Executive Profiles

Chad West - President & Chief Executive Officer

Selected to lead the executive management team from the company’s inception in April of 2000, Chad is responsible for the overall strategy and success of Ascom’s activities in North America. Chad has more than 20 years leadership experience with a successful track record of P&L management, product management, operations and marketing efforts.

Before joining Ascom, he held a variety of marketing, product management, operations and general management positions at Bell & Howell and Ericsson. Chad’s corporate tenure was preceded by 10 years service in the U.S. military where he served with distinction as a U.S. Army Officer and Attack Helicopter Pilot. Chad currently serves on the Board of Trustees of UTAM Inc., a non-profit agency designated by the Federal Communications Commission to oversee frequency coordination in the unlicensed PCS spectrum.

Chad holds a B.S. degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an M.B.A. from New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

Rob Goldman - Chief Financial Officer

Rob is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant with a strong background in business management, IT, finance and accounting at the corporate executive level. Possessing a wide range of experience in various phases of financial management in both domestic and international markets, Mr. Goldman held numerous positions during his eighteen-year tenure with IBM and most recently as CFO at MEY Corporation.

Rob holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administrations in Accounting/Finance (Army ROTC and Chancellor Scholarships) from Washington University and a Master of Business Administration (U.S. Army Graduate Program) Austin Peay State University. He also served as a Captain in the US Army from 1983 to 1987.

Staffan Örnbratt - Vice President, Marketing & Business Development

Responsible for all marketing and business development functions associated with the Ascom wireless solutions sales in North America, Staffan joined Ascom in 2001 and has functioned in various Business Development and International Product Management roles since then. Staffan has been instrumental in requirements handling, development planning and marketing of the Ascom IP-DECT, VoWiFi and Unite system solutions. He has developed partnership with major companies, suppliers and sales accounts within Europe and US.

Before joining Ascom in 2001, Staffan held software development and project management positions within Ericsson, Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway then HiQ where he gained extensive experience in both wired and wireless telecommunications.

Staffan holds a B.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering from The University of Kalmar, Sweden and studied telecommunication and computer science at Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education, England.

Allen Crockett - Vice President, Sales: Americas East

Allen brings over 20 years of success in Sales, Marketing, Business Development and Mergers & Acquisitions experience in high-technology hardware and software environments. Prior to Ascom, Allen worked with emerging startup technology companies such as Computer Decisions (acquired by Productivity Point), Interpath Communications (acquired by USi) and Peopleclick (pre-IPO).

Originally hired as a Channel Manager, Allen quickly vaulted to the #1 revenue producer in the US, #10 Internationally and President’s Club in both of his first 2 years. In 2006, Allen was promoted to National Director of Alliance Partners to create, launch and accelerate Ascom’s mindshare penetration into new and large distribution channels such as Hill-Rom and Agfa. His proven experience and success in energizing channels and winning in highly competitive environments make his promotion to Vice President Sales for Americas East a natural extension towards enabling the high growth strategy for Ascom.

Allen is a graduate of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill with a B.S. in Industrial Relations.

Bill Foster - Vice President, Sales: Americas West

Bill joined Ascom in August of 2006 as the Director, Regional Sales for the western Region where he more than doubled the sales within his region within his first year. As a result of his success along with Ascom’s growth, Bill was promoted to Vice President, Sales for Americas West.

He is a practicing manager and trainer with over 25 years experience in helping others perform better. Prior to entering the Telecommunications industry, Bill spent 15 years in the Human Resource Development field working for industry leaders such as IBM and Blanchard Training where he lead both domestic and international sales teams. He has also served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for a leading telecom dealer in Southern California. He is co-author of the book "Coaching For Peak Employee Performance" and has had several articles published in various trade publications.

Bill holds a B.A. in Business Administration from California State University, Fullerton and is a graduate of the IBM Management School in Armonk, NY.

Eric Brill - Vice President, Sales: Clinical Applications

Eric joined Ascom in September 2010 as a Channel Sales Director to lead the North American launch of a global joint development project between Ascom and GE Healthcare. As a result of his relationship management and sales success, Eric was promoted to Vice President of Clinical Applications.

Eric is a pioneer in the field of medical device alarm notification, with over 16 years of experience in this niche product category he helped create. Prior to joining Ascom, Eric spent 13 years with software startup Emergin, Inc. He was the 4th employee at Emergin and held multiple titles including: Product Manager, Business Development Manager, Channel Manager and Corporate Account Manager. During his tenure at Emergin, Eric managed the company’s strategic healthcare partnerships and was instrumental in growing the company to 125 employees. Eric’s vision and leadership helped make Emergin the market leader in alarm management software, which led to the company’s eventual acquisition by Philips Healthcare.

Eric holds a B.B.A. (Bachelor of Business Administration) from Dakota State University in South Dakota, with a major in Management and a minor in Computer Science. He was a four year starter on the college football team as a fullback, and was voted team captain his final season by his peers. Eric also currently serves on the Board of Directors for Project LIFT (Life Initiatives for Teens), a non-profit organization that provides mentors to at-risk youth.

Tim Overstreet - Vice President, Technical Services

As part of the executive management team and one of five individuals selected to establish the presence of Ascom in the US, Tim was instrumental in developing Ascom support strategies and operations in North America. Before joining Ascom in 2000, Tim held engineering and technical positions with Ericsson, NASA and the US Navy where he gained extensive experience in radio communications, telecommunications and mission critical protocol.

Tim offers more that 16 years of experience with a wide variety of wireless communications systems. Tim played a key role in the initial development, deployment and sustaining of the Ericsson’s DCT1900 Cordless Telephone system when it was first introduced in 1997. Tim has since designed and implemented some of the most robust on-site wireless communication systems in the world. Tim provides frequent consultation to pillar establishments that require mission critical, high volume wireless communications. Tim served in the US Navy before receiving a B.A.S. degree in Engineering from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Tim enhanced his engineering studies at ODU by providing Microwave and Antenna Research for the Old Dominion Research Foundation at the NASA Langley facility in Hampton, Virginia.