Leadership Team

Meet the Visionaries Driving Opengear’s Network Resilience Solutions

Patrick Quirk

President

Patrick Quirk is a business and technology executive who specializes in operations management, strategic partnerships, and technology leadership in data center, telecommunications, software, and semiconductor markets. Prior to joining Digi, he spent the past four years as CTO of Nautilus Data Technologies, leading their transformation from a data center operator to a technology provider. Quirk was the President of Avocent Corp, a subsidiary of Vertiv, the Vice President and General Manager for the IT Systems business, and the VP/GM of Converged Systems at Emerson Network Power. He has held numerous global leadership roles in startups and large multinational companies including LSI and Motorola in the networking and semiconductor markets.

Patrick has an MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, a master’s degree in engineering from UAH and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University.

Douglas Wadkins

Chief Technology Officer

Douglas has deep product management, strategy, business development, and general management expertise in unified communications, cloud PBX and contact center, enterprise, carrier, and mobile networking, IoT, security and subscription-based business models. Prior to joining Opengear, he started and grew T-Mobile for Business’s Product and Strategy team which is responsible for all non core wireless businesses. He has been a member of the founding management team of several Silicon Valley technology startups with two successful exits and has taken stagnant companies with differentiated technology and found new markets leading to acquisition. Douglas has developed patented technology and written technical standards specifications for industry consortiums as well as contributed to standards bodies like the IETF, and ETSI.

Tracy Collins

VP of Sales, Americas

Tracy has over 25 years of experience in leadership positions in the IT and Infrastructure industry. Prior to joining Opengear, Tracy led the Americas business for EkkoSense, the leading provider of AI/ML software that allows data center operators to operate more efficiently. Prior to joining EkkoSense, Tracy was the CEO of Alabama based Simple Helix, a regional colocation data center operator and MSP. Tracy spent over 21 years with Vertiv, in various leadership positions including leading the global channel organization.

Tracy has an extensive background in sales leadership, and channel development with a strong track record of driving growth while improving profitability. Tracy holds both a Bachelors of Science, Business Administration, and a Masters of Science in Management from the University of Alabama – Huntsville

Alan Stewart-Brown

VP Sales, EMEA

Alan Stewart-Brown is VP of Sales EMEA with responsibility for overseeing all Sales, Channel Development, Marketing events and SE activities across the EMEA region. Alans’ primary focus is the development and execution of sales strategies, talent development and channel initiatives that will ensure the accelerated growth of the Opengear business across the region. Alan brings 25 years of sales leadership experience gained across the technology sector, including Wireless LAN, Enterprise Software, BI Analytics and e-Commerce. Before joining Opengear Alan held Senior Pan-European Sales Management positions at Xirrus, Fiserv, AIM Technology, eColor and Phoenix Technologies. Alan holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Imperial College, London

Brendan Walsh

VP Sales, Asia Pacific

Brendan Walsh has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience and is responsible for sales leadership in the Australian Region. Brendan is a results focused sales leader with extensive success in the IT industry. Prior to joining Opengear, Brendan held senior roles with Qbt and Avocent forging new partnerships with key partners and developing direct relationships with corporate customers. Brendan excels at working with key accounts and building relationships in the data center markets. Brendan holds an Advanced Diploma of Computer Science from RMIT in Melbourne.

Ashley Sturm

VP of Marketing

Ashley Sturm is Vice President of Global Marketing at Opengear, where she leads global brand and marketing strategy to elevate market presence and support business growth. With more than 15 years of experience in strategic marketing, she is known for shaping global brands, crafting compelling narratives, and guiding high-performing teams. Her background includes senior marketing roles in the data center and technology sectors at Nautilus Data Technologies, NTT Global Data Centers, and Vertiv. Ashley holds a degree in Journalism and Converged Media from the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism.

Johnny Thorington

VP of Product Management

Johnny Thorington leads the solution direction of Opengear’s company’s connected infrastructure portfolio. He brings more than three decades of experience in product management, engineering, and executive leadership, with a track record of driving growth at technology firms including ADTRAN and Synapse Wireless. Before joining Opengear, he served as CPO and Vice President at Synapse, overseeing the product strategy of award-winning enterprise scale IoT solutions and edge-computing platforms. He has also held senior product roles at ADTRAN, where he helped guide market leading broadband networking systems to market. He holds an MBA from Vanderbilt, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Auburn University.

Charlie Knudsen

VP of Engineering

Charlie brings over 25 years of leadership experience in engineering, manufacturing, and operations. As Vice President of Engineering, he leads global hardware and software teams focused on delivering reliable, scalable, and innovative product solutions. Charlie previously served as Vice President of Operations at Opengear, where he led global manufacturing, quality, compliance, and ERP integration initiatives. Throughout his career, he has championed LEAN and Six Sigma methodologies to enhance productivity, reliability, and customer value. He holds an M.S. in Computer Integrated Manufacturing and a B.S. in Manufacturing Engineering Technology from Brigham Young University.

➔ Schedule
a Demo

SOLUTIONS

INDUSTRIES

APPLICATIONS

TOOLS

LIGHTHOUSE®

HARDWARE

PRODUCT DATA

CORPORATE

CHANNEL SALES

TECHNOLOGY

CONNECT

CULTURE