TBI Leadership

Geoff Shepstone founded TBI in 1991 and continues to actively lead the company. TBI earned its position as a top Master Agent through Geoff’s commitment to finding the best solutions available to meet evolving customer needs. His experience in telecommunications began at MCI before moving into management with Alternative Channel Divisions of LCI International (acquired by Qwest). Recognizing the need for partners to connect with cutting-edge solutions from trusted providers led to the creation of TBI. Under his vision and leadership, the company remains at the forefront of the technology industry and continues to aggressively grow its extensive network of partners and highly-vetted providers.

Pete Shah joined TBI in 2013 with over 20 years of finance experience and 15 years in the telecom industry. Prior to TBI, Pete served as CFO of Access Media 3, where he oversaw all accounting, corporate finance, and treasury functions. At TBI, Shah leads the finance, commissions, human resources, IT, training, and sales support departments.

Mike Onystok is responsible for TBI’s corporate strategy and operations. He leads the Master Agent’s operational plan for development and growth, ensuring a superior work quality and level of service. His focus is on continuous business process improvement, developing innovative partner and vendor programs and building relationships across the indirect channel. His tenure with the Master Agent started in 2008 as a Supervisor of Inside Sales, and has since held roles of Director of National Telesales, Director of National Channel Sales and VP of training, marketing and inside sales. He helped design and evolve TBI’s Omni Center, a multi-channel contact center that performs both outbound and inbound vendor and partner campaigning. Onystok has served as Chicago Chapter President for the Professional Association for Customer Engagement. He lives in Bartlett, Illinois with his wife Ashley and son Michael John III.

Scott Whalen brings 20 years of telecom industry experience to TBI, with the last 16 being in various leadership roles within CenturyLink. Most recently, he managed the CenturyLink/TBI relationship, helping to align products and channel sales teams across the country. Scott spearheaded many new programs within CenturyLink’s channel program, experiencing success across the board, achieving president’s club status and helping to solidify TBI’s diamond status and highest customer retention rate. As Senior VP of Strategic Partnerships, he works closely with vendors to identify products and create specific programs that TBI partners can leverage to increase sales.

As Vice President of Global Sales, Smith oversees all sales strategy and partner growth initiatives for TBI’s global market, covering North America and EMEA. Before working at a Master Agent, Smith was Vice President of the Southwest Region for PAETEC, Director of Channel-Texas for XO Communications and Senior Vice President of National Sales at Intelisys. Outside of work, Smith enjoys spending time with his 13-year-old daughter, traveling the world with her. He is an avid sports fan, with his favorite teams being Chelsea FC, Oklahoma Sooners Football and the Dallas Cowboys, which he is a season ticket holder. He is also involved with the family and youth organization, Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch.

Knudsen is the Vice President of Sales Operations at TBI. In this role, he has developed a team of 50+ employees with a focus on customer satisfaction, retention and growth. His responsibilities include leading operational strategy and providing overall management by identifying and implementing processes and procedures to improve efficiencies. During his five years with TBI, he has fulfilled various roles, including Partner Experience Manager, Manager of Sales Operations, Director of National Channel Sales, Director of Emerging Technologies, and Senior Director of Operations. Adam holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Management from Bellevue University.

As Vice President of Emerging Technologies at TBI, Patel works closely with vendors to identify next-gen products and create specific programs that TBI partners can leverage to increase sales. With over 20 years of experience discovering solutions in IT & Telecom services, Patel brings a plethora of experience to TBI, specifically focusing on sales and engineering. Most recently, he worked with GTT on building out a new enterprise sales organization focused on sales and customer success. Anish left GTT with many accomplishments, including his ability to achieve organizational goals while fostering strong SE and Sales relationships.

Keith Connolly is Vice President of Sales for TBI’s east region spearheading channel team development and providing strategic direction for partner growth initiatives. He brings 25 years of telecommunications sales leadership, 18 of which were spent in the indirect channel. Prior to joining TBI, Connolly served as Vice President of Channel Sales at Windstream Communications from 2008 – 2017 and Channel Manager from 2002 – 2007. Under his leadership the East Region exceeded YoY sales goals for 9 consecutive years. Additional sales and leadership recognition include: 8-time Vice President President’s Club recipient, 5-time Vice President of the Year honoree, 3-time President’s Club Channel Manager recipient and a Channel Manager of the Year honoree.

As Regional Vice President, Channel Sales, Sanchez leads a channel sales team of seven to initiate and develop successful partnerships. He is responsible for fostering and maintaining strategic relationships with TBI’s top providers, executing on joint selling initiatives, and participating in strategic planning around increasing profits for TBI partners. He works with his team to bring new value to TBI’s selling partners, enhancing customers’ ease of commerce and improving business outcomes for the end-users through the technology and vendors we offer. Sanchez has been with TBI for more than eight years, starting in the company’s omni center, working his way up to channel manager and eventually reaching his current role of Director of National Channel Sales. In his free time, Marco likes spending time with his family and cheering on the Chicago Cubs.

As Vice President of Partner Experience, Cohen spearheads go to market initiatives for both suppliers and selling partners. She works hand-in-hand with TBI departments to create a stellar partner experience that instills loyalty, evangelism and repeat business. Under her purview, TBI will continue to grow through innovation, launching tools to improve business. Previously, Cohen served as TBI’s Vice President of Marketing. She built TBI’s marketing program, established a content program that generates over 50% of incoming leads and was responsible for TBI’s corporate strategy and messaging. She previously sat on the board of the Professional Women’s Club of Chicago and was recognized as CRN’s Women of the Channel in 2018 and this year 2020. In 2019, Cohen was awarded an American Business Bronze Stevie Award for Marketer of the Year and her team earned a Gold Stevie Award for Marketing Department of the year. In 2019, her team received numerous awards and recognition by Hermes Creative, Marketing & PR Excellence and VidYard for work in design, social media, content writing and video production. Cohen was most recently awarded a Silver Stevie for Woman Executive of the Year within Business Services by the American Business Awards.

Former National Channel Director at 8x8, Jim Wolande, has joined TBI as Vice President of Corporate Resellers and VARs. In this role, he will lead TBI’s VAR strategy, developing explosive growth on next gen offerings around cloud, data centers, security, Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and edge. His focus is on delivering scalable programs for VARs and MSPs, leveraging TBI’s robust resources aligned with the vendor’s technical expertise all around driving strategic partnerships. He has been instrumental in significant deals with TBI and strategic selling partners during his time with 8x8, as well as National Partner Manager dedicated to TBI while at Verizon. “ This organization is about to change the game for the partner community around emerging markets, and I am honored to leverage my experience during this perfect storm with Master Agent TBI,” Wolande said. Prior to his life in telecom, Wolande was Partner/Head of Operations for production company, HD Ready LLC, that owned and operated the rights to “Soundstage” for PBS television music episodic series. A musician himself, he filmed artists such as Bon Jovi, Dave Mathews, Fleetwood, Mac, Tom Petty and many more – building a lifetime of memories and stories in the music industry! He’s been married 32 years, resides in Lake Geneva, WI. and has two sons.

As TBI’s Vice President of Marketing, Devine focuses on strengthening the TBI brand, increasing pipeline and market share and optimizing marketing programs and processes for a superior partner and provider experience. Devine previously served as Vice President of Vendor Solutions at Tech Data. During her time with Tech Data, she successfully built go-to-market strategies for the technology distributor and its leading technology vendors. Prior, she was Vice President of Vendor Marketing at the organization, having extensive experience in supplier business and marketing. Devine has been recognized in CRN’s Women of the Channel 2020 and holds a Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from Villanova University. Born and raised in Colorado, Devine is one of five siblings and has three sons of her own, plus two dogs. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, cooking, hiking and traveling. She loves listening to music and true crime podcasts.

Jackie Landuyt serves as TBI’s Director of Finance. She joined TBI in 2013 as a Commissions Analyst and has been promoted to oversee the commissions analyst team, first as a Senior Commissions Manager and now as Director of Finance. Landuyt provides customer support and ensures accurate monthly commission payouts while developing new processes and programs to hold TBI Providers accountable through proactive audits and disputes and also assists with internal reporting as it relates to audits and profitability analysis. When not working, you can find Landuyt traveling, trying new restaurants and spending time with family. Landuyt holds a BS in Finance from Indiana University.

Dave Landsberger started at TBI as Sales Trainer and has built the training program from the ground up. Landsberger has created trainings for Channel Sales, support, traditional agents, Omni Center, Omni Center partners, and partner recruitment. He also spearheaded the creation of the University of TBI – our agnostic, self-paced training platform and he has built a team that helps onboard new agents, reducing the time it takes to get them up to speed and selling. Additionally, he visits our partners and their sales teams across the country, educating them on solutions, vendors and basic channel know how.

Matt (Turk) Turczyniak oversees all Omni-Center Sales and Training operations. His group is responsible for all direct Outbound, Referral, and Retention sales efforts, focusing mainly on new-acquisition and some customer-retention. As one of the longest tenured employees at TBI, Matt has been able to utilize his 15+ years of call center experience to transform the Omni-Center into a well-oiled machine that fuels the growth for the rest of TBI. His strengths include being highly organized, developing efficient processes and procedures, and proving coaching and development for entry-level Account Managers looking to career-path into other roles within the organization. Turczyniak is married with 2 daughters and also enjoys spending time with his 2 dogs; 6 year old Bernice Mountain dog Ty, and 9 year old German Shepard, Nemy.

As TBI's Sr. Director of Sales Operations, Bryan oversees an organization of 75+ individuals who provide TBI’s Partner community with unparalleled back office support ranging from quoting and solution design to implementation advocacy and project management. He plays a pivotal role in the company by ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of the company's sales initiatives by identifying ways to improve, optimize, and simplify sales processes. The drivers of his organization are rooted in disrupting the boundaries of sales empowerment and cultivating an environment of superior customer and partner experience. Reynolds is an avid contributor to the industry and has been recognized by many third-party organization for outstanding cultural ingenuity and leadership. Outside of work, Bryan enjoys cooking and spending time with family and friends.

Bill Vander Vennet serves at TBI’s Sales Director, Strategic Partner Programs. For the last 15 years, Bill has focused on both building and growing new lines of business within existing organizations such as Bridgevine and Acceller. Prior to that, he worked at AT&T where he stood up the organization’s consumer alternate channel program with major retailers and computer OEMs. Vander Vennet joined TBI in 2016 and spearheads the strategic referral program, augmenting the company’s existing partner base and expanding this program into new vertical markets. He resides in Austin, TX and when not working you can catch him taking in live music, exploring new restaurants and golfing.

David Cullum is Director of Information Systems & Technology. He started his career at TBI in 2011 working as a national account executive, then progressing to backend systems, having taken on roles such as sales analyst, data analytics and business intelligence manager. Cullum’s background in sales and market research made him successful in building vendor campaigns for TBI including CenturyLink and Time Warner, where he took his own metrics and campaign tracking and was asked to roll out data tracking company-wide. He was instrumental in selecting TBI’s current CRM and ERP system, integration, implementation and deployment. His team is responsible for systems, infrastructure and supporting employees with business process automation. Cullum resides in Florida, has a 7 year-old son and attributes his successes to identifying great talent, system design and utilizing data to make better business decisions.

Mellor is Director of Sales for the East Region; he leads a team of channel managers that spans from the Northeast to Florida, all whom are assisting TBI’s partners in defining, initiating and growing their businesses. He works with his team to bring new value to TBI’s selling partners, enhancing customers’ ease of commerce and improving business outcomes for the end-users through the technology and vendors we offer. Mr. Mellor spent 16 years as a Channel Manager for Windstream/PAETEC, and started his career in telecom at AT&T. He has a long history of supporting partners and strategically helping them grow revenue. Mellor has been recognized multiple times as a President’s Club winner at both Windstream and AT&T. Boe lives in Pittsburgh and is an alumnus of Robert Morris University.

Hoffman is the Director of Information Technology and Facilities at TBI. This position is responsible for TBI’s infrastructure and SaaS systems. Additionally, helpdesk falls under his management, this would include both internal employee support along with partner support for services including NetSuite and the TBI OnDemand app. Hoffman's experience in the telecom industry has roots with equipment manufacturers and service providers, with some of the industry’s largest players helping develop solutions to support their customers.

Dalton is the director of marketing for TBI with responsibility for developing and growing our award-winning marketing team, overseeing TBI’s demand generation strategy and partner marketing center strategy. Dalton brings more than 15 years of experience in the technology, SaaS and telecommunication industry. Dalton recently was at SurePayroll, A Paychex company, an online payroll software solution where she oversaw the partner marketing and partner service teams. Prior to SurePayroll, held various management positions with RevenueWell, First Communication, Comcast Business and CIMCO Communication with responsibility for partner marketing, digital marketing and product marketing. Dalton holds a BS in Marketing from Southern Illinois University.