Management Team
Tony Fascenda
Founder, CEO/CTO
In 28 years of developing wireless technologies, Tony Fascenda has been awarded ten individual patents and has taken three separate wireless companies from startup to acquisition. Tony's first foray into wireless began in the late 70s with the development of a first-of-its-kind wireless timing and scoring system for Formula One and Indy 500 auto racing.
Tony built his first company, DataSpeed, around the wireless timing system, and adapted the technology to create QuoTrek, the first handheld, wireless device for real-time tracking of stock quotes. Tony took DataSpeed public in 1982, and it was then acquired by Lotus in 1985. The QuoTrek devices are still in use today under the Signal brand. Tony then formed NewsPager Corporation of America, which developed and marketed the NewsPager device for tracking real-time financial information. NewsPager devices were licensed in 18 countries and licensed for manufacture to Uniden, Motorola, Philips, and Oi Electric. NewsPager was acquired by Motorola in 1997. In the late 1990s, Tony worked with Bethesda-based Mobeo to develop a real-time foreign currency rate reporting system. Mobeo was acquired by Aether Systems in 1999 and subsequently went public.
A professional interest in RF and WiFi technology led Tony to form KoolSpan with two former colleagues. With KoolSpan, Tony saw an opportunity to solve the problem of gaps in WiFi security with an elegant, inexpensive security product based on pre-existing and highly secure Smart Cards already widely used in GSM wireless phones. This led to the creation of an entirely new authentication and security technology that doesn't use certificates — one that works independently of wired/wireless and local/remote connections. Tony has filed 11 patents covering the KoolSpan solution, both broadly and specifically.
Tony holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University. At Penn State, Tony developed a master's thesis on Formula One racing that eventually led to the creation of his first company and his work in wireless.
Tony has been awarded patent protection over a four-decade span. His patent history is about to be eclipsed by the filings in KoolSpan. KoolSpan currently has seven patent applications on file with seven more in final stages of preparation.
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Emil Sturniolo
Chief Scientist
Emil Sturniolo has more than 25 years experience with wireless networks, software and operating system design, and was one of the founding executives of Seattle-based NetMotion Wireless, Inc. During his nine-year tenure there, he served as Chief Scientist and was one of the original architects of its flagship mobility product. Originally an electrical engineer, he switched to communications software engineering in 1979 and holds six patents for mobile and secure connectivity solutions, with numerous other foreign and domestic filings pending. Emil is a member of the Board of Directors for the Portable Computer and Communications Association (PCCA) and is actively involved in several other industry standards organizations.
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Matt Capoccia
VP Sales
Matt Capoccia has more than 20 years experience in corporate development, business development, direct and indirect sales, sales management, marketing, professional services and product management in the Wireless, eBusiness, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Call Center systems markets. Matt is responsible for KoolSpan's worldwide direct sales and channels programs, with his primary focus on driving KoolSpan's revenue and market share. Matt also has overall responsibility for customer satisfaction, from initial customer contact to timely product deployment and ongoing customer support. Prior to KoolSpan, Matt served as Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Services for Telispark Corporation (owned by Deloitte Consulting).
Matt also served as a member of Telispark's Executive Committee and as a Board Member. He was responsible for the introduction of PDA-based software application products that extended enterprise systems to mobile workers in the Automotive, Aerospace, Communications, Healthcare, Utilities and Public Sector markets. Prior to Telispark, Matt was Vice President, CRM Sales for Oracle Corporation, where he was responsible for the introduction of CRM products to the Communications, Financial Services, Healthcare, Utilities and Public Sector markets. In 1990, Matt joined Versatility, Inc., a provider of CRM solutions, where he held various positions of progressive responsibility. He served as Director of North American Sales, Vice President of Product and Portfolio Management and Vice President of OEM Alliances during his tenure with Versatility. His responsibilities included the creation, development and management of products, as well as the sales and marketing programs necessary to deliver the products in the worldwide CRM market. In 1998, Oracle Corporation acquired Versatility, where Matt assumed responsibility for CRM software sales.
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Jeffrey Stern
VP Business Development
Jeff Stern has led new business growth for technology companies as well as the strategic imperatives for major public policy organizations. With nearly 15 years in the technology market, he has developed deep domain expertise in the areas of security, mobile, wireless and Internet technologies. Prior to joining KoolSpan, Jeff served in senior management roles at Urban HotSpots and AirMedia with business, product and corporate development responsibilities. As a strategic consultant, he developed NYC Health and Hospital Corporation's executive strategy for the secure, regulatory compliant and safe deployment of mobile and wireless technology.
In addition to his early career as an elementary school teacher, Jeff has a bachelor's degree in Political Economy, cum laude from Tulane University, and an MBA from Columbia University.
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Bill Supernor
VP Engineering
Bill Supernor brings to KoolSpan a robust track record of performance and innovation based on more than 20 years of combined engineering and management experience. Supernor joins KoolSpan from McLean, Va.-based Trust Digital, a leading provider of smartphone security management. Prior to Trust Digital, Supernor served in senior-level positions at Cognio, Symantec, and McAfee/Network Associates. Supernor also served as a Lieutenant and Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy. Supernor graduated with honors from National University with a Master of Science degree in Software Engineering, and with distinction from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.
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Paul Benware
Director of Engineering
Paul Benware has more than 18 years experience in the commercial software business. Paul has held positions in Senior Software Development and Technical Management at WRQ (Reflection Software), Tally Systems, IRE (now SafeNet) and Optus Software, among other companies. Prior to joining KoolSpan, Paul served as an independent consultant for Xerox Corporation. He has experience in full life cycle software development with expertise in kernel drivers, network protocols, cryptography, systems software and computer telephony development. Paul also brings experience in the design and development of security solutions that encompass Symmetric Cryptography, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), IP Security (IPsec), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Virtual Private Networking technologies.
Paul brings a unique perspective to technical software development with his customer-driven, market-focused approach. He has successfully contributed to and directed efforts to bring products to market in all of his previous positions. Paul has a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Ithaca College.
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