Don Grust, CEO
Don Grust has more than 28 years of experience in the high-tech industry, including 17 years in wireless and mobile computing. Don joined Apacheta in 2006 to lead business development and marketing and was promoted to CEO in October 2008. Prior to Apacheta, Don founded Espria in 2002 to provide mobile consulting and systems integration services to software companies. Prior to Espria, Don spent 8 years at Broadbeam. As a founding director and vice president at Broadbeam, Don's responsibilities covered strategy, marketing, product management, business development and international operations. Prior to Broadbeam, Don worked for RAM Mobile Data (now Velocita Wireless), ran his own technology consulting firm and was a member of technical staff at AT&T Bell Labs. Don holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Illinois, an MS in Computer Science from the University of Southern California and an MBA from Rutgers University.
Peter Clare
Since 2000, Peter Clare has been a private investor and active board member for early stage technology companies. After seeing the strategic potential of Apacheta's team and their technology, Peter became an investor and board member, subsequently joining Apacheta's team as Chief Technology Officer and eventually as CEO from 2006 to 2008. Before becoming a private investor, Peter was a very early Oracle Corporation employee, and a member of the senior management team that helped build Oracle during the ten years of its most rapid growth (1984..1994). He led the R&D group at Oracle which invented PL/SQL, Oracle's programmatic language extension to SQL, and left Oracle as Director of Architecture and Education, where he had helped guide and disseminate Oracle's core technology throughout its world-wide technical organization. Early in his career, Peter was a software developer in Control Data Corporation's Compiler Products Division where he helped create the world's fastest computer language processors.
John Major
John Major is President of MTSG, an investment, consulting, operations and governance practice principally focused on the telecommunications industry. John brings more than 30 years of mobile computing experience to Apacheta, where he led the company as CEO from 2003 to 2006 and was instrumental in establishing the company as a leading provider of mobile workflow applications. Before Apacheta, John was Chairman and CEO of Novatel Wireless and led the company's successful IPO in the fall of 2000. Before Novatel Wireless, John was Chairman and CEO of Wireless Knowledge, a San Diego-based joint venture between Microsoft, Inc. and Qualcomm, Inc. Prior to joining Wireless Knowledge, John was corporate executive vice president of Qualcomm, Inc. and president of its Wireless Infrastructure Division. At Motorola, John was CTO directing a broad range of research initiatives and led Motorola's efforts to develop world-class excellence in software.
John Major was previously the chair of the Board of Governors' Executive Committees of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and the Electronic Industries Association (EIA). John holds 9 US Patents and is a formal advisor to some of the largest wireless communications companies in the world. He has a BSME & Aerospace Engineering from University of Rochester; MSME University of Illinois; M.B.A. from Northwestern University; and J.D. Loyola University. John also received an honorary doctorate from Westminster College in 1995.
Anders Richardson
Anders Richardson, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Palisades Ventures, is active in all aspects of deal sourcing, due diligence and execution for the company. Prior to co-founding Palisades, Mr. Richardson worked in the Investment Banking Division of DLJ and focused on public and private placements of debt and equity securities and buy-side and sell-side M&A advisory services in a variety of industries. Mr. Richardson sits on the boards of Apacheta, SOA Software and V-Enable and is a board observer for Lucix Corporation and Language Weaver. Mr. Richardson received a B.A. from Harvard College and an M.B.A from Harvard Business School.
Zahra Maher-Skomra
Zahra Skomra spent fifteen years in the investment management industry in New York, managing portfolios of primarily technology companies with a focus in the software sector. Mrs. Skomra founded Ixora Capital Management, a technology hedge fund in San Francisco. Prior to that, she was a Managing Director and a Senior Software Analyst at Galleon Group, a technology hedge fund, for three years. Before Galleon, she managed the European portfolios at Dreyfus Corporation for three years. Prior to Dreyfus, Ms. Skomra was the Vice President and Senior Analyst at Lazard Frères Asset Management Group in New York for four years. She started her career as a manufacturing engineer at National Semiconductor Corporation followed by a two year as an Associate in the mergers and acquisitions at Dillon Read & Co. investment bank in NY. Mrs. Skomra received a B.S. and a M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.
In Memorium: Bernie Skomra
Bernie Skomra, who founded Apacheta along with his brother Stew, passed away December 31, 2010. We will miss Bernie as a friend and confidant whose early vision for Apacheta remains indelibly etched in the fabric of our company.
