Charles Brady founded Apogee in March 1998. As CEO and President, Brady´s vision and management style have created a company that is poised to offer a proven, and profitable, business model to universities and colleges. While the company began as a success in offering student long-distance services, Brady recognized that there was an even greater untapped potential in helping colleges and universities at the administration level.
Relying on his own engineering background, Brady refocused the company on technology. In the summer of 2000, Apogee began introducing a custom networking solution that helps schools meet and exceed their financial and educational objectives. This solution is being utilized by public and private universities, ranging in size from 1,200 to 50,000 students.
Mark rejoined the Apogee team in March 2010. After playing a key role in Apogee’s first five years from 1998 through 2003, Mark left to gain valuable experience, and a change in climate, at Alaska DigiTel, a regional provider of cellular voice and data services.
While at DigiTel, Mark was part of a team that grew subscribers from 7,000 to 40,000 over 5 years. In 2008 the company was acquired by an Alaskan statewide telephone and cable operator, GCI, for $40 million. Post acquisition, Mark served as a Director for GCI overseeing voice and messaging products. With an institutional perspective on Apogee’s vision and more than a decade of telecommunications experience, Mark’s drive for organizational growth and scalability is well-suited to Apogee’s customers, employees, and leadership team.
Mark has a degree in Accounting from St. Edward’s University and has earned the designation of Certified Public Accountant.
Skip Hendrickson joined Apogee in 2011. Skip is a veteran sales leader in the field of telecommunications and has held key positions in many national technology firms, including AT&T, MCI/Verizon and Airband Communications. With more than 20 years of experience, Skip brings an impressive track record of sales success and a unique customer-focused leadership style to the Apogee team.
Skip is responsible for driving new customer acquisition and revenue growth at Apogee as well as assisting in the delivery of new and improved technologies to the higher education market. He is located in Austin at the company’s national headquarters.
Jeff Tobias joined Apogee in May 2008 as Director of Student Services. In leading the support team, Jeff is responsible for driving future customer experience strategies, move in and student utilization of Apogee’s current services.
Jeff brings 20 years of experience in service and support organizations. Most recently, Jeff was responsible for creating and implementing the support and service organization for Motion Computing.
Nat Nealeigh joined Apogee in September 2007 bringing with him a background in multimedia production, graphic design and web development. As head of marketing, public relations and communications for Apogee, Nat developed the company’s core marketing strategy and oversees its implementation. Nat is responsible for crafting Apogee’s public message and brand identity, implementing marketing and outreach strategies for student and university customers, and overseeing public relations efforts targeted towards industry publications and student press. Nat also oversees the development of Apogee’s company website and online student registration portal.
Prior to joining Apogee, Nat was the founder and principal developer for Titlegraphic Studio, a multimedia and web development consulting firm. Nat also worked as an editor and videographer for ABC News, completed a teaching fellowship through the Ministry of Education in Paris, and spent several years leading software, design and multimedia training for Apple, Inc.
As a member of the Apogee Team since 2005, Wendi Lisso works to develop efficient strategies for implementing new services and technologies in the higher education community, maintaining regular interaction with campus government and student committees in order to stay ahead of current and future student demands. Wendi also attends national higher education conferences to maintain a fresh perspective on the emerging trends in residential networking from the point of view of Housing, Business and IT departments across the country.
Wendi has over 10 years of sales and marketing experience in commercial and residential real estate with a portfolio that includes strategic branding, marketing communications, media relations, public affairs, financial forecasting, investor relations, special event planning and more.
Steve Thomas joined Apogee in the fall of 2011 as National Account Manager for the Eastern division of the United States. Steve brings with him a background of over 23 years in business development, management, account management and corporation ownership, including an impressive record of business development and client relations success.
Steve is responsible for developing new client acquisitions and revenue growth for Apogee in the Eastern division of the nation’s higher education market. Steve is based out of Apogee’s corporate office located in Austin, Texas.
Robert Foster, National Account Manager & Division Manager for CALEA
Robert Foster has been affiliated with Apogee since 2001 and brings four decades of technology experience to the firm, including almost 20 years with IBM. As National Account Manager he is responsible for working with Apogee customers to create a workable strategy for implementing new services and technologies. In this role, he acts as a point of contact both internally and externally to facilitate rapid response to client needs. During the construction phases of client on-boarding, Foster is active in project management, overseeing every aspect of installations, upgrades and expansions.
As Division Manager for CALEA, Foster crafts solutions and proposals for commercial and higher education entities that are seeking to comply with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.