Mezeo Management Team
Steve Lesem, President and Chief Executive Officer
As a tech industry veteran, Steve brings vision and an extensive set of capabilities to this leadership position, including significant experience in the IT service provider and telecommunications industry. Steve has managed operations throughout the world, and has led complex sales, marketing, business development and product management activities across software and hardware solutions. Prior to Mezeo, Steve was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of VeriCenter, a successful managed IT hosting provider, acquired by SunGard in 2007. Steve has served in multiple senior executive roles, including Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales for SafeNet, a Maryland based security technology firm. At BMC Software, a Houston based systems management software solution provider, Steve served in a variety of capacities, including VP of Business Development and Channel Programs, Asia Pacific. Prior to BMC, Steve held multiple sales and marketing positions at IBM including General Manager, PC Server Sales and Marketing for North America. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
John Eastman, Chief Technology Officer
John Eastman has over 15 years of experience in software architecture and design. As CTO, John is responsible for the overall solution architecture and integration points as well as providing insight on all aspects of technology-driven market changes. He possesses a broad range of engineering and software development experience in the areas of distributed object systems, massively-scalable architectures, relational databases and data security. Prior to Mezeo, John was Chief Architect focused on storage and distributed file systems for Houston-based Simdesk Technologies, a pioneer in online and mobile Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions. Previous to that he served as Solutions Architect for Wellspring Solutions, focused on their successful Distributed Object Server for real-time controls monitoring. John also brings previous executive experience as Co-founder and Principal of Radix Technologies, LLC, helping the company in the development of a 3-D visualization and simulation product portfolio. John holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Centre College.
Marty Fluke, Senior Vice President of Business Development
As Senior Vice President of Business Development, Marty leads Mezeo’s partner relationships. Marty brings over 30 years experience with a blend of sales, marketing, business development, operations and equity financing expertise. Most recently, Marty was EVP of Sales and Business Development at Arsenal Digital Solutions which was acquired by IBM in 2008. His prior experience includes eight years in high technology venture capital with Austin Ventures and Murphree Venture Partners. During this tenure, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of Answersoft (acquired by Davox NASDAQ:DAVX), The Outdoors.Com, Thinq Technologies, and Advent Networks. In addition, Marty has served as interim CEO of Vincera Software, Topaz Technologies; VP Sales and Marketing of Altra Energy Technologies and VP & GM, The Americas of Landmark Graphics Corporation (acquired by Halliburton NYSE:HAL). Marty holds a BS in Mathematics and MS in Mathematics from Southern Methodist University.
Walt Giroir, Senior Vice President of Engineering
As Senior Vice-President of Engineering, Walt is responsible for all of Mezeo’s product development, QA and support activities. Walt brings over 20 years of experience in software development and has an impressive track record of successfully launching startups to maturity, including Tivoli and IT Masters. Prior to joining Mezeo, Walt was Director of R&D at BMC Software, responsible for the development of its highly successful Service Impact Manager Product line. Walt’s senior leadership and direction in managing development activities at IT Masters lead to a successful acquisition by BMC Software. Prior to that, Walt led the successful development of the Tivoli Enterprise Console, acquired by IBM. Walt holds a Bachelor’s degree in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Chris Honeycutt, Chief Financial Officer
Chris is responsible for all financial aspects of Mezeo Software. Prior to Mezeo, Chris spent eight years with VeriCenter, Inc., a full-service managed IT services provider, serving as Controller and then Treasurer as the company grew from a technology start-up to over $80 million in annual revenue. During his tenure at VeriCenter, Chris participated in raising over $45 million of debt and equity financing and acquiring and integrating multiple businesses. In 2007, VeriCenter completed a successful sale to SunGard Availability Services. Prior to VeriCenter, Chris served in multiple financial roles with Carriage Services, Inc. Chris holds a BBA in Accounting from Stephen F. Austin State University and an MBA in Finance from Houston Baptist University. Chris is also a Certified Public Accountant.
Mezeo Board of Directors
Steve Lesem, President and Chief Executive Officer
As a tech industry veteran, Steve brings vision and an extensive set of capabilities to this leadership position, including significant experience in the IT service provider and telecommunications industry. Steve has managed operations throughout the world, and has led complex sales, marketing, business development and product management activities across software and hardware solutions. Prior to Mezeo, Steve was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of VeriCenter, a successful managed IT hosting provider, acquired by SunGard in 2007. Steve has served in multiple senior executive roles, including Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales for SafeNet, a Maryland based security technology firm. At BMC Software, a Houston based systems management software solution provider, Steve served in a variety of capacities, including VP of Business Development and Channel Programs, Asia Pacific. Prior to BMC, Steve held multiple sales and marketing positions at IBM including General Manager, PC Server Sales and Marketing for North America. Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Gray Hall, Chairman of the Board of Directors
Gray Hall, a 20 year veteran of the IT industry, joined Mezeo in 2008. Mr. Hall is also Chairman, President & CEO of Alert Logic, Inc., a leading cloud-based provider of IT security and compliance solutions for enterprise and service provider customers. In 1999, Mr. Hall co-founded VeriCenter, a pioneer in managed IT services, and served as President and CEO until its successful sale to SunGard Data Systems in 2007. VeriCenter was a leading provider of Enterprise Hosting solutions, and under Mr. Hall’s leadership delivered seven years of consecutive revenue growth and achieved $80 million in annual sales. After VeriCenter, Mr. Hall served as Executive-in-Residence at Fidelity Equity Partners, a $500 million middle-market buyout fund backed by Fidelity Investments. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hall spent seven years at IBM, where he led the formation and launch of IBM’s Center for Scalable Computing Solutions in 1994, and several years in the venture capital industry. Mr. Hall holds an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin and a BBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University.
Dave Colesante, Director
Dave Colesante is Senior Vice President of Product Development and CTO at Alert Logic. Mr. Colesante brings more than 20 years of IT and service provider experience to this role. Before joining Alert Logic, he was senior vice president and general manager of Managed Services for SunGard Availability Services. Previously, he co-founded and served as SVP of Operation and CTO at VeriCenter. Prior to VeriCenter, Mr. Colesante co-founded and served as COO at Jones Business Systems, Inc., a high growth infrastructure business, and previously, he was Director of UNIX Support Services at WPDS/Microware Distributors, where he led the Technical teams and contributed to overall business management. Mr. Colesante holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and mathematics from State University of New York at Potsdam.
Nolan Lehmann, Director
Nolan Lehmann is Managing Director of Altazano Management, LLC, a private wealth management advisory firm. From 1983 until 2005, Mr. Lehmann was President of Equus Capital Management Corporation, a registered investment advisor, and from 1991 to 2005 was President and a director of Equus II Incorporated, a business development company traded on the NYSE, where he was instrumental in the initial public offerings of six portfolio companies. Mr. Lehmann also serves as a director of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) and several private corporations. He received graduate and undergraduate degrees in accounting and economics from Rice University. Mr. Lehmann is also a certified public accountant.
G. Andrew Toups, Director
G. Andrew Toups, III is Managing Director of Altazano Management, LLC, a private wealth management advisory firm. Prior to his employment with Altazano Management, LLC, Mr. Toups was a Senior Manager at Ernst & Young, LLC, where he worked as a client advisor for 13 years. His clients were directly involved in all aspects of investment management and trust administration, and included institutional money managers, hedge funds, mutual fund companies, banks and bank trust departments, broker-dealers, and variable annuity life insurance companies. In addition, Mr. Toups spent several years in the entrepreneurial services division of the firm, working closely with growth companies similar to Mezeo. Mr. Toups is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the state of Texas, and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Texas Society of CPAs.
Louis Waters Jr., Director
Lou Waters Jr. is president of Waters Group. His expertise in identifying emerging technologies and trends in the market-place has created a strong track record in software, services, and technology products. Mr. Waters was the President and CEO of Simdesk Technologies, Inc. He has built five successful technology companies and serves on the board of four companies. These include Waters and Associates, a contract product development firm specializing in biotechnology and instrumentation; K*Tec Electronic’s Advanced Manufacturing Group (Milpitas), where he doubled revenues and restored profitability in a fast-track turnaround; ESI Partners, a seed-stage investment partnership with a 60% success rate across its portfolio; and MarketModels, an online market data company purchased in 2005 by Primis Marketing Group. Mr. Waters’ background includes a BS in Engineering from Rice University and an MBA from INSEAD, Europe’s leading business school. Mr. Waters holds eleven patents with several more currently in development.
Our Investors
Mezeo and its management team are funded and backed by an experienced team of investment professionals who provide guidance and board leadership. Our principal funding source is Altazano Management LLC, a seasoned private equity firm based in Houston, Texas. Our investors include members or affiliated entities of the Goodman family, who successfully owned and managed Goodman Manufacturing, the second-largest manufacturer of air conditioning units in the US. Goodman Manufacturing was sold to Apollo Investments in 2004 for over $1.5 billion. The Altazano portfolio includes direct investments in over fifteen private companies, including Voice Runner, Inc. (www.VoiceRunner.com), which provides telecom and broadband internet services to business users in Houston and surrounding areas.
