Cranite Expands Exec Team

SAN JOSE, Calif. -– In response to the growth of its wireless network security business, Cranite Systems, Inc. has added to its management team and expanded the responsibilities of key senior executives.

Ken Schneider was named chief operating officer, in addition to maintaining his prior role as Cranite’s chief financial officer. Schneider will oversee all aspects of Cranite’s engineering, customer service, order fulfillment, financial, information technology and human resources operations. In addition, Schneider will play an instrumental role in managing sales operations.

Before joining Cranite, Schneider served as CFO at a number of public and venture-backed private companies, including Tollbridge Technologies, American Sterling Communications and First Pacific Networks. Prior to this, he was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, formerly Coopers & Lybrand, where he focused on IPOs and merger and acquisition activities with emerging technology companies. Schneider is a Certified Public Accountant and earned a B.S. from Santa Clara University.

Max Mancini takes on the role of chief technical officer after previously serving as the company’s vice president of engineering. Mancini will work closely with the company’s systems engineering, business development, mergers and acquisitions and field sales groups.

Previously, Mancini was the founder, CEO, and vice president of engineering at Web portal Consumer Review. His career also has included stints as a senior manager for Pointcast, product manager for Novell, senior systems architect for ESL (a subsidiary of TRW) and a military intelligence officer for the U.S. Army. Mancini earned an M.S. degree in Engineering Management and a B.S. in Computer Science from Santa Clara University.

Andrew Maisel was named executive vice president of marketing and business development. In this role, Maisel oversees Cranite’s product management, channel strategy and communications efforts, as well as the company’s business and corporate development activities.

Prior to joining Cranite, Maisel was Managing Director of Knowledge Share LLC, a privately held company involved in consulting, investment and product development. He previously served as an executive at Sun Microsystems, with worldwide marketing responsibility for Sun Microsystems Federal, where his team led the development of Sun’s secure software and hardware product development, including Trusted Solaris. Maisel also has held positions with The Boston Consulting Group and Stanford University. He earned a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Mike Paluzzi has joined the company as vice president of federal sales, based in Washington, D.C. Paluzzi, who has worked in IT for more than 20 years, will draw upon his contacts and knowledge of government contracting in pursuing additional government business for Cranite.

Previously, Paluzzi served as president of Alcatel Federal, where he built a $50 million business over a five-year span. He also served as vice president of sales and marketing for the Americas for SysKonnect, where he generated major OEM deals; as general manager of EMEA for Vitalink; and in sales and technical roles at Novell and Digital Equipment Corporation. Paluzzi began his career in the U.S. Air Force at the North American Air Defense Command at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He earned a B.S. in Information Systems from the University of San Francisco and is an elected member of the board of directors of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronic Association (AFCEA).

Mike Coop has been named vice president of federal operations and consulting engineering. In this role, Coop will support Cranite’s federal government sales efforts.

Coop has held engineering, sales, and business development positions at a number of companies, including Microsoft Corporation and Cisco Systems. A member of IEEE, ISSA and AFCEA, he has extensive experience in both the enterprise and consumer networking markets. Coop attended Northwestern University.

Rob Langhorne was given overall responsibility for Cranite’s engineering team, in the role of vice president of engineering. Langhorne will draw upon his deep market knowledge of wireless technology to drive enhancements and future additions to Cranite’s product line. As vice president of engineering, Langhorne manages the programs and resources required to deliver Cranite’s products to market.

An industry veteran, Langhorne brings more than 20 years’ experience building complex enterprise software and managing diverse teams to his role. Before joining Cranite, Langhorne was vice president of engineering at fusionOne, a pioneer developer of Web-based synchronization and mobility solutions. His career also has included management positions at Apple Computer, Spyglass, and RocketMobile. He also has led teams and developed products for Philips, Oracle, Software AG and the U.S. Air Force. Langhorne earned his B.S. degree in Computer Science from the College of William and Mary.

"Cranite’s recent sales successes have validated the company’s focus on key market segments – most important, government and healthcare. We wanted to add depth to our management team in those areas to accelerate our sales growth and better serve our customers," said Greg McNulty, President and CEO, Cranite Systems, Inc. "These talented individuals will help Cranite continue to develop and deliver the most comprehensive wireless security solutions to our customers."

Cranite Systems Inc.