ABT Management and Internal Board Members
Debbie Novograd
Vice Chairman of Board / CEODebbie gained over 20 years marketing and business development experience in the retail food and beverage industry, with two major corporations. With Starbucks Coffee Company she rose through several positions including Regional Food & Beverage Manager and National Category Manager to become Category Director / International Marketing. With ARAMARK she had a similar progression through several sales & marketing roles to become Vice President of National Business Development. Debbie joined ConeTech in 2015.
Jerome Eckert-Nathan
Board Member / President and COOJerome is a graduate of the University of Paris II, School of Law and brings more than 30 years of finance and operations experience to ConeTech. His career includes executive positions at successful high growth companies such as Tekelec (acquired by Oracle) and Centellax (acquired by Mircosemi). He also worked in various capacities for international companies such as Tekelec-Airtronic (France), Sinar Mas Group (Indonesia), Dusit Thani (Thailand) and Kempinski (Germany). Jerome joined the company in 2015.
Katie Shannon-Ricci, CPA
Chief Financial OfficerKatie earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Accounting from Sonoma State University. She began her career in public accounting with a focus on audit and taxation after which she became licensed by the State of California as a Certified Public Accountant. She has gained over 25 years of finance experience with a focus on technology start up companies such as Calix and Ciena (formerly Cyan) as well as Microsemi, Inc. (formerly Centellax). Katie joined the company in 2015 as Controller and took on the position of CFO in January, 2019.
Renee Timmons
Marketing / Project ManagerRenee earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics at the University of San Francisco, and in addition has a degree in Graphic Design. She has worked in several different industries in a Project Manager or Marketing Manager position, including telecom, non-profit, solar, and beverage/winery. She has worked at ABT since 2015 as a Marketing and Project Manager for both domestic and international projects as needed.
ABT Outside Board Members
Jeffery Stearns
Chairman of BoardJeff currently holds the position of Vice President and Group Sales Executive Freight Segment at Wabtech Corporation following numerous sales leadership positions within other segments at Wabtech. Prior to his employment with Wabtech, Jess held a Regional Sales position with Rockwell. Jeff holds a BA degree in Marketing from Iowa State University and has completed the Executive Leadership Program at the University of Illinois and the Strategic Planning Program at Michigan State University. His experience includes the AAR Associate Members Board of Directors; Rail Supply Institute (RSI) Board of Directors; and Charmain of the RSI Board of Directors. Jeff and his wife Sofya currently reside in Pittsburgh.
Steven Siglin
Board MemberSteven Siglin, a founding shareholder, is a graduate of Georgetown Law School and has divided his 40-year career between 20 years of private practice and in-house legal counsel to several major corporations, including Century 21 and Pridemark Corp. He was ConeTech’s legal counsel from 1991 to 2006, when he became Executive VP and General Counsel of Cotti Foods Corp., one of the country’s largest franchise operators.
Scott Burr
Board MemberScott Represents the fourth generation of grape growers and winemakers. Scott helped his family tend to the vineyards and winery throughout his childhood and earned a B.S. in Enology and Food Science from Fresno State University. Scott played a key role in the initial success of Conetech, and the use of its technology in wine. Scott currently resides in Kona Hawaii where he farms and grows 100% Kona Coffee.