbert holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University and earned both a Masters degree in International Finance and a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia University.
