Meet the Team
Ronald J. Burns
CEO
Ron founded ProtonMedia in 1998, and focuses on business development, marketing and alliances. Ron is a true evangelist, passionate about merging technology and gaming for next generation solutions that improve collaboration and learning. He has spoken at several industry conferences, and has published articles in Pharmaceutical Representative and Focus magazines. Prior to ProtonMedia, Ron established Burns Audio in 1987, building an extensive music library that procured and produced music for television and movies. Ron’s company began producing music and sound design for video and computer games in the mid-90s, and in that process, he began the quest to meld gaming with e-learning. He holds a degree in music composition from Temple University. Ron is also involved with e-Learning for Kids, a global nonprofit foundation that provides free e-learning to children via the Internet. He plays blues guitar and collects guitars from the 1950s. Ron is married with four children and lives in Harleysville, PA.
Reggie Best
President/COO
Reggie Best oversees day-to-day operations, handling the company’s sales and marketing expansion and venture capital initiatives. He plays a key role in the development and rollout of ProtoSphere 2.0, the company’s state-of-the-art social environment for highly effective online teaming. Reggie has 25 years of experience in telecommunications, data networking, and IT security. This includes venture capital fundraising, team creation, sales channel development, mergers and acquisitions, executive and general management, and product strategy and development, particularly within early- to growth-stage and venture-financed companies. Reggie has founded three companies and successfully led them to M&A, including Teleos Communications, AccessWorks Communications, and Netilla Networks. Under his leadership, Netilla grew to a $10 million annual run-rate, and became widely known as a pioneer in the SSL VPN and application security marketplace. Netilla later merged with AEP Systems to form AEP Networks, of which Best became COO. This was his most recent post before joining ProtonMedia.
Cheng Chen
CTO/VP of Engineering
Cheng T. Chen leads the development of ProtonMedia’s social collaboration platform, ProtoSphere, as CTO and VP of Engineering. He plays a critical role in conceiving and driving the company’s ambitious product roadmap for ProtoSphere 2.0 and beyond. Cheng has been a driving force behind the development of crucial telecom technology for over 25 years, founding and growing successful companies. Most recently, Cheng co-founded Quintum Technologies, a VoIP technology company, where he served as President and CEO. He later managed Quintum’s acquisition by Network Equipment Technologies. Prior to Quintum, Cheng co-founded AccessWorks, where he created the patented Async-to-Sync PPP technology, and developed the first ISDN Terminal Adaptor for Internet access, the de-facto standard for Internet access among terminal adapter vendors worldwide. AccessWorks was later acquired by 3Com Corporation. He was also Engineering V.P. and Chief Architect at Teleos Communications from 1986 to 1993. Chen spent his early career at Bell Labs, where he developed various packet and circuit switching technologies.
Nigel Downer
VP Business Development
Nigel Downer leads ProtonMedia’s sales and business development team. In this role, Nigel is responsible for leading all client engagements and for managing ProtonMedia’s direct and indirect sales channels. Nigel has over 10 years of experience in the development, sale, and implementation of B2B technology solutions, most notably in the wireless communications industry. Prior to joining ProtonMedia, Nigel held a variety of leadership roles in sales and marketing at AT&T Wireless, Securicor Wireless, and LNSS. Nigel holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Boston University and an MBA in Strategic Leadership from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business. An avid guitar and ice hockey player, Nigel and his wife live in North Wales, PA.
Domenick Naccarato
VP Creative Services
Dom heads up our creative team, leading the charge and vision on numerous ProtoSphere roll-outs. With more than ten years of experience in the development of web and desktop-based applications, he brings a no-frills approach to user interface design, graphic art direction, and 3D modeling. Acting as a liaison between our clients, developers, and artists, he works closely with all parties to ensure that goals are met and projects are successful. Dom is a graduate of The College of New Jersey, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. While not otherwise helping build virtual worlds, Dom can be found enjoying any number of his other creative outlets including furniture building, painting, and photography. He lives outside of Allentown, PA with his wife and two daughters.
John Reed
VP Sales
A 25 year veteran of sales and management, John leads and oversees all sales and partnership program activities for ProtonMedia. John brings crucial enterprise technology sales experience and skills to ProtonMedia that will help make 2011 our most successful year yet. His strong management background and knowledge will be instrumental in continuing to grow the company in the coming years. Prior to joining ProtonMedia, Reed served as Area Vice President for ASG Software, where he grew bookings for the area by 625 percent over the past four years. He has also held executive sales management roles at Ramco Systems Corporation; Astea International; i2 Technologies; and other firms providing CRM, ERP, and various enterprise software-based technology solutions. Reed holds a master’s degree in marketing from Temple University and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from The Pennsylvania State University.
