Saltmine's board of directors includes:
George A. Bajalia
As chairman of Saltmine's board of directors, George Bajalia has been working with Saltmine since early 2002 to develop and implement strategies for future growth. George is president of Landmark Financial Corp., a private investment and specialized consulting company with principal interest in emerging growth companies, specialized turnaround situations, and commercial real estate.
From 1998 to 2001, George worked for MPS Group Inc. (NYSE: MPS), serving as president and CEO of its $650-million professional business solutions division. From 1984 to 1998, George served in many financial and operational roles with a diversified investment company, including a specialized role as a senior vice president in both operations and finance for Wickes Inc., a large, publicly held portfolio company based in Chicago, IL (1992 to 1998). From 1980 to 1984, he worked for KPMG Peat Marwick.
George holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Florida State University, and is a certified public accountant and licensed Florida real estate broker.
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Jack Hooper
As a member of Saltmine's board of directors, Jack Hooper's relationship with Saltmine has come full circle.
In 1978, one of high tech's early visionaries, Jack co-founded Blue Sky Enterprises, Inc., a $20 million per year computer systems retailer. His experience as president, CEO, and CFO at Blue Sky paved the way for new venture Practical Applications, a software development firm he co-founded in 1992 to create specialized products for the printing industry.
As president and CEO of Practical, Jack worked closely with Parallel Communications, successfully merging the two companies in 1995. Continuing temporarily as Parallel's CFO, Jack's focus on the company's profitability lead to its eventual sale, affected in August 1999, to Saltmine, Inc.
Always the entrepreneur, in 1995 Jack co-founded ImageX, an Internet-based firm focused on brand and print collateral management and printing systems. The company's financial outlook under Jack's management as CFO continued upward, making ImageX the leader in its market nationwide. ImageX was recently acquired by Kinko's, and serves as the foundation for Kinko's new printing division.
Currently an independent consultant, Jack holds a degree from Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio, graduating with a B.S. in Business Administration.
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Kenneth Purcell
Ken Purcell serves on the boards of directors for PlayNetwork, A. Marinelli Shoes, and Acosta Sales and Marketing. He is a founder of Chartwell Capital Management Company, a private equity firm based in Jacksonville, Florida.
Active in private capital investment for more than 18 years, Ken has served as vice president of T. Rowe Price Associates and managing director for the T. Rowe Price Threshold Funds, a group of funds specializing in direct equity and debt/equity investments.
Ken was employed by the Harvard Management Company for eight years, most recently as a principal with Aeneas Venture Corporation, an investment subsidiary of Harvard Management. Aeneas manages the private equity interests of the Harvard University Endowment Fund, including investment in direct private equity and private equity funds.
Ken has been an active investor in numerous successful ventures, including Starbucks Coffee Company, CompUSA, The Moorings, SBA Communications, and SPS Holdings.
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John Wood
When joining Telos Corporation in 1992, John Wood's specific goal was to lead the company's turnaround. After being named CEO in 1994, he not only repositioned the company from a hardware integration firm to an enterprise security solutions company, but oversaw the acquisition of the Automated Message Handling System from the federal government. Today Telos is the leading secure wireless solutions provider to the US Air Force and the validated US government solution for secure messaging.
Under John's leadership, Telos is nearing a decade of continuous growth. In 1996, John co-founded Enterworks, a division of Telos and leading provider of business process automation software. In 2002, Telos established subsidiary Xacta Corporation to develop and supply network security risk management software to over 400 government and financial agencies including the IRS and Pentagon.
Prior to joining Telos, John worked on Wall Street for Dean Witter Reynolds and UBS Securities. He is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he earned a bachelor of science in business administration in finance and computer science. In addition to Saltmine, John serves on the boards of several private companies and foundations.
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John Waechter
Although only recently being named Saltmine's CEO in October, 2003, John Waechter has been an integral part of Saltmine's development since mid-2002. Since joining Saltmine, John's focus on evolving Saltmine's core competencies and reshaping its business acumen has helped increase the company's market presence, diversify and expand its client base, and develop new business opportunities.
John's strategy as CEO is carefully plotted and well conceived, and is wholly based on the principles he uses when climbing the world's tallest mountains. John believes that getting to the peak in business happens only by understanding the breadth and depth of your goals, acknowledging and assessing risks, and having a clear plan that leads you each step of the way. An avid mountaineer, John recently became the 60th person to climb the world's Seven Summits — the highest peak on each of the seven continents — having reached the summit of Mt. Everest in May, 2001.
Prior to joining Saltmine, John co-founded Waechter Lufkin, LLC, to work with emerging growth technology companies, develop their businesses, and raise private equity capital. A northwest native, John has been active in the Seattle business community since 1985, is a member of the Seattle Business Roundtable and 101 Club, and serves as the president of the board for Choices Education Group. He holds a B.A. from Whitman College, and received his M.B.A. from the University of Washington in 1995.
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