Board of Directors
The VANTOS team is comprised of seasoned executives who specialize in successfully launching new products in emerging markets at startups and enterprises alike.
Board of Directors
- Thomas Spadafore - VANTOS, Inc.
- Lucinda Stewart - OVP Venture Partners
- Rick LeFaivre, Ph.D. - OVP Venture Partners
- Carl Nichols - Outlook Ventures
- Kevin Gabelein - Fluke Fenture Partners
- Christopher Slatt - Altus Networks
Thomas Spadafore
President and Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of the Board
With over 20 years of experience leading and growing organizations to achieve their strategic objectives and revenue milestones, Thomas Spadafore has been instrumental in the successful incubation and growth of both startups and Fortune 1000 companies.
Most recently, Mr. Spadafore was responsible for global sales at Reconnex, where he accelerated sales from zero to $10 million within two years. Prior to Reconnex, he focused on technology leadership and channel development as Executive Vice President of GreenBorder Technology. As Executive Vice President, Thomas was pivotal in leading Brightmail's worldwide sales, marketing and business operations to the next stage of growth - a $370 million acquisition by Symantec. In addition, he has held executive positions at Netopia, NETCOM Communications and Apple Computer.
Mr. Spadafore received his B.S. in Computer Science and his M.S. in Computer Technology and Education from Boise State University.
Lucinda Stewart is a General Partner with OVP Venture Partners, a venture capital firm specializing in new companies in growing markets, where she focuses on investments in the infrastructure software, wireless and digital media sectors. Her investments include Applied Identity, BioPassword, Talyst and VANTOS. Stewart serves on the Board of Directors of VANTOS, Applied Identity, BioPassword, Max-Viz, Northwest Entrepreneur Network (NWEN), the Evergreen Venture Capital Association and Talyst, and is a Board Observer to Max-Viz and Virtugo.
Prior to her work with OVP, Stewart was a member of the start-up team of National Surgery Centers (NSC), a Welsch, Carson, Anderson & Stowe-backed services company, where she worked in market and business development analyzing markets for new center development, acquiring existing operations and working with individual centers to improve operational performance. During her tenure at NSC, the company became the largest independent owner and operator of surgery centers, went public and was subsequently sold to HealthSouth for $590 million. After NSC, Stewart joined the investment banking division at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette in New York where she worked closely with software and services companies. In 1999, she entered the venture business at Frazier Healthcare and focused on services and software investments.
Stewart received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Puget Sound and her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Dr. Rick LeFaivre is a Venture Partner with OVP Venture Partners, a venture capital firm specializing in new companies in growing markets, where he focuses on technology-based investments in information technology and digital biology. LeFaivre serves as a board observer to VANTOS, Gainspan Inc., GenoLogics Life Sciences and Plectix BioSystems, and is a member of Ambric's Technology Advisory Board.
Prior to his work with OVP, LeFaivre served as Vice President of the Advanced Technology Group at Apple Computer, Senior Vice President of Research & Development (R&D) and Chief Technology Officer at Borland International, and has held R&D management positions at Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems and Tektronix. He was a founding partner of IdeaEdge Ventures, a San Diego-based venture development organization as well as the Software Patent Institute, which advises the government on issues related to software patentability.
LeFaivre started his career as a professor in the computer science department at Rutgers University, where he taught and conducted research on artificial intelligence and advanced programming technology. He later served as Executive Director of the Von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement at the University of California - San Diego, focusing on the effective commercialization of university-developed technology. He has been published extensively in computer science literature, served on a number of industry and academic advisory boards, and testified before the Congress of the United States on matters of technology policy.
LeFaivre received his A.B. in Mathematics from the University of Missouri and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin. He is Chairman of the University of Wisconsin Computer Sciences Board of Visitors, a founding board member of the University of Washington Information School, and serves on the University of Washington's College of Engineering advisory board.
Carl Nichols is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of Outlook Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, where he focuses on investments in the software, computer, telecommunications and consumer products industries.
Nichols has over 20 years of experience that includes senior executive positions in the strategic planning, business development, operations management, market development and finance departments of several major companies. Prior to co-founding Outlook Ventures, Nichols headed strategic and financial planning at SBC/Pacific Bell, an $8 billion telecommunications and Internet service provider, where he identified new growth opportunities and business lines, developed strategic partnerships and optimized the company's investments.
Before his work with SBC/Pacific Bell, Nichols led business development efforts, including market expansions, new concept developments, domestic and international alliances and operating improvements as Vice President of Strategic Business Management at Scrivner, Inc., a $6 billion packaged goods distributor. His past positions also include six years as a management consultant at Booz, Allen & Hamilton, and tenure with AT&T's Information Systems international business.
Nichols received his B.S. in computer science magna cum laude from Brown University and his MBA from Harvard's Graduate School of Business. He has represented Outlook Ventures on the board of portfolio companies that include VANTOS, Granite Edge, ClairMail, Lasso Logic (acquired by SonicWALL), Epicentric (acquired by Vignette), MarketHome (acquired by ClickAction), Arthas (acquired by Yahoo), Toolwire, Echopass and Kinecta (acquired by Stellent).
Kevin Gabelein joined Fluke Venture Partners, a Pacific Northwest venture capital fund, in 1997. As Managing Director, Gabelein is responsible for sourcing new deals, performing due diligence and building value in companies post-investment at the board level. He has experience investing in the software, healthcare and business and consumer services market sectors. In addition to VANTOS, Gabelein currently serves on the boards Genoa Healthcare Holdings, LLC, Passage Events & Promotions, Inc., MedManage Systems, Inc., and Phoseon Technology, Inc.
Prior to joining FVP, Gabelein practiced corporate and securities law in the Corporate Finance Group of Riddell Williams P.S. in Seattle. He represented numerous companies ranging from start-ups to publicly traded companies in a variety of transactions, including seed financings, venture capital transactions, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to Riddell, Gabelein was a Certified Public Accountant, and practiced with the Seattle office of Price Waterhouse LLP.
Gabelein received his B.A. in business administration in 1988 from the University of Washington and his J.D. in 1995 from the Southern Methodist University School of Law. Gabelein previously served on the Board of Trustees of CRISTA Ministries, chairing that Board from 2004 to 2006.
Christopher Slatt is the Chairman of Napera Networks, a young company that is working to build next generation network security software. Slatt, founder and former chief executive of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc., has returned to the technology world after the successful launch of Starfire Sports, a Seattle-based social enterprise dedicated to helping kids of all economic backgrounds enjoy the character-building benefits of team sports.
Prior to his work with Starfire Sports, Slatt was instrumental in founding and growing WatchGuard Technologies from a startup through its IPO to an industry-leading provider of network security appliances worldwide. Before WatchGuard Technologies, Slatt used his entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen to start Networx, Inc., an enterprise network and systems management company that was later acquired by Legent (Computer Associates).
Prior to founding Networx, Slatt served as an executive for the Boeing Company, where he spearheaded computer systems projects for NASA and New York City’s Con Edison. Slatt brings over 26 years of experience in the technology industry and proven successes in new markets to mentor VANTOS for an accelerated growth in the enterprise software space.
Mr. Slatt received his B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and graduated from the Executive Management Program at Yale.