Management Team
James Boone
Founder,
President & CEO
James leads the corporate direction and strategy for Fluent, focused on delivering and sustaining the innovative and powerful value proposition Fluent provides to our clients. He is a proven leader with expertise in building new companies and developing strong client relationships, a passion for creating client-focused service cultures and extraordinary service delivery teams, and a disciplined drive for perfectionistic execution.
With over 25 years of experience in technology and telecom, James brings proven leadership and a wealth of expertise in developing advanced technological business solutions and delivering superior customer experiences for enterprise clients. Prior to founding Fluent, he spent more than seven years helping to build Masergy Communications into the industry-leading, global MPLS service provider. Previously, James held strategic positions at Jamcracker (Cloud computing platform pioneer), Rhythms NetConnections (DSL pioneer), Xyplex, Shiva Corporation, and AirSoft.
Andrew Whitaker, PhD, CCIE, PMP
Managing Director & Chief Technology Officer
As Managing Director, Andrew leads the day-to-day engineering, operational, client services, and vendor management elements of the business. As Chief Technology Officer, Andrew leads the technology and engineering competencies for Fluent to ensure consistent and thorough evaluation of the ever-changing technologies and vendors in the marketplace so that the Fluent team can optimally design, match, implement and support the best solutions for our clients’ needs.
Andrew brings 20 years of experience in technology and telecom, with a proven track record of leadership and expertise in network engineering, customer netops support, project management, and technical account management that earns him rave reviews from clients everywhere. Prior to joining Fluent, Andrew spent more than six years helping to build Masergy Communications into an industry-leading, global MPLS service provider. Previously, Andrew held engineering positions at Broadwing Telecommunications and Cisco Systems.
David Novotny
Director of Global Sourcing & Solution Assurance
David leads the solution sourcing, service provider on-boarding, and vendor management functions for Fluent. In this role, David ensures that Fluent has every relevant service provider and solution set available to our clients on a global basis. This means constantly evaluating and on-boarding new providers/solutions as they become relevant in the marketplace, as well as negotiating and managing the best service delivery terms and pricing from all providers, and consistently reviewing the actual performance of all providers via score card metrics to determine which providers are meeting their committed deliverables and which providers need improvement in order to continue to be eligible as certified providers in our portfolio who can meet our clients’ stringent requirements for the highest-standards in service delivery, pricing, and overall quality of experience.
With over 30 years of experience in technology consulting, network services, and telecom, David brings proven leadership and a wealth of expertise in developing advanced technological business solutions and delivering superior customer experiences for enterprise clients. Prior to joining Fluent, David spent more than thirteen years helping to build Masergy Communications into the industry-leading, global MPLS/VPLS service provider. Previously, David held strategic positions at Lucent NetworkCare (Professional Services and Performance Management Software: VitalSoft and Quadratec IP), International Network Services (INS), Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), and General Dynamics Data Systems division.
Bret Zacher, PMP/RCDD
Senior Operations Support Director
Bret brings 31 years in the information systems industry with a unique mix of technical and management skills. His expertise lies in the ability to effectively deliver complex enterprise services on time and within budget. Bret specializes in Global Solution Integration, with an emphasis in telecommunications supported by his skills in project leadership, strategic planning, and executive level communications. Bret is a certified Project Manager (PMP) and Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) with a broad range of industry knowledge. He has a proven ability to meet delivery deadlines, project requirements, cost control goals and to exceed client expectations overall for implementation management and on-going operations support management
Prior to joining Fluent, Bret was a Global Program Delivery Manager for six years with Verizon Business after spending six years building Masergy Communications into an industry-leading, global MPLS service provider. Bret’s previous positions include Pre-Sales Engineering Director at Nortel Networks; Post-Sales Engineering & Project Delivery Manger at General Electric; and Area Regional Delivery Manger, Ameritech/SBC/AT&T.
Stephanie Schley
Director of Finance, HR and Administration
Stephanie leads the internal operations for Fluent, overseeing finance, HR and administration for the company.
With over 20 years of experience in dynamic business environments, Stephanie brings a strong track record of results-oriented performance with expertise in finance, management, contract negotiations, recruitment, coaching and development, employee relations, sales operations, project management, and facilities implementation & management. Stephanie has spent most of her career utilizing her executive communication and organizational skills to facilitate the rapid growth of leading-edge technology companies in Silicon Valley. Previously, Stephanie held strategic positions at Alain Pinel Realtors, Teradiant Networks, Website Pros, Start-Up Associates, Shiva Corporation, and AirSoft.
