The Team

Mike Fong is the founder and CEO of Privoro. He is an experienced technology executive and entrepreneur who decided to start a company focusing on security and privacy to empower businesses, governments and individuals to protect their sensitive information. Recognizing that smartphones are becoming ground zero for data collection and are increasingly targeted by sophisticated hackers, Mike decided to initially focus Privoro on protecting these important devices.

Understanding at the outset of Privoro what has now become mainstream news – that the entire commercial technology stack, from the chips on up, can be compromised – Mike set about developing a solution to what had previously been an untenable problem. The solution: a high-security, intelligent, modular platform for smartphones that extends their functionality and provides unique and advanced security capabilities. The result: the ability to use smartphones with the peace of mind of knowing that you can control your personal and sensitive information.

Prior to founding Privoro in 2013, Mike founded Calence and took the company from a startup organization to the largest pure-play networking integrator in the US at the time of its sale, with over $300 million in sales to prestigious corporate and government clients. Prior to its acquisition by Insight Enterprises, Calence was recognized as a leading network consulting firm, a Gartner Magic Quadrant managed services provider and one of Cisco’s top US partners.

Mike has consulted and/or served as a board member for companies across many industries, including chairing the Arizona Governor’s Council on Innovation and Technology. He is a two-time Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist and was named the Ed Denison Business Leader of the Year for the State of Arizona. Mike started his career at Arthur Andersen Consulting and hold a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

David Husband has served as a CFO and COO for both private and public companies for 20 years. He possesses a wealth of knowledge in process optimization, accounting, financial reporting and corporate finance, including domestic and international merger and acquisition transactions and public and private financing. Prior to his role at Privoro, David served as CFO, Secretary and Treasurer of Calence. David led the process of the company’s acquisition by Insight Enterprises in 2008. David also served as CFO of Vodavi Technology, a leading supplier of small business telephone systems, as well as EVP and COO of Action Performance Companies, a $400M consumer products company. He began his career with Arthur Andersen LLP and is a CPA in the state of Arizona. He holds a BS degree, magna cum laude, in Finance and Accounting from Humboldt State University.

Blake Kotiza leads Privoro’s sales efforts to key customers within the government, enterprise and international markets. Blake works relentlessly to push adoption and remove roadblocks among first movers within their respective spaces, providing a framework for Privoro’s reseller partners to follow. At the same time, he develops and pursues new business opportunities. He’s an always-on ambassador of all things Privoro, sharing the company’s vision with anyone who will listen.

Blake brings to Privoro nearly 15 years of experience providing an array of technology solutions – from point products and services to large and complex outsourcing solutions – to clients and partners. Prior to joining Privoro, he managed strategic relationships for Cisco Systems, working with Fortune 500 clients like Avnet and Charles Schwab. Previously, Blake managed inside and outside sales teams handling software, hardware, consulting and managed services at Calence, one of the largest pure-play networking integrators in the United States, and later at its acquiring company, Insight Enterprises. During this time, he managed over $250 million in yearly business.

Blake earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Lake Forest College and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

Michael Campbell leads Privoro’s government and federal business. He brings nearly 25 years of private and public sector experience to this important role.

Prior to joining Privoro, Michael spent over eight years with Cisco helping create and run the company’s largest government partnerships, first the Army Enterprise Services Agreement (ESA) and later the Department of Defense Joint Enterprise Level Agreement (JELA). Combined, these two agreements represent multi-billion-dollar efforts to better leverage industry expertise in order to improve communications for DoD missions globally.

Before joining Cisco, Michael served as an active-duty Army signal officer for 13 years with deployments focused in over 20 countries, including Afghanistan and Iraq. Michael also served as Chief of Staff for the Army’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) and helped author the vision and strategy for the Army’s Global Network Enterprise Construct (GNEC). He concluded his active military career serving as a Military Legislative Assistant for Senator Conrad Burns from Montana.

Michael served as Reserve Lieutenant Colonel, Deputy Director of Instruction and Quality Assurance Officer for Reserve Component Command and General Staff Officers College until his retirement from the military in 2017. He holds a master’s in Public Policy from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science from Gonzaga University. Michael retains his Top Secret security clearance and is based in Washington, DC.

Julie Dexter Berg comes to Privoro with over 30 years of marketing and operations experience spanning the wireless, mobile, internet, broadband and consumer goods and services industries. She is a game-changing team leader with a proven track record of creating brands and customer experiences that deliver superior bottom-line results and real shareholder value. Most recently, Julie served as the CMO for Cricket Wireless, a $3B prepaid wireless player that was acquired by AT&T in 2014 for $1.2B. Julie also served as the CMO for SuperValu, a $44B retail grocery company, as well as CMO for MediaOne (now Comcast), a $5B cable broadband provider. In the mid-1990s, Julie was the EVP and GM for AirTouch Cellular’s largest operating division before it was acquired by Verizon. She has served as a consultant and advisor in the areas of marketing, operations and post-merger integration work and is a published author in the business and academic press. Julie spent 10 years in consumer packaged goods with Carnation Company/Nestle Foods after receiving her MBA from the University of Oregon. She also holds a BA in Hotel and Restaurant Administration from Washington State University.

Mike Allen leads the development of Privoro’s channel partnerships around the world. He brings nearly 20 years of experience creating solutions that deliver value to customers and partners alike, from reseller programs to marketing campaigns. Most recently, Mike served as channel manager for Check Point, a leading provider of cybersecurity products and solutions. He also started a national channel for value-added resellers selling to state, local and federal government agencies for eInstruction (now Turning Technologies), a global education technology company. Before that, Mike spent 10 years at Insight, an $8B provider of IT hardware, software and service solutions, where he was responsible for leading a high-nine-figure portfolio of Cisco Systems’ networking, security, compute and telecommunications equipment; in this role, he directed product management, partner relations, sales specialists and a cross-functional staff supporting assigned manufacturers and also set sales and partner priorities for Insight’s 600-person inside and field sales organizations. Mike studied at the University of Oregon and is a Sun Microsystems-certified Enterprise Systems Engineer.

Michael Mahoney leads Privoro’s IT and business operations and comes to the team with over 15 years of experience in finance, operations and strategic analysis. In his current position, he has broad responsibility for all IT systems and business operations for the company. Prior to joining Privoro, Michael served in various leadership positions in business operations, data analytics and systems implementations for CenturyLink. In his most recent role, he was a senior finance and operations leader for CenturyLink’s $600M managed hosting and cloud services business, a Gartner Magic Quadrant leader. There, his scope of responsibilities included strategic planning and budgeting, sales operations, financial reporting, business management KPI development and tracking and strategic analysis functions. Michael also held business operations and strategic planning roles for Solutia, a global manufacturer of performance materials and specialty chemicals, as well as DRS Technologies, a manufacturer of integrated military electronic support equipment and support services. Michael began his career as a financial analyst for Accenture. He holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Accounting from Tulane University.

Mike Fong is the founder and CEO of Privoro. He is an experienced technology executive and entrepreneur who decided to start a company focusing on security and privacy to empower businesses, governments and individuals to protect their sensitive information. Recognizing that smartphones are becoming ground zero for data collection and are increasingly targeted by sophisticated hackers, Mike decided to initially focus Privoro on protecting these important devices.

Understanding at the outset of Privoro what has now become mainstream news – that the entire commercial technology stack, from the chips on up, can be compromised – Mike set about developing a solution to what had previously been an untenable problem. The solution: a high-security, intelligent, modular platform for smartphones that extends their functionality and provides unique and advanced security capabilities. The result: the ability to use smartphones with the peace of mind of knowing that you can control your personal and sensitive information.

Prior to founding Privoro in 2013, Mike founded Calence and took the company from a startup organization to the largest pure-play networking integrator in the US at the time of its sale, with over $300 million in sales to prestigious corporate and government clients. Prior to its acquisition by Insight Enterprises, Calence was recognized as a leading network consulting firm, a Gartner Magic Quadrant managed services provider and one of Cisco’s top US partners.

Mike has consulted and/or served as a board member for companies across many industries, including chairing the Arizona Governor’s Council on Innovation and Technology. He is a two-time Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist and was named the Ed Denison Business Leader of the Year for the State of Arizona. Mike started his career at Arthur Andersen Consulting and hold a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Pankaj Patel recently served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Cisco Systems, where he reported to the CEO as the engineering head of the company’s $38 billion product and solution portfolio. He drove the business and technology strategy across Cisco’s Routing, Switching, Wireless, Security, Mobility, Video, Collaboration, Data Center and Cloud offerings, which were delivered by a global team of over 26,000 engineers.

Pankaj is a results-oriented and seasoned technology leader with over 25 years of experience developing highly scalable products and services by building and leading large, high-performance global engineering organizations, setting clear vision, directing strategy and delivering against goals. He is passionate about translating strategy to execution and delivering the best experience for the customer.

Pankaj retired from Cisco in October of 2016 and now serves on the Board of Directors of several startups. He is focused on incubating and advising startups, particularly in the areas of strategy, product development, go-to-market plans and scaling. In addition, Pankaj serves as a mentor and sponsor to numerous employees throughout the industry.

Jim Kavanaugh is the cofounder and CEO of World Wide Technology. Kavanaugh and his proven management team have guided WWT from a small startup technology company into a world-class organization.

In the early years, Kavanaugh solidified WWT’s financial position through profitable grow no-guttersth and a $27.5M venture capital investment, which was repaid in 2005. Kavanaugh currently focuses his time in the areas of technology innovation, long-term planning, strategic acquisitions, financial performance and employee development, and he passionately oversees WWT’s unique corporate culture. Prior to founding WWT, Kavanaugh worked at Future Electronics and played professional soccer. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Saint Louis University in 1986.

Kavanaugh has won numerous business, entrepreneurial and charitable awards over the years and earned a position in the Saint Louis University Business Hall of Fame. He was recognized by Glassdoor as the #2 ranked CEO in 2017 for all large businesses in the United States.

Deeply committed to giving back to the community, Kavanaugh has been involved in supporting numerous local and nationwide charitable organizations. He also has been a trustee of the board for his alma mater, Saint Louis University, since 2010. He is Chairman and Founder of Saint Louis FC of the United Soccer League, Chairman of the Scott Gallagher Soccer Club and investor owner of the St. Louis Blues.

Mr. Bremer is a Managing Director on the Supply Chain and Strategic Opportunities team, which invests in businesses driving next-generation technologies and capabilities that advance supply chain integrity.

Prior to joining Cerberus in 2015, Mr. Bremer was a Partner at Bain Capital where he led the firm’s aerospace, defense, and government services investment practice. Prior to Bain Capital, Mr. Bremer was the Founder and Managing Partner of Windage Capital in Washington D.C. and Vice President at Veritas Capital in New York. In 2007, Mr. Bremer was appointed by President George W. Bush to the 2007-2008 Class of White House Fellows and served on the Homeland Security Council staff in the Executive Office of the President. Before becoming a White House Fellow, Mr. Bremer was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley in Los Angeles and J.P. Morgan in New York.

Throughout his career, Mr. Bremer has led and advised extensively on strategic M&A and financing transactions, including control and minority investments, as well as transactions involving both early- and late-stage, tech-enabled companies. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Stratolaunch, where he Chairs the Audit Committee, and Privoro.

Mr. Bremer served for eight years as a Naval Special Warfare Officer (SEAL) in the U.S. Navy, including as a Platoon Commander. He is a Co-Founder and former Director of the Navy SEAL Foundation, and a former Director of both the Carson Scholars Fund and the White House Fellows Foundation and Association. Mr. Bremer is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Bremer graduated from the United States Air Force Academy and received an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago.

The Honorable Daniel S. Goldin is an entrepreneur and technologist, having helped young high-tech companies thrive through his innovation advisory company Cold Canyon and most recently through his role as Senior Advisor at Cerberus Capital Management. His career has spanned space exploration and science, aeronautics, air traffic management, national security, semiconductors, communications and artificial intelligence. With his accumulated domain expertise, his present focus is to engage brilliant young technology companies to assure America’s supply chain’s vitality and global leadership.

Mr. Goldin had the distinction of serving as NASA’s longest-tenured Administrator from April 1992-November 2001 and reported to three U.S. Presidents: George H.W. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George W. Bush. He not only led the re-emergence of NASA through one of its most challenging times after the Cold War, but he also helped foster east-west international cooperation in space. Toward this end, he lead a 16-nation team that designed, constructed and began initial operations of the $120B International Space Station without an in-space injury or loss of life. Also during his tenure, he guided NASA through the development of a new generation of spacecraft to enable the extended exploration of our solar system, deeper observations of our known universe and more precise observations of the physical and biological dynamics of our own planet, with the objective of enhancing the quality of life on Planet Earth and ultimately out of Earth Orbit.

Throughout his life and career, Mr. Goldin has relentlessly pursued his passion for astrophysics that was catalyzed at seven years old when his father, Louis Goldin, first took him to New York City’s Hayden Planetarium. Ever since, he developed a desire and commitment to help humanity begin to understand the complex laws of nature and their own origins, evolution, and destiny in our known universe with a career dedicated to building America’s major astrophysical observatories of our time. Mr. Goldin actively contributed to and provided the leadership for the design, development and deployment of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, Chandra X-Ray Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope rescue mission, Spitzer Infrared Space Telescope, and most recently the James Webb Space Telescope – an observatory where in the mid-90s he guided the American astrophysical community and his NASA team to assure the Webb would have the capacity to see to the beginnings of creation and the capability to understand if life might exist elsewhere in the universe.

Prior to NASA, he was Vice President and General Manager of the TRW Space and Technology Group – now Northrop Grumman – where he guided a broad range of advanced space and technology developments that had an important impact on advancing America’s national security, scientific exploration of our solar system, space telescopes to observe our high energy universe, and development of advanced technologies and products for the global marketplace. Mr. Goldin began his career as a research scientist at NASA’s Glenn Research Center working on electric propulsion systems to enable future human interplanetary travel.

Mr. Goldin is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, the International Academy of Astronautics, and The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. He is a Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Astronautical Society, and an Honorary Board Member of the Explorers Club. Mr. Goldin holds 18 Honorary Doctorates from the world’s great universities.