John Robinson

Chairman/Founder

John Robinson is a widely recognized visionary in Higher Education. For more than 35 years John has been serving colleges and universities worldwide with innovative software technology. Having previously worked his magic with three companies, Information Associates, The Robinson Group (TRG), and SCT (Thync), John launched The rSmart Group in 2002 with Anthony Potts and Chris Coppola. His true passion is developing software solutions for educational institutions that allow them to better serve their students, faculty and community.

John began his career in 1960 at IBM in Sales and Marketing to the education marketplace in New York City and Rochester, NY. In 1968 John founded Information Associates (IA) to develop the first Student, Finance, HR, and Advancement software for higher education. Since that time John has started, developed, and sold companies to: Westinghouse Electric Corporation (WEC), MSA, Dun & Bradstreet, USA Group and SunGard SCT.

John received a B.A. in Economics from Colgate University and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for A.T. Still University of Health Sciences.

Chris Coppola

President/Founder – Community Maven

Chris is an innovative leader focused on the fuzzy front-end of new product development and the feeding and care of open source communities. Since founding rSmart with John Robinson and Tony Potts in 2002, Chris has had one thing on his mind – relentless pursuit of community source software solutions for education.

Currently Chris serves on the board of the Sakai Foundation and the Kuali Foundation. Prior to rSmart, Chris received his degree in Industrial Technology from Arizona State University and became an accomplished author of programming and multimedia books. In the early '90s his entrepreneurial spirit led to the creation of an e-learning software company with partner Anthony Potts. In 1997 they merged with John Robinson's latest education company. Following the sale of the combined companies, Chris led new product development at SCT as a senior director. Chris writes and speaks internationally about open source and education.

Anthony Potts

Chief Technology Officer/Founder & Evil Genius

As CTO of The rSmart Group, Tony has the enviable position of leading an incredible team of developers. From lead developer on OSP 1.5 to architect and development manager on the Kuali Financial System project, Tony's work on open source projects has spanned many fronts. In addition to technical work, Tony also is responsible for the IT organization within rSmart. In that regard, Tony is moving the company toward more effective use of open source applications that better meet our needs than proprietary alternatives.

Prior to co-founding The rSmart Group, Tony graduated from Arizona State University with a technology degree focused on interactive computer graphics. After graduation, Tony went on to write seven computer books on subjects ranging from Java development to 3D graphics. He was hired by his publisher (Coriolis Books) to edit their programming magazine (Visual Developer) as well as run their IT department which included creating their first web presence. Beginning in 1996, Tony and Chris shared the same career path of entrepreneurship. Following the transition of their company to SCT, Tony created a strong technical team to deliver advanced solutions built upon the innovative ideas of the think tank.

Tom Chapman

Chief Financial Officer/VP Business Development

Tom provides rSmart with more than a decade of financial and business development expertise leading the company's relationship with investors and the VC community as well as building the global rSmart Partner Channel. He has helped the company carve out a unique niche with its ability to execute on a new business model for delivering technology and eLearning applications to educational institutions.

Tom brings extensive experience in the management and growth of start-up companies. Most recently Tom was Co-Founder of Integration Consulting Group, Inc. which offers innovative enterprise data integration and compliance solutions to Fortune 1000 clients worldwide. From 1998 to 2002 he was a Fund Manager for Manschot Opportunity Fund LP, an international venture capital fund. Prior to his experience at Manschot, Tom was a Business Revitalization Leader and marketing director for Rural/Metro Corporation.

Tom earned his Juris Doctorate degree at Willamette University and his B.A. in Economics from San Diego State University.

Dan Barber

VP Sales

Dan Barber has been involved with software solutions for education since 2002. Barber currently manages sales activities for rSmart drawing on over 14 years of hands-on experience of helping businesses improve through the strategic use of technology Dan has the toolset (and that uncanny knack) for learning each client’s business needs inside and out.

Prior to joining rSmart, Dan served as a Sales Executive for LiquidMatrix Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Datatel, Inc. He also served as the Director of Sales for Unicon, Inc., a provider of enterprise portal, learning and integration technology. Dan developed his skills while progressing to Senior Manager with Accenture (Andersen Consulting) and Practice Leader at Solutions Consulting, Inc. Dan has a diverse background in selling, implementing, and managing large scale ERP and CRM projects in a variety of industries.

Dan holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona with a concentration in Management Information Systems.

Mike Zackrison

VP of Marketing & Strategy

Mike Zackrison's passion for open source software in higher education began as a product manager at Campus Pipeline where he worked diligently to support the uPortal project, one of the earliest open source success stories in education. Mike currently leads rSmart's marketing and product management operations. Mike believes in the advantages of open source software and the value that it can deliver in support of the education mission.

Prior to joining rSmart, Mike was vice president of product management for Unicon, Inc., where he launched open source support offerings and established key marketing partnerships with Oracle Corp. and Zimbra. While working for what is now SunGard Higher Education he was a member of the original Campus Pipeline business team that conceptualized and launched the SCT Luminis product line, now the leading enterprise portal solution in higher education. Mike also has experience in product management, strategic planning, and sales and marketing at technology companies such as Ingenix, TenFold, and U.S. Robotics Corp. He received his MBA in marketing and entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Bachelor degrees in Finance and German from the University of Utah.

Outside Directors

Kevin Hickey

President/CEO, NetPro

A 26-year veteran of the technology industry, Kevin comes to NetPro with a strong history of sales and marketing leadership, as well as software operations, strategy, fundraising and mergers and acquisitions expertise. Prior to joining NetPro, Hickey served as the President & CEO of Apriva, Inc.and Homebid.com, leading both companies to acquisition by industry leaders. Kevin spent six years as President & COO at Viasoft, Inc., where he helped grow company revenues from $18 million to $83 million and assisted in a successful initial and subsequent public offering prior to its sale. Hickey started his high-tech career at IBM, serving for 12 years in several key marketing and executive business management roles. He currently serves on the board of directors/advisory council of Shea Commercial, the Fiesta Bowl, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Arizona, and NetPro. Kevin graduated from Niagara University with a Bachelor of Science degree.

Tim Louis

Partner, Desert Capital Investments

Mr. Timothy "Tim" Curtis Louis is married to Amy Hagan Louis and has four children; Henrietta (13), Madeline (10), Curt (8) and Clark (3). Tim Louis has spent the last twelve years in venture capital as the principle of Desert Capital Investments, LLC. Mr. Louis has financed several successful ventures including Frye-Louis Capital Management, Mobility Electronics, The Schirf Brewing Company, True Gravity Enterprises, Integration Consulting Group (ICG), rSmart, Titus Cycles, Inc and CLV, Inc. Tim has served as a board member of companies such as Johnson Polymer, Inc (an affiliate company of S.C. Johnson Wax) and non-profits such as A.T. Still University, Desert Voices Oral Learning Center, and The Phoenix Art Museum. He has been an owner/director of Frye-Louis Capital Management, Inc., a high net worth family asset management firm based in Chicago. The firm was sold to Credit Suisse Private Bank in 2002. Mr. Louis is an active member of The Phoenix Thunderbirds. He has served as their Little Chief (Vice President) and is currently Tournament Chairman of the 2008 FBR Open. Tim is the Maitre (President) of the Phoenix Chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux. He has enjoyed collecting modern art since 1985 and is an avid collector/drinker of Bordeaux wines. He is a golf enthusiast and is also passionate about mountain biking and road biking. Tim has run two marathons (3:52 best time) and competed in several duathlons, triathlons, x-terra triathlons and road and mountain bike races. Tim also likes fly fishing, hiking, water skiing and snow skiing. Mr. Louis has a BS in Communication Disorders and an MA in Audiology and Hearing Impairment from Northwestern University, and an MBA in Financial Management and Markets from ASU.

John Olsen

Chairman, Borland Software

Mr. Olsen has served as Chairman of the Board of Borland Software since August 2006 and as a director since February 2005. Since 2004, Mr. Olsen has been a private investor. From 2001 to 2004, Mr. Olsen served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Business Objects, a provider of business intelligence solutions. Before joining Business Objects, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Marimba, Inc., a provider of Internet infrastructure management solutions, from July 2000 to October 2000. From 1993 to 2000, Mr. Olsen served as president of the Design Realization Group of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Before joining Cadence in 1993, Mr. Olsen held the position of partner, Strategic Services, at KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Olsen holds a Master of Science degree in Management Science from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University.