Richard Spurlock, CEO and Founder
Intellectually curious entrepreneur, Richard is recognized as a global expert on data protection and recovery. After spending 15 years designing and delivering the world’s largest data protection applications, Richard harnessed that expertise to build a disruptive, software-defined data protection solution: Compass®. Compass is the industry’s first enterprise-class data protection and analytics software designed to natively run in hybrid and public cloud environments. An experienced speaker and subject matter expert, Richard is a frequent industry spokesman and an avid Formula 1 racing fan with his family.
Robert Marett, Chief Technology Officer
Robert is a 20-year veteran of the storage and data protection industries. Robert spent the past decades leading specialized SWAT teams solving complex, critical technology challenges for enterprise product vendors such as IBM, EMC, and Hewlett Packard. He has been responsible for designing and delivering solutions to Fortune 1000 customers, including Coca-Cola, IBM, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Commerce Bank, Mayo Clinic, US Federal Reserve, Sprint Corporation, Union Pacific, and Whirlpool. He architected a diverse set of storage management, backup, and disaster recovery solutions for these companies internationally, and is recognized as a key technical leader in the enterprise data protection space. Rob holds two US patents in the data protection space.
Mark Pougnet, Chief Financial Officer
A seasoned “get stuff done” executive, Mark joined Cobalt Iron after revamping Wazee Digital into a profitable leader in the cloud media asset management space. A CPA and a Chartered Accountant, Pougnet has also held senior leadership roles at Front Porch, Avaya, and Micron. Mark was instrumental in the sale of the storage archive business, Front Porch, to Oracle. He was the director of accounting firm Arthur Andersen’s Business Process Outsourcing Practice in the Rocky Mountain region. During his more than 30 years in the media and entertainment, outsourcing, and technology industries, Pougnet has founded a software business, taken a company public, and sold two companies as the CFO. Away from the office Mark is passionate about cycling, traveling, and writing.
Andy Hurt, Chief Marketing Officer
With more than 18 years of experience in SaaS-based data preservation and archival technologies, Andy has led multiple marketing and product management organizations through growth and acquisition. Prior to joining Cobalt Iron, Andy served as senior vice president of marketing and business development for Wazee Digital, which was acquired by Veritone Inc. Prior to that, Andy led the global strategy and product roadmap for Oracle’s Digital Media product portfolio following Oracle’s acquisition of Front Porch Digital. Other previous positions include senior vice president of marketing and product management at Front Porch Digital, senior director of product development and delivery at Level 3 Communications, and senior director of product solutions at First Data. Outside of work, Andy can be found traveling the globe, mountaineering, taking photographs, or delivering culinary creativity in the kitchen.
