Spanlink’s Distinguished Board of Directors

Brett Shockley – Chairman – is one of three original founders of Spanlink Communications. Before returning to Spanlink in January of 2002, Shockley was vice president and general manager for Cisco System Inc.'s Customer Contact Business Unit, part of Cisco's Voice Technologies Group (VTG), chartered with bringing to market the world’s leading software platform for multi-media customer contact. Prior to joining Cisco, Shockley was instrumental in taking Spanlink from a $3,000 of initial capital investment to an IPO, and then in 2000 taking the company private and selling a minority interest to Cisco. Shockley has more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications and call center markets having pioneered the concept of Web-enabled call centers and releasing the industry’s first product, WebCall, in 1995. He holds a patent for a telecommunications device, an MBA from Carlson School of Management and a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.

Tom Kieffer Tom Kieffer is CEO of Virteva, an IT consulting and services firm, based in the Twin Cities. A technology entrepreneur for more than 20 years, Kieffer had previously founded and was CEO of Agiliti prior to merging the company with Houston, TX based Vericenter in February 2005, and remains on the board of directors. In 1986, Kieffer founded Connect, an information technology consulting and services company, which grew to $25M in revenue, five Midwest offices and more than 200 employees. Following Connect’s merger with Norstan in 1996, Kieffer served as its Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development until 1998.

Kieffer is an active early stage investor and serves on several Boards of Directors, and enjoys coaching and mentoring entrepreneurs and growth companies. Kieffer is past Chair and current board member for the Minnesota High Technology Association and is a member of the Itasca Project group, an employer lead economic development initiative for the Minnesota region. Kieffer is a technology device Patent holder and also the author of Get Connected, A Guide to Telecommunications, published by Prentice Hall/Ashton-Tate Publishing Group in 1983. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University.

Thomas Madison is the President and chief executive officer of MLM Partners, a small business investment and consulting company in Minneapolis. Before joining MLM Partners in 1993, Madison held various positions with Northwestern Bell Telephone Company previous to becoming President and CEO. He later held numerous positions with US West Inc. and its predecessor companies, retiring as president of US West’s Communications-Markets division in 1992. Mr. Madison also served as the chairman of Aetherworks Inc. and Communications Holdings, Inc. and was the Vice Chairman and Office of CEO for Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company. He has served as a director to a variety of public, advisory, and investment boards, including Banner Health Systems, on which he was Chairman. Madison is involved in a multitude of business and civic activities and enjoys golf, fishing, hunting, and skiing.

Tom Erickson is a co-founder of BlueStream Ventures, a technology venture fund with offices in Silicon Valley and Minneapolis. He has worked with venture-backed technology startups for the past 15 years. Prior to founding BlueStream, Erickson was one of Wall Street's leading voices in network technology research where, over 10 years, he built a dominant institutional research franchise at Dain Rauscher Wessels and its predecessor, Wessels, Arnold & Henderson. Erickson holds a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College, and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Michael Gorman is a founding Managing Director of Split Rock Partners. Gorman focuses on investments in software and services companies based in Minnesota and the surrounding region. Prior to founding Split Rock Partners, Gorman was Managing General Partner of St. Paul Venture Capital, which he joined in 1995 and focused on software and services investments. In addition, Gorman led St. Paul Venture Capital’s efforts in the Minnesota market, and is a current or former director of ten Minnesota companies. He is an active supporter of the local entrepreneurial community, and works closely with organizations providing guidance to emerging companies. In addition, Michael served as president of the Minnesota Venture Capital Association in 2000 and 2001.

Gorman holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and public policy from Duke University, as well as MBA and JD degrees from Harvard University. He began his venture capital career with the Harvard Management Company. Earlier in his career, he was a management consultant with Bain & Company, where he assisted clients in the development and execution of corporate strategies.