Our Leaders

Next IT has assembled an experienced team that is dedicated to our core values and to strengthening Next IT's position as an industry leader.

Fred A. Brown - Founder/CEO
Fred Brown is the Founder and CEO of Next IT Corporation - a company changing the way people interact with technology. Prior to Next IT, Fred was Founder, President and CEO of LineSoft Corporation. At LineSoft, the calf-roper turned entrepreneur broke new ground in the energy industry with the development of software systems that are now considered industry standard worldwide. With Next IT, Fred continues to revolutionize technology's impact on business with his newest vision - personalizing and humanizing user interactions with technology. Fred is also actively involved in organizations serving the northwest educational and scientific communities, including serving on the Board of Trustees at Gonzaga University as well as founding WIN Partners LLC, a private investment fund for aspiring technology entrepreneurs in Spokane, Washington.

Richard Denenny - Chief Operating Officer
As former Next IT outside counsel with the Seattle office of K&L Gates, Richard had extensive knowledge of the company when he joined the company in January of 2011. In his current position, he is responsible for collaborating with both the board of directors and CEO to develop strategies, and for directing employees and resources to execute the company’s goals. Richard received his J.D. and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arizona College of Law, where he was editor-in-chief of the Arizona Law Review. He earned his B.A. in Political Science from Western Washington University. Named a Rising Star by Washington Law and Politics, Richard has represented names such as Starbucks Corporation, Corbis Corporation, Microsoft and the Odom Corporation.

Charles Wooters, Ph.D. - Chief Technical Officer
As CTO, Charles Wooters is responsible for the strategy, planning, communication, and intellectual property surrounding Next IT technology. After receiving his Ph.D. in Speech Recognition from the University of California at Berkeley, Chuck went on to create the world's first FDA approved voice recognition system, which was used in a surgical robot. With more than 20 years in the human language technology industry, over 60 publications, and a handful of patents, Chuck has ample experience identifying trends and can easily anticipate and react to major technology changes. In addition to his duties at Next IT, Chuck also holds an Adjunct Research Faculty position at the newly created Human Language Technology Center of Excellence (HLT-COE) at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and serves on the IEEE Speech and Language Technical Committee where he volunteers his time reviewing technical papers and serving as an editor for the committee newsletter. Chuck's contribution to the development of new technology, new ideas, and new algorithms ensures that Next IT stays one step ahead of the competition.

Mitch Lawrence - Senior Vice President, Sales
As Senior Vice President of Sales, Mitch leads the Next IT Sales team in its efforts to acquire new business for the company, identifying and reaching out to organizations that would improve their customer experience and bottom line with the implementation of an Intelligent Virtual Assistant. Mitch brings with him valuable experience gained selling for - and to - enterprise - class businesses. Prior to Next IT, Mitch was Director of Account Management and Sales in the Western U.S. at global industry-leader Teva Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for over $1 billion in contracts and overseeing a team that was rated #1 in area-sales during each of his seven years of leadership. As a leader, Mitch takes a deep interest in the his team's professional development, ensuring that associates are able to deliver prospective clients a clear picture of the benefits of Next IT technology and an accurate roadmap of the future. Mitch attended Idaho State University, earning a B.S. in Business Administration/Marketing and Northwestern, where he completed Executive Sales Force Management postgraduate coursework.

Jeff Brown - Executive Vice President, Sales
Jeff Brown has a deep understanding of the value proposition and market requirements of intelligent customer self-service and innovative technology. Prior to Next IT, Jeff spent 10 years working on a variety of software solutions, including specializing in asset and service management systems at Peregrine Systems. His leadership and experience are proven, as he led the Next IT sales team through 1,478% revenue growth from 2003-2008. Jeff works closely with current and prospective Next IT customers to solve their issues by pairing technology with smart business practices to grow their profits and increase customer satisfaction. With a keen eye for the impact of intelligent self-service, Jeff ensures that Next IT solutions are ahead of the curve. In addition to his business acumen, Jeff was a three-time Academic All American athlete for Gonzaga University and could frequently be spotted as a color commentator for Fox Sports Northwest.

Carole Mohr - Executive Vice President, Customer Care
Carole is responsible for ensuring that Next IT delivers on its promises to customers: identifying areas for improvement, looking for additional ways our technology can add value and strengthen our valued client partnerships, and facilitating communication to develop plans for future growth. Carole comes to Next IT after a highly successful career building and growing companies which were later positioned for sale and are thriving entities today. As a founding member and key contributor of a start-up communication service company, Dakotah Direct, Carole was instrumental in building from ground-zero 14 locations, over 2,500 employees and $45M in revenues in 5 years. With her experience in adding Fortune 500 logos to the client list while recruiting, building, and managing high performance sales and operations teams, she understands the challenges of delivering superior client satisfaction while balancing the needs of a profitable organization.

Mike Wiseman - Executive Vice President, Research & Product Development
Mike leads Next IT in its product development and strategy, and quality assurance efforts. Prior to joining the team at Next IT, Mike was employed by Itron (formerly Linesoft), working on engineering software for utilities and Smartgrid analytic systems. Before that, he was employed by Kaiser Aluminum in the MIS (Business Systems) department and the Automated Systems group, working on the control systems for the machinery that produced Kaiser’s finished products. Mike holds a BA in business with MIS emphasis from Washington State University and completed post-graduate work in engineering management.

Tanya Miller - Vice President, Research & Innovation
Spearheading the Research & Innovation team at Next IT, Tanya makes the impossible possible with her determination and entrepreneurial attitude. After earning a BS in Mathematics and Computer Engineering from the University of Puget Sound, Tanya worked at LineSoft Corporation developing advanced software applications to streamline and optimize transmission and distribution systems. Tanya's career-long focus on future development has led to a consistent record of success in technological advancements at Next IT.

Don Scribner - Vice President, Sales Operations
Don brings a wealth of sales experience to the Next IT team. As Senior Vice President/Owner at Impact Telecommunications, a small Spokane - based startup, he established a nationwide sales/agent marketing program that resulted in rapid growth - catching the attention of WorldCom/MCI, who later purchased the company. As part of a large corporation, Don's division continued to grow and was acquired by ILD Corporation. Don spent 12 years at ILD as Senior Vice President and managed the Outsource Services Division - Sales and Operations. Don is a native Texan who received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University.

Cleat Grumbly - Vice President, Government Solutions
Cleat Grumbly brings Next IT 11 years of experience in all aspects of software development, sales, and service. Cleat is responsible for the Next IT Public Sector Division, covering federal, state and local governments. In this role, he oversees business development, sales, account management, and program management for government. Prior to joining Next IT in 2003, Cleat worked at Linesoft Corp and Itron, Inc, where he managed teams completing large scale software implementations at utility companies. Cleat attended Gonzaga University where he earned his degree in Civil Engineering. Cleat understands that enterprise software is only as good as the team that builds, implements, and supports it, and he has built a solid, well equipped organization tasked to exceed customer requirements.

Victor Morrison - VP Sales; Health Care Markets
Victor brings over 22 years of health-care sales experience gained with industry leader Teva Pharmaceuticals, where he played a critical role in defining a vision for pharmacy and specialty pharmacy interaction. While with Teva, he designed and led a study of the interface between specialty pharmacy and patients receiving treatment for Multiple Sclerosis and its impact on compliance, adherence and, most importantly, patient outcomes—giving him an knowledgeable perspective on how an Intelligent Virtual Assistant can most effectively serve both the industry and patients.

Michael LaPorte - VP Sales Health Payer Markets
With deep experience helping organizations from multiple facets of the healthcare industry overcome obstacles to the acceptance and adoption of emerging technology, Michael enables Next IT better serve its current and potential health-payer clients, extending Next IT’s ever-evolving solution to businesses seeking to improve their customer-service offerings. Michael’s impressive resume includes a long history of successfully matching the right technology with the right business, selling for companies such as ChartOne, Eclipsys Corp., IntelliClaim and Cerner.

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