NJ Tech Companies Tell Executive Suite, Board Changes
Thomas E. Motyka will be leading NJII’s Smart Cities Initiative | Esther Surden
- In April, George Abraham became CFO of TelTech Systems (South Amboy). The company said that it was leveraging Abraham’s extensive experience in leading growth and developing financial strategies for emerging technology companies. Abraham will be responsible for managing the financial structure and growth of TelTech’s portfolio of privacy-related communications apps.In addition, he will guide TelAPI, the voice and messaging engine behind TelTech, as well as external TelAPI clients. Abraham will also play a key role in the development of new products for the company, applying the agile methodologies that he teaches as an adjunct professor in his course on entrepreneurial thinking at Stevens Institute of Technology.
- The New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), a New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) corporation that applies NJIT’s intellectual and technological resources to challenges identified by industry partners, has announced the appointment of Thomas E. Motyka as senior executive director of smart infrastructure. A former IBMer, Motyka holds a B.S. from NJIT and an M.B.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He will be leading the NJII Smart City Initiative, working closely with developers, public officials and industry to create an open test-bed where new technologies for solving urban problems can be deployed and evaluated. These include “Smart City Internet of Things” projects, which seek to integrate traffic, transit, parking, public safety, healthcare delivery and infrastructure resiliency into a cohesive data-driven system.
- In April, NJII announced that it had brought on Munir Cochinwala as executive director and chief scientist for its Data Analytics Core Lab. Cochinwala had formerly served as vice president, information and computer sciences research, at Applied Communication Sciences, where he led research in data management and analytics. He had served in similar roles for Bellcore and Telcordia, and been a principal investigator for a number of research and deployment efforts funded by government agencies, such as the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), and commercial entities, such as AT&T. NJII plans to use Cochinwala’s expertise in all of its industry sectors. “He has the ability to mine principles of operation from massive amounts of data to identify disease hotspots based on public health information, understand the relationship between personal genetic structure and drug reactions, envision how adaptive traffic control systems can relieve urban congestion and even develop protocols for stabilizing electronic stock exchanges,” said Donald Sebastian, NJII president.
- Billtrust (Hamilton), the provider of invoice-to-cash solutions, is announcing the appointment of Larry R. Irving to their board of directors. Irving will take over as audit committee chair and provide guidance on growth and financial strategies. He has just spent 13 years as CFO of Synchronoss Technologies. During his tenure, he successfully led the New Jersey startup through an IPO (NASDAQ: SNCR) and was twice named CFO of the Year by the New Jersey Technology Council. In a press release, Irving said, “This is an important time for Billtrust, and I’m looking forward to being a part of their story and helping guide the company to an even more aggressive expansion. Their innovative technology has set the stage for great things to come.”
- Joseph Amador was named director, strategic staffing and recruiting services, at DaVinciTek (Morristown) in April. Amador had held a range of leadership roles specializing in technology, accounting and finance, and engineering recruitment, the company said. He holds a B.S. in education from St. Lawrence University. DaVinciTek is an IT Talent and acquisition firm.
