EXECUTIVE TEAM
Richard S. Gilbert
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Rick joined Westell as CEO in February of 2009. Prior to Westell, Rick served as the CEO of Kineto Wireless and as Chairman and CEO of Copper Mountain Networks, which he took public in 1999. Rick was also President of ADC Kentrox and Sr. VP of ADC Telecommunications. He has also held senior management positions at Make Systems, Vitalink Corporation and IBM Corporation. Rick has served as a Director for several companies, including Paragon Networks, Vertical Networks, Danger and, currently, Kineto Wireless.
Rick holds an MS in Computer Science from Stanford University and a BA in Mathematics from University of California at Berkeley.
Brian Cooper
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Brian joined Westell as CFO in April of 2009. Prior to Westell, Brian served as CFO of Fellowes, Inc., a privately held global manufacturer of business products. Brian also served as SVP and Treasurer of United Stationers Inc., a $5 billion wholesale distributor of business products. He served as Treasurer of Burns International and in international finance roles during 13 years with Amoco Corporation. Brian holds a BA in Economics from Davidson College and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Chris Shaver
Senior Vice President and General Manager
Chris Shaver was appointed to the position of Senior Vice President and General Manager in October 2011 after serving for more than two years as General Manager of the CNS division of Westell, most of which was sold to NETGEAR in an asset sale in April 2011. Prior to that Mr. Shaver served as Westell's Chief Technology Officer and in various senior Engineering roles. Mr. Shaver joined Westell in January of 2005 as Vice President of Engineering, overseeing the development of several of Westell's new product lines. Prior to Westell, Mr. Shaver was Vice President of Engineering at Copper Mountain Networks, and helped Copper Mountain migrate from IP DSLAMs to IP service delivery platforms for video, voice and data. Before Copper Mountain he was co-founder and Vice President of Engineering at Oresis Communications, and in the 1990s, Mr. Shaver had various engineering roles at ADC Kentrox. He has been developing leading-edge networking products for over 20 years and holds two patents in networking technologies. Mr. Shaver received his engineering degree from Cornell University, and he completed an executive education program at the Harvard Business School.
David Robison
Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing
David joined Westell in August 2012 as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. David’s sales career spans more than 25 years, leading both direct and channel sales teams in the telecommunications and networking industries. Prior to Westell, David served as Senior Vice President of Sales and General Manager for Alvarion. Prior to joining Alvarion, he was Senior Vice President of Sales and General Manager for ECI Telecommunications. David has also held various sales and leadership roles with Caspian, UT Starcom, Zhone Technologies, Ascend/Lucent Technologies, Cisco Systems, Sprint and MCI Communications.
Naveed Bandukwala
Vice President of Corporate Development
Naveed joined Westell as Vice President of Corporate Development in March of 2012. Naveed is a senior transaction and advisory professional with extensive experience leading buy and sell-side acquisition assignments, post-merger integration efforts, public equity offerings and business development initiatives. Prior to Westell, Naveed served as a Director in Corporate Development at both Nokia Corporation and its subsidiary NAVTEQ Corporation. Prior to joining NAVTEQ, Naveed was an investment banker at William Blair & Company, and he held previous positions at A.T. Kearney, Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. Naveed holds a BS in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Brian Powers
Vice President of Sales
As Westell's Vice President of Sales, Brian Powers is responsible for managing and leading Westell Technologies' field sales team. This team markets the full Westell Technologies portfolio to communications service providers, distributors and select industrial markets. Brian has also been instrumental in creating growth opportunities through mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances with partner companies. Two successful acquisitions for which he was responsible, HyperEdge Corporation and Noran Tel, Inc., have contributed to market expansion and revenue growth for Westell Technologies. Brian joined Westell in 1990 as Marketing Director, successfully developing a new marketing team whose accomplishments included winning six major product selection studies and launching a new corporate identity for the company. Prior to joining Westell, Brian was CPE Business Unit Director for Rockwell International Corporation. He has also held several other technical consulting and sales positions for firms in the telecommunications industry. Brian studied marketing and business management at DePaul University and North Central College, and he holds numerous certifications in leader training, presentation management, and technical marketing.
Amy Forster
Vice President, Corporate Controller
Amy Forster has been in her current role, under several titles, since April 2009. As Corporate Controller, she is responsible for internal and external financial reporting, accounting compliance, treasury, financial analysis, planning and tax. Ms. Forster served as Chief Financial Officer from July 2007 to April 2009. Ms. Forster initially joined Westell in 1994 as Controller and also served as the Executive Director of Finance. During her tenure at Westell, she has been involved in the initial and secondary public offerings, the issuance of convertible debt, acquisitions, and the implementation of an enterprise resource planning solution. After receiving her CPA, her career began at Arthur Andersen LLP, and she has a degree in Accounting from Marquette University.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
James M. Froisland
Chief Financial Officer, InfuSystem Holdings, Inc.
Mr. Froisland has served as a Director of the Company since March 2009. Since December 2010, Mr. Froisland has served as the Chief Financial Officer of InfuSystem Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of infusion pumps and related services to hospitals, oncology practices and other alternative site healthcare providers. Previously, Mr. Froisland served as the Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Officer and Corporate Secretary for Material Sciences Corporation, a leading provider of material-based solutions for acoustical and coated metal applications, from 2006 to 2010. Prior to this role, Mr. Froisland served from 2002 as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer for InteliStaf Healthcare, Inc., a private provider of healthcare staffing services. He previously held executive and senior financial, accounting and information technology positions with a number of companies, including Burns International Services Corporation, Anixter International Inc., Budget Rent A Car Corporation, Allsteel, Inc., and The Pillsbury Company. Mr. Froisland started his career with the public accounting firm, KPMG LLP and is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Froisland has an MBA in Management Information Systems from the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, and a BA in Math and Accounting from Luther College.
Marty Hernandez
Chief Financial Officer of Kineto Wireless, Inc.
Mr. Hernandez has served as a Director of the Company since May 2009. Mr. Hernandez is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Kineto Wireless, Inc. (“Kineto”), an innovator and leading supplier of solutions that enable the delivery of mobile services over broadband. He has served in this position since July 2006. Prior to that, Mr. Hernandez served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Rainmaker Systems, Inc., a leading provider of sales and marketing solutions, from September 2000 to March 2005 and as Rainmaker’s Chief Financial Officer beginning in October 1999. Prior to Rainmaker, he held senior financial and operations roles with Silicon Graphics and Meris Laboratories. Mr. Hernandez is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing, as well as an MBA from San Jose State University.
Eileen A. Kamerick
Chief Financial Officer of Press Ganey Associates, Inc.
Ms. Kamerick has served as a director of the Company since December 2003. Since October 2012, Ms. Kamerick has served as Chief Financial Officer of Press Ganey Associates, Inc., a recognized leader in health care performance improvement. From 2010 to 2012, Ms. Kamerick served as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Houlihan Lokey, an international investment bank and advisory firm. She also served as President of the Houlihan Lokey Foundation, which oversees Houlihan Lokey, Inc.’s charitable activities. From 2008 to 2010, Ms. Kamerick served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Legal Officer of Tecta America Corporation, the largest commercial roofing company in the United States. Ms. Kamerick has also served as Chief Financial Officer at numerous leading companies including Heidrick and Struggles International, Inc.; Leo Burnett; United Stationers Inc.; and BP Amoco Americas. Ms. Kamerick earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Boston College, and both her MBA and law degree from The University of Chicago. She serves on the board of Associated Bancorp where she Chairs the Audit Committee. She also serves on the Nominating Committees and Audit Committees for the boards of certain closed end funds advised by Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisors, LLC. Additionally, she serves on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago, Cove School, the Childrens’ Bureau and the Juvenile Protective Association.
Robert Penny III
Managing Director, PF Management
Robert C. Penny III has served as a Director of the Company since September 1998. He has been the managing partner of P.F. Management Co., a private investment company, since May 1980.
Robert W. Foskett
Managing Partner and Investment Committee Member of Table Mountain Capital LLC
Robert W. Foskett is the Managing Partner and Investment Committee Member of Table Mountain Capital LLC, a private investment company. He has served in this position since 2006. Prior to joining Table Mountain Capital LLC, he served from 2002 to 2006 as a Research Director at L.H. Investments, a private investment company.
Dennis O. Harris
Mr. Harris completed a nearly 38-year telecommunications career in 2002 as the President of Network Services at SBC Midwest, now a part of AT&T, which provides voice, video, data and broadband delivery services. Mr. Harris possesses a great depth of knowledge of the telecommunications industry and its participants, as well as extensive experience in the areas of operations, sales, customer service, and human resources. He remains active in the industry and continues in advisory roles to a number of companies. Mr. Harris holds a Bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University - Commerce and has completed executive programs at Babson College and at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He currently serves on the boards of London Medical Management, The R.J. Carroll Company and Advanced Receiver Technologies. Mr. Harris has been active in community service and has served on the board of the North Texas Minority Business Development Council and the American Red Cross of Dallas.
Kirk R. Brannock
Kirk R. Brannock was appointed to the Westell Board in February 2011. Mr. Brannock retired from his position as Senior Vice President- Network Services at AT&T, a leading provider of voice, video, data and broadband delivery services, after a successful career spanning more that 30 years in the telecommunications industry. He served in leadership positions at AT&T, Ameritech and SBC, including Senior Vice President – AT&T Ethernet, Senior Vice President – AT&T Core Installation & Maintenance and President – SBC/Ameritech Midwest Network Services. Over the course of a career that began with Michigan Bell, Mr. Brannock developed extensive experience in the areas of business office operations, human resources, central office operations, installation, maintenance, construction, engineering, labor relations and systems planning.
Mr. Brannock earned a Bachelor’s degree with Honors from Michigan State University after being named as one of 25 outstanding seniors in the graduating class. He has served in leadership positions on the boards of two not-for-profit organizations: DayOneNetwork and the Chicago Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.