Our Team

IOTUM IS THE VOICE 2.0 COMPANY TAKING TELECOMMUNICATIONS TO A HIGHER LEVEL.

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Alec Saunders, CEO

Passionately engaged with how technology can positively affect quality of life, Alec wants to see five-year plans on the market in one. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever. To positively affect his own life he frequently turns to his favorite vegetable, the jalapeno pepper. "I grown them in my own garden, allow them to ripen to sweet red firecrackers and then smoke them over mesquite to make chipotle," he says. "Then I add them to chile con carne. Why? Because sweet and heat belong together. I also like celeriac diced, steamed and served in white sauce with meatballs the way my mum makes it."

Dr. Howard H. Thaw, COO

An investment banker, serial entrepreneur and business evolutionist, Howard has built, financed, mentored and rescued far more than one man's fair share of technology and knowledge-based businesses over the last 25 years, including TCT-Centre for Computer Security, ThunderByte, DataSafe and M-Venture Inc. At the frontlines of developing anti-virus, encryption, backup and other enterprise software, he is highly sought out for his experience in public & investor relations, building major strategic/OEM relationships and international sales & marketing. Howard's favorite vegetable is the Portobello mushroom. "Warm 1.5 tablespoons olive oil and 1.5 tablespoons garlic flavored olive oil in a skillet over medium heat," he says, revealing his recipe. "Stir in onions, several cloves of garlic and mushrooms. Reduce heat to low and cook until the mushrooms are soft and blackened and the onions black around the edges. Turn off heat, drizzle with 1.5 tablespoons olive oil, add a glass of red wine, and season with fresh ground salt and pepper. If desired, sprinkle generously with Parmesan and Asiago cheeses."

Randall Howard, Chairman

An investor, entrepreneur and software visionary, Randall is a founding partner of Verdexus, a boutique firm providing management and financial services to large corporations, venture capitalists and technology firms. The Founder and former Chairman and CEO of MKS Inc., one of Canada's leading enterprise software vendors, he was the 1997 High Technology Entrepreneur of the Year and the 2005 recipient of the Impact Award from Communitech. Randall has an infectious passion for social innovation, emerging mobile media, the consumer web space and good wine and food. His favorite vegetable is the beet. "The fact that I learned to like beets as a kid makes them more special," he says. "So many people I know hate beets, so it's great to eat something that's in the long tail of vegetables. I like them in borscht, hot or cold. I especially like cold soups."

Rob Nielsen, Senior Developer

A licensed professional engineer who received his degree from Queen's University, Rob's 16 years of experience in development and management include Director of Software Development for Business Intelligence tools at Hummingbird, VP Development at eSponsive Communications, CTO at ServiceSwitch Inc. and CTO at Linsoft Labs Inc.

Jorge Aguilar, Marketing Strategy

Jorge joined iotum fresh out of college at the beginning of fall, 2008. He holds a Marketing degree with a Finance concentration from McGill university, where he also learned the cultural and business values from both, French and English Canada. His passion is studying how successful brands manage to become an extensions of people's personalities and lifestyles. His idea of heaven includes loud Marshalls, heavy les Pauls, and an infinite assortment of Beck’s beer stacks. His favorite vegetable is the avocado. “it mixes greats with rice, gives you great sauces, and is a staple ingredient in my salads”

Tom Tomaszewski, Developer

Tom joined us right out of the University of Ottawa where he studied Computer Science. He has a pet chameleon, doesn't shower very often, wears only shorts in the summer, thinks Quebec water parks are crazy and is afraid of spiders. He loves free food, cheap beer, cars, movies, ketchup chips, cottage weekends, the Raptors, Blue Jays and Cancun. He likes brunettes, patios and lying on the couch (with a beer). He enjoys biking, laughing, spending time with his friends and the vocals in Rockband (even though he sucks). He hates sandals, winter and broccoli. But he loves garlic. "It's so good as a dipping sauce for pizza," he says. "It's also delicious on shawarma and the potatoes they come with."

Thomas Wisniewski, Programmer

Thomas describes himself as a raving code-a-holic. That's perfect because as our newest programmer he does whatever work needs to be done. And that can mean a lot of coding. A highly experienced web designer and client/server architect with a passion for Artificial Intelligence and Internet Programming, he's recently been moonlighting on SVG library development and designs for practical client/server languages for the Internet. His favorite vegetable is potato, and not just any potato. "Scalloped potatoes," he says. "And I love sun-dried tomatoes almost as much, with a dash of oregano."

Noam Tomczak, Director of Product Development and Engineering

An Engineering graduate from the University of McGill, Noam is a fiend for cycling, baseball, hockey, squash and Ultimate Frisbee. He brings that passion and energy to crafting our product vision and making sure our customers are delivered the best possible experiences. We know when Noam is back in the office when we hear the crunching noises emanating from the constant consumption of his favorite vegetable, the raw carrot.