Leadership Team
Jeffrey Davis, Co-Founder, CEO & President
Randy Epstein, Co-Founder & CIO, President Wholesale & Carrier Markets
Lenny Chesal, VP of Strategic Sales & CMO
Roger Barranco, CTO & VP of Operations
Cathy Davis, Controller & Corporate Secretary/Treasurer
Jeffrey Slapp, VP of Virtualization Services
Martin Nixon, Vice President, Global Sales
Daniel Calderon, Facility Director
Rory Case, Director of Engineering
Deron Gabbert, Director of Sales
Eric Krichbaum, Director of Engineering, Wholesale & Carrier Markets
Soraya Moreno, Director of Provisioning and Billing
Jeffrey Davis
Co-Founder, CEO & President
Davis founded Host.net along with Randy Epstein, and serves as its Chairman, CEO and President. He brings over 13 years of hands-on experience in systems integration, network setup and design, technical operations and management.
Prior to founding Host.net, Davis co-founded and was President and COO of Metro Fiberlink, Inc., a Delray Beach, Florida-based Data CLEC providing low-cost, high-reliability Internet service for the enterprise market. Davis was also the Senior Technology Advisor to the CEO of US Data Authority, Inc., a national T1 and T3 NSP. At US Data, Davis advised and assisted the company with their 40-market network rollout as well as in designing the company's Network Operations Center in Boca Raton, Florida.
Davis’ reputation in the business and technology community has generated invitations to speak on panels on a variety of topics including VoIP, security and entrepreneurship, including participation in the South Florida Technology Alliance’s ”Meet the Tech CEO's" panel discussion. Davis has also been recognized for his ability to negotiate the difficult landscape of the technology community as a young entrepreneur.
A proponent of supporting other young professionals with similar aggressive goals and aspirations, Davis has made significant contributions to the Nova Southeastern University’s Huizenga School of Entrepreneurship.
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Randy Epstein
Co-Founder & CIO, President Wholesale & Carrier Markets
Epstein founded BroadbandONE, Host.net’s parent company, along with Jeffrey Davis and serves as its President. He brings over 20 years of experience in direct network design, operations, and staff management. His responsibilities at BroadbandONE include mergers and acquisitions, as well as the integration of acquired companies into the BroadbandONE network and product line. Epstein has also taken a keen interest in building settlement-free interconnection (peering) relationships with other industry-leading networks.
Epstein also serves on the Board of Directors of Open Contributors Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (OCCAID) and has been recognized for his significant donations and contributions to the organization’s activities. OCCAID is a not-for-profit education and Internet engineering network designed to create a collaborative environment that allows network researchers and individuals with self-interest in the anatomy of Internet routing to interconnect into a global network for training and development purposes. As a provider of the next-generation global IPv6 Internet, OCCAID is also an incubator for the development of the IPv6 Internet in North America providing IPv6 migration assistance to participants and industry partners.
Epstein co-founded and was CTO of Metro FiberLink, Inc., a Data CLEC providing low-cost high-reliability Internet service for the enterprise market. He also co-founded and served as Chief Technology Officer of Money.net Incorporated, which runs the respected Money.net business and financial web site. His background also includes Host Internet Network Services, a national high-speed Internet solutions provider he founded in 1995; WIZnet, an electronic commerce and Internet provider; Internet Gateway Connections, which he co-founded as the first company to offer Internet access using ISDN technology in Florida; and Automated Business Corporation, where he designed and developed multiple network solutions for companies including Akzo-Nobel, Sherwin Williams, BASF and DuPont.
Epstein started his career in computers and communication solutions when he founded and served as President of FASST Computronics, where he designed and developed bulletin board software for the Commodore 64 and 128 lines of 8-bit computers. FASST became an authorized Commodore Amiga reseller under his direction.
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Lenny Chesal
VP of Strategic Sales & CMO
Chesal has been Host.net's Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer since January 2004. He is responsible for the company’s sales, marketing and business development initiatives, building on more than 25 years of diversified experience in sales, marketing and executive management.
Chesal previously worked for BellSouth, Teleport Communications Group (TCG), AT&T, Florida Digital Network, Teleplace, WebUnited and ProtectPoint in a variety of increasingly senior positions. He spearheaded initiatives for the planning, development and implementation of the go-to-market strategies for the voice, data, and managed network security services offered by those companies.
Chesal is involved in various civic, non-profit, and industry organizations including the South Florida Technology Alliance (SFTA) Board of Directors, American Cancer Society-Relay for Life (Past Chair, Sponsor Chair), Big Brothers Big Sisters ACT Golf Tournament (Sponsor Chair), NSU-Huizenga School of Entrepreneurship, the, Deerfield Beach Chamber of Commerce, Deerfield Beach Founders’ Days (Past President), the Pompano Beach Seafood Festival and Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo Committee. He was named Volunteer of the Year by the Deerfield Beach Chamber of Commerce for his dedication to the community and his work with the American Cancer Society. Chesal also volunteers his talents as the drummer for the World Famous Low Tides.
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Roger Barranco, CISSP, NSA IAM/IEM
CTO & VP of Operations
Barranco joined Host.net in 2007 and serves as its CTO and Vice President of Operations. His background includes broad experience running technical and operational departments globally servicing Tier 1 customers in mission-critical environments.
Certified in Information Security and formally educated in the field of Computer Electronics at TTI, Barranco’s background includes work for Xerox Corporation as Manager of Technical Support (Retail Computing Division). After Xerox he worked for a mid-sized consulting firm managing their Network Design and Support division while simultaneously running his own electronic medical claim processing company, Computer Processing Technologies. In 1999 Barranco joined CyberGuard Corporation (now McAfee, Inc.) where he headed the department responsible for a broad range of technical services including Technical Support, Customer Service, Customer Training, Sales Engineering, Product Quality Escalations, Operational Logistics, Maintenance Renewals, and CRM/ERP application design.
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Cathy Davis
Controller & Corporate Secretary/Treasurer
Davis joined Host.net in October 2005 in the accounting department. Today she serves as the company's Controller and Corporate Secretary/Treasurer, overseeing all financial functions including annual audits, monthly financial reporting, budget preparation, cash management and all accounts payable and payroll functions.
Prior to joining Host.net, Davis was CFO of Martex Distributors, a fiberglass insulation distributor and installer from its inception in 1977 until the sale of the company to Gale Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) in 1999.
Davis attended the University of Miami where she majored in Accounting and Business Administration.
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Jeffrey Slapp
VP of Virtualization Services
Slapp has been Host.net's Vice President of Virtualization Services since July 2009, following the company’s acquisition of Fairway Consulting Group. He is the architect of the company’s next-generation global private enterprise cloud solution, which delivers private cloud computing services for companies ranging from SMEs to large enterprises.
Slapp has over 10 years of virtualization technology experience including architecting, deploying and supporting large-scale distributed virtual server and virtual storage installations, as well as software development solutions enhancing the underlying virtual technology platform.
Drawing on his background, Slapp deployed best-of-breed virtualization technology in combination with Host.net's diverse network and facilities infrastructure to deliver one of the market’s most robust and flexible distributed virtualization platforms. He is also a strong advocate of leveraging this distributed architecture to foster the industry's adoption of federated virtualization services.
Prior to Host.net, Slapp founded and served as President and CEO of Fairway Consulting Group, a premier VMware and DataCore solutions provider in South Florida. He previously worked for Citrix Systems as a Software Test and Development Engineer in the Performance and Scalability division, Iron Mountain as an Enterprise Systems Team Lead, and The Pennsylvania State University as a Manager of Information Systems.
Slapp attended Pennsylvania State University, where he majored in astrophysics with a minor in computer science.
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Martin Nixon
Vice President, Global Sales
Nixon joined Host.net in early 2010 as Vice President, Global Sales, a new position created to support rapid growth in the company’s cloud-based Virtual Private Data Center (vPDC) services as well as ongoing adoption of its colocation and network transport/transit offerings. He is responsible for direct and channel sales worldwide.
Nixon is a 25-year technology sales and sales management veteran with extensive global experience in the telecommunications, enterprise solutions, ERP and system security markets. His background includes nine years as Senior Director, Worldwide Channel Sales, for firewall manufacturer CyberGuard Corporation where he developed and executed a successful channel strategy for the company’s European subsidiary.
Focusing on new business development throughout most of his career, Nixon has also held senior sales and sales management roles with Digital Equipment Corporation, Concurrent Computer Corporation, Sun Microsystems, Data General and Harris Computer Systems. His experience also includes work with British Telecom.
He holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Electrical Engineering from Reading College of Technology, England.
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Daniel Calderon
Facility Director
Calderon joined Host.net in October 2006 as its Facility Director. He oversees the day-to-day needs of each of the company’s data centers as well as setting long-range goals for achieving optimum performance, reliability and sustainability at each site.
Calderon started his career as a Network Manager for Mid Manhattan Medical in New York City, where he oversaw network administration for more than 30 sites on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. He later worked as a network technician/engineer for Equinix, Inc. at their facilities in Newark and Secaucus, New Jersey.
Calderon moved to Florida to join the Host.net team. His skills range from specialized Liebert training on UPS equipment and switchgear to more than eight years of hands-on HVAC and generator training.
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Rory Case
Director of Engineering
Case joined Host.net in September 2007 as the Director of Engineering when Host.net acquired WebUnited/Expedient Florida from Continental Broadband. He currently manages Host.net's Network Operations Center and Engineering Team.
Case has more than a decade of experience in network design and implementation, network security, product development and pricing, project management, business development and company acquisitions and mergers.
Immediately prior to joining Host.net, he was the VP of Technical Operations at Continental Broadband Florida d/b/a WebUnited and was in charge of network and sales engineering as well as network operations. He was also a part of the acquisitions team when Host.net acquired WebUnited, and assisted other Continental Broadband companies nationwide with product deployment and network redesign.
Case previously worked at WebUnited in various capacities, quickly advancing from Junior Security Developer to Sales Engineer, Security Engineer, Security Operations Manager, Director of Network Operations and Chief Operating Officer until WebUnited was acquired by Continental Broadband a Landmark Communications Company in 2004. He was also one of the lead developers and integrators of the ProtectPoint Managed Network Security Service (now StillSecure), designing and implementing over 150 unique networks for banks, municipalities, corporations and medical organizations.
Case holds a bachelors degree in Management Information Systems from Florida International University.
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Deron Gabbert
Director of Sales
Gabbert joined Host.net in 2008 as Director of Channel Sales and was promoted to Director of Sales in late 2009. He is responsible for all aspects of the company's direct sales strategy, including design, implementation and business development.
Gabbert joined Host.net after five years with Wholesale Carrier Services, a switchless reseller in Florida, where he was instrumental in developing the channel strategy and growing company revenue from $10 million to $22 million annually. He started his telecommunications career as an employee of MCI Telecommunications, where he held a variety of positions including National and Global Account Sales and Sales Management over a seven-year period.
Gabbert attended Fordham University, majoring in Business Administration.
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Eric Krichbaum
Director of Engineering, Wholesale & Carrier Markets
Krichbaum joined Host.net in July 2008 as the Director of Engineering, Wholesale & Carrier Markets when Host.net acquired WV Fiber. He is responsible for maintaining Host.net’s global backbone and infrastructure.
Prior to WV Fiber, Krichbaum was responsible for the buildout and management of Citynet, a regional CLEC/ISP in the northeastern US, bringing with him more than 20 years experience in the industry.
Educated at West Virginia University in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Krichbaum served as adjunct faculty there as well as Fairmont State University. He has served as an instructor for both universities in programs such as Routing and Switching, Security, Programming, and many Fire, Rescue, and EMS classes. Krichbaum is also recognized by Microsoft, Cisco, CompTia, and others.
Off the job, Krichbaum has been with the Fire and Emergency Medical Services since starting college at WVU in 1987. He also holds several regional and national International Tae Kwon Do Alliance titles.
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Soraya Moreno
Director of Provisioning and Billing
Moreno joined Host.net in September 2007 as the Director of Provisioning and Billing when Host.net acquired WebUnited/Expedient Florida from Continental Broadband. She oversees vendor communication, installations, and accounts receivables, drawing on her extensive experience in vendor management, auditing, accounting, and financial analysis of mergers and acquisitions.
Moreno has played an important role in evolving and streamlining the provisioning department at Host.net. She has been instrumental in creating the policies and procedures necessary to provide customers the best possible installation experience and smooth transition to Host.net services.
Prior to joining Host.net, Moreno served as the Provisioning Manager and Assistant Controller for Continental Broadband Florida d/b/a WebUnited. She enjoyed a successful seven-year tenure with WebUnited where she started in the accounting department and assumed successive responsibilities in the areas of human resources, provisioning, billing and payables.
Moreno holds a degree in accounting from Florida Atlantic University.
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