Our Team
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We established HighByte in August 2018 to solve the persistent data architecture and integration problems faced by industrial operations. Read on to learn more about the leadership team.
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Meet the Leadership Team
HighByte’s leadership team has more than 75 years of combined experience delivering software solutions to the industrial market.
Tony Paine
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
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Tony Paine is the CEO of HighByte, focused on the company’s vision. He led the architecture and development of the company’s initial product offering, HighByte Intelligence Hub, and continues to be instrumental in its design.
Tony’s passion for integrating software and hardware began in early childhood when he developed an application that turned a rudimentary text editor into a word processor with generic print capabilities. He focused his education on this interest and earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Computer Software and Hardware Design from the University of Maine in 1996. Tony’s entrepreneurial spirit and thirst for knowledge brought him back to the University of Maine to earn a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Data Analytics in 2021. For the past 20 years, Tony immersed himself in industrial software development and strategy at Kepware, most recently serving as CEO. He led the company through a successful acquisition to PTC in 2016 prior to founding HighByte in 2018. Tony has contributed to a variety of technical working groups, helping to shape the direction of standards used within the automation industry. Connect with Tony on LinkedIn. |
John Harrington
Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer
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John Harrington is the Chief Product Officer of HighByte, focused on product management, customer and partner success, and company strategy. His areas of responsibility include market research, customer use cases, product priorities, go-to-market, and financial planning.
John is passionate about delivering technology that improves productivity and safety in manufacturing and industrial environments. He has spent his 25-year career both delivering software to manufacturers and working for manufacturers in operations roles. This experience has given him a unique perspective on how suppliers and end users each play an integral role in implementing new technology solutions. John has a Master of Business Administration from Babson College and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Connect with John on LinkedIn. |
Torey Penrod-Cambra
Co-Founder & Chief Communications Officer
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Torey Penrod-Cambra is the Chief Communications Officer of HighByte, focused on the company's messaging strategy, market presence, and ability to operationalize. Her areas of responsibility include marketing, public relations, analyst relations, investor relations, and people operations.
Torey is a marketing professional with nearly 15 years of experience creating compelling brand experiences that drive customer acquisition and expansion in highly technical environments. Torey’s career began with a focus on biotechnology and international pharmaceutical product launches, and then evolved into a fast-climbing career in B2B industrial software. She is passionate about securing equal STEM opportunities for women, and excited by the potential of the Internet of Things in industrial environments. Torey applies an analytical, data-driven approach to marketing that reflects her academic achievements in both chemistry and ethics. Torey received a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and has completed post-graduate studies in Medical Ethics at the University of Pittsburgh. Connect with Torey on LinkedIn. |
Aron Semle
Chief Technology Officer
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Aron Semle is the Chief Technology Officer of HighByte, focused on guiding the company’s technology and product strategy through product development, technical evangelism, and supporting customer success. His areas of responsibility include research and development and product development and validation.
Aron has more than 15 years of experience in industrial technology. He previously worked at Kepware and PTC from 2008 until 2018 in a variety of roles including software engineer, product manager, R&D lead, and director of solutions management, helping to shape the company’s strategy in the manufacturing operations market. Aron has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Maine, Orono. Connect with Aron on LinkedIn. |
Steven Curtis
Vice President of Sales
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Steven Curtis is the Vice President of Sales of HighByte, focused on building a professional sales team and strong customer base. He is responsible for developing and executing a multi-channel sales strategy that drives pipeline to meet sales goals. Steven works cross functionally with the HighByte leadership team to create value for customers, partners, and all company stakeholders.
Steven has 19 years of executive sales leadership experience and has thrived in being at the forefront of new technologies and markets. Through the acquisition of Azuki Systems in 2014, he found his passion for data and digital transformation at Ericsson as the company’s Head of IoT Monetization, North America. A few years later, he focused his scope on the manufacturing industry as the Vice President of Sales of Datanomix. Steven leads by example and enjoys both learning and educating. Steven received a Bachelor of Science degree in International Marketing from the University of Massachusetts. Connect with Steven on LinkedIn. |
Board of Directors
Joining HighByte CEO Tony Paine on the Board of Directors is Elizabeth Peters, Corson Ellis, Seth Lawry, and Sujeet Chand.
Elizabeth Peters
Chair of the Board
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Elizabeth (Betsy) has worked at the intersection of business strategy and emerging technology for the past twenty-five years; building products, leading teams, raising funds, and managing growth. She was previously the founder of PossibilityU, a startup recognized by the Obama Whitehouse for using open data from federal platforms for social impact. Betsy also founded MaineCanDo, a network of more than 500 professionals dedicated to leading change at work in the era of #MeToo. She invests in and advises SaaS startups and has served as board chair for CourseStorm, an EdTech start-up, and as a director on non-profit and publicly elected boards. Betsy is currently the CEO of Cambium Enterprises, an innovation strategy firm, and an adjunct instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Connect with Betsy on LinkedIn. |
Corson Ellis
Board Director
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Corson (Corky) was previously Founder and Chairman of Kepware, an industrial software communications company that sold to PTC, a Boston-based enterprise software company, in January 2016. Corky has served as Board Chair of Maine Venture Fund (MVF) and Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) and is currently a board member of CEI Ventures, a Maine-based venture capital firm. Corky also invests in and advises software startups, serves on several technical investment boards, and supports the Lewiston, Maine public school system in their effort to institute a K-12 software coding curriculum. Ellis was an investor in HighByte pre-seed and seed funding rounds, and represents early investors on the company’s Board of Directors.
Connect with Corson on LinkedIn. |
Seth Lawry
Board Director
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Seth Lawry is a private investor and an advisory partner at Thomas H. Lee Partners where he was formerly a partner and member of the management and investment committees. Seth also worked at Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated in the mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and equity capital markets departments, as well as at General Atlantic Partners, a venture capital firm.
Seth has served as a director at several companies including Agencyport Software Ltd., CompuCom Systems, Inc., Fidelity National Information Services, Inc., Houghton Mifflin Company, MoneyGram International, ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, Safelite Glass Corp., Tucker Anthony Sutro, and Warner Music Group Corp. He is also active in various private and non-profit institutions, including as a 15-year trustee of Colby College. Seth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and German Studies from Williams College and a Master of Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Connect with Seth on LinkedIn. |
Sujeet Chand
Board Director
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Sujeet is a strategic leader and engineer with a unique perspective on technology, innovation, and customer needs. He served as SVP and CTO at Rockwell Automation for 16 years and now serves on the Board of three public companies, including Flowserve (FLS), Proto Labs (PRLB), and Veeco (VECO), as well as a private start-up company, HDS Global. His prior advisory board service includes the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), FIRST Robotics, Wisconsin Technology Council, University of Wisconsin Research Foundation, and Robert W. Baird Venture Partners. He has also represented the United States as the head of a delegation to Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, a worldwide consortium on manufacturing technology.
Sujeet is a recipient of SME’s prestigious Eugene Merchant Medal (2019) for his leadership and innovative contributions to Smart Manufacturing. In 2018, Sujeet was named to the list of top 100 Industrial IoT Influencers by IoT One, and in 2016, he was named to the list of 30 Visionaries of the World in Advanced Manufacturing by Smart Manufacturing Magazine. Forbes recognized him with the Excellence in Innovation award in 2014. He is also a recipient of Rockwell Automation’s prestigious Odo J. Struger Automation Award for leading technical innovation and business growth, and the Rockwell Engineer of the Year, the highest recognition for engineering accomplishment in the company. He currently holds 63 patents and has published more than 75 technical papers in research journals and conferences. Sujeet earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Connect with Sujeet on LinkedIn. |
