President/CEO/Director - Thomas S. Smith
Mr. Smith has served as securities counsel to Cognigen Networks, Inc. from August 1999 to January 2004, and has worked closely with Cognigen's management on a variety of business, finance and legal matters. Mr. Smith has a 31-year career practicing law in the areas of securities regulations, corporate law, finance and governance. He is a graduate of Duke University and of the Law School of the University of North Carolina.
Mr. Smith has been a close and trusted adviser to Cognigen's board of directors since Cognigen became a public company. He is thoroughly acquainted with the Cognigen business model, and understands the dynamics that determine success within that space of the telecommunications industry where Cognigen operates. Moreover, Mr. Smith knows Cognigen's key personnel and what constitutes the effective fulfillment of Cognigen's missions.
Senior Vice President/Secretary/CFO/Director - Gary Cook
Mr. Cook is an experienced financal executive with over 20 years of work in various industries covering a wide variety of financial, strategic and operational disciplines. He has a record of strong leadership that emphasizes promoting individual and team excellence. He has extensive experence in business development, mergers and acquisitions, and the complex processes of public financial reporting.
Mr. Cook received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Brigham Young University in 1982. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and is licensed as a certified public accountant in Colorado. From 1982 to 1994, Mr. Cook was a senior audit manager with KPMG LLP in New Orleans and Denver. Since 1995, he has also served as secretary, treasurer and CFO for public and private companies with up to $40 million in revenue. Most recently, he has been a financial consultant to various public and nonpublic companies providing services primarily in the areas of accounting, financial reporting, corporate and individual taxes, capital raising and debt financing. Since October 2002, he has been a member of Cognigen's board of directors.
Director - Christopher R. Seelbach
Mr. Seelbach of Short Hills, New Jersey, has extensive experience in management and consulting with international and US telecommunications service companies, software companies and technology based product companies, including positions as CEO, COO, CFO, and Director. Covering a period of over 34 years, his experience includes turnarounds, start-ups, public and private financing, managing rapid growth, Internet, and obtaining venture capital. He has managed projects in business development, finance, planning, human resources, new services/software development, and operations. His consulting experience includes senior positions with McKinsey & Co., Probe Research, and since 1987 with Seelbach Associates. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and General Engineering, and received a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University.
Director - David L. Jackson
Mr. Jackson was Cognigen Networks, Inc's., Corporate Secretary and Senior Vice President of Corporate and Public Affairs until April 2004. He also served as a Director, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Officer and/or General Legal Counsel of Silverthorne Production Company, a publicly-held corporation, from April 1990 to 1999. Mr. Jackson was a key contributor to the negotiations that resulted in the transaction that brought Silverthorne together with Inter-American Telecommunications Holding Corporation, which then changed its name to Cognigen Networks, Inc., in July 2000.
Mr. Jackson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwest Nazarene University. He earned a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Denver, College of Law in 1971, where he received the American Jurisprudence Award for excellence in corporations. Mr. Jackson engaged in the private practice of law until 1997, as a counselor and trial lawyer in Colorado and other states' courts, as well as in the U.S. federal courts in the 8th and 10th Circuits, primarily in the corporate and business sectors. From 1989 through 1996, he was an ad hoc arbitrator and member of the National Panel of Arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association. Since 1991, he has expanded into the resolution of collective bargaining agreement disputes. In 1993 he received a Certificate of Accomplishment from the Federal labor Relations Authority; became a member of the Industrial Relations Research Association; and in 1994 was admitted to the National Roster of Arbitrators of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services. As an adjunct professor, Mr. Jackson taught Business Law, Human Resource Management, Strategic Management and Real Estate Law at Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA. Prior to commencing his legal career, he founded and managed an advertising and marketing firm in Denver, CO.
Director - James H. Shapiro
Mr. Shapiro, a prominent NorthWest business executive and a graduate of the University of Washington, has been the CEO of Windermere Services Co., a real estate brokerage franchisor since 1995. Prior to that position, Mr. Shapiro served as Windermere Services Co. president and vice president. Windermere has over 200 licensed member offices having over 6,000 licensed real estate sales personnel, in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Montana, Arizona and Canada.
Director - Robert S. Segal
Mr. Segal served as board chairman and CEO of Oceanic Digital Communications from 2000 to 2004, and has since 1989 been CEO of Segal & Co. and Segal Holdings, Inc. From 1975 to 1989, he was managing director and head of corporate finance for the Mid-Atlantic region for Smith Barney & Co. From 1969 to 1974, he was corporate vice president and a shareholder of Hornblower & Weeks-Hemphill, Noyes. Mr. Segal is a graduate of the University of Manitoba and received an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Mr. Segal was also appointed chairman of Cognigen's audit committee.
