Management Team

Kim Polese, CEO

As CEO of SpikeSource, Kim Polese is responsible for guiding the company’s business vision: enabling businesses to harness the power of open source as a flexible, reliable and cost-effective solution for business-critical needs. Prior to SpikeSource, Kim cofounded Marimba in 1996, and as President and CEO she led the company to profitability and a successful public offering. She then served as Chairman until Marimba’s acquisition by BMC Software in April 2004. Before cofounding Marimba, Kim worked at Sun Microsystems and was the original product manager for Java, leading its launch in March 1995. Prior to Java, Kim worked in Sun’s software division on object-oriented development environments. Previously, she worked at Intellicorp, Inc., helping Fortune 500 firms implement expert systems.

Kim earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biophysics from U.C. Berkeley and studied Computer Science at the University of Washington, Seattle. Kim serves on the board of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a coalition of executives working to improve the economy, health and quality of life for all citizens of the region through advocacy on major public policy issues. Kim also serves on the board of the Global Security Institute and the University of California President’s Board on Science and Innovation. She is a Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for Engineered Innovation.

Prem Kumar, Sr. VP of Engineering

Prem Kumar is responsible for SpikeSource’s engineering teams worldwide, overseeing the development of the SpikeIgnite platform and SpikeSource test infrastructure. Prem joins SpikeSource with over 20 years of industry experience. Prior to SpikeSource, Prem was at Oraclefor over 12 years, as VP of Development in Server Technologies Division. At Oracle, Prem was responsible for porting Oracle’s technology products to all supported hardware and OS platforms. Prem was responsible for migrating Oracle’s base development platform from Solaris to Linux. Prem had also managed the Windows Development and Product Management efforts since the first release of the product in 1994. Prem’s other responsibilities included the Build Labs; development process, infrastructure and tools; and IT infrastructure, operations and budgeting. Prem also managed the technology relationship with key Oracle partners, including Intel, HP, SUN and IBM.

Prem Kumar holds an undergraduate degree in Engineering from IIT Madras, and a graduate degree in Computer Science from IIT Bombay.

Tina Gregory, VP of Human Resources

Tina leads the human resource department and is responsible for employee programs worldwide, including company culture and organizational development. Tina’s primary focus is to help establish a work environment that is mature, fun, and most importantly, productive. Prior to joining Spike, Tina served as Human Resources VP for Ravix Group, a consulting practice to high technology start-ups. Prior to joining Ravix, Tina spent four years as Acta Technology’s Vice President of Human Resources and ran her own consulting practice for 11 years prior to that.

Tina holds a BS in Management (Human Relations and Organizational Behavior) from the University of San Francisco and holds memberships in various organizations such as NCHRA (Northern California Human Resource Association), SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management), GEO (Global Equity Organization), and World at Work (former American Compensation Association). She has over 25 years of Human Resources experience and has focused most of her career on high technology companies, specifically early stage growth companies.

Ramesh Shastri, Managing Director, SpikeSource India

As Managing Director of SpikeSource India, Ramesh Shastri is responsible for the operations of the company in India. Ramesh Shastri has over 27 years of industry experience. Prior to joining SpikeSource, Ramesh Shastri was Senior Vice President at Satyam Computer Services, where he spent over 11 years. In the early 90’s, Ramesh Shastri played a key role in pioneering the concept of offshore development centers before it became an industry best practice. More recently, he was responsible for technology verticals in the Semiconductor and Media & Entertainment sectors. Prior to Satyam Computer Services, he was Chief Operating Officer at Phoenix Global Solutions, Director at Cap Gemini America and Group Manager at Sonata Software. He has vast experience in product development and service delivery.

Ramesh Shastri holds a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and a Bachelors degree in Physics from Fergusson College, Pune.

Founder

Ray Lane, Founder and Chairman of the Board

Ray Lane is general partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Since joining KPCB in 2000, Ray has sponsored several of the firm’s investments aimed at improving enterprise productivity. He sits on the boards of privately-held companies Elance, Valdero, Metamatrix, Visible Path and two other ventures, and serves on the board of public company Quest Software. Before joining KPCB, Ray was president and chief operating officer of Oracle Corporation, where he led Oracle’s business expansion beyond its core database technology into enterprise applications and professional services. Sales grew from $1 billion to $10 billion during his tenure. Prior to Oracle, Ray was a senior partner with Booz-Allen & Hamilton, and served on its board of directors and executive management committee. Previously, he worked at Electronic Data Systems Corp (EDS), and IBM.

Ray received a Bachelor's degree in mathematics and an honorary Ph.D. in science from West Virginia University (WVU), and an honorary Ph.D. from Golden Gate University. Ray serves on the board of trustees of Carnegie Mellon University, and as vice chairman of Special Olympics International.