Founders
Chris Mele, CEO
Chris Mele is CEO of CompanionCabinet Software, a cabinet software company he and Brent founded in 1997 to help cabinet dealers improve their customer's experience when buying kitchens. Chris has authored hundreds of resources for the industry and is co-host of the Dealer's Voice talk show. Since its founding, CompanionCabinet has been recognized for innovation by the Kitchen Bath Business Magazine, Intuit, and most recently, as the Best IT Product in Charlotte by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce (Blue Diamond Award). With the latest launch of CereSolutions, CompanionCabinet has gathered even more accolades for innovation.
Prior to founding CompanionCabinet, Chris worked for Ernst & Young where he helped lead the first SAP implementation in the U.S. and helped Fortune 100 companies take advantage of the web at a time when it was still very new. Chris graduated from Miami of Ohio with a B.S. in Computer Science and, in an interesting turn of events, is now recognized as the industry's sales and marketing guru. In his free time, he sits on several boards for smaller tech start-ups. Chris is an avid scuba diver and free diver, having reached breath holds in excess of four minutes!
Brent Jackson, President
Brent grew up in the cabinet business. His family owned several cabinet dealerships in the U.S. Brent has worked with over one thousand kitchen designers and hundreds of dealers helping them improve their performance. He helped create the 4M Sales Process®, the standard selling process for selling kitchens. Brent is co-host of the Dealer's Voice talk show. He has managed and worked in every business function of a cabinet dealership and is recognized as THE cabinet industry guru.
Prior to founding CompanionCabinet, Brent worked at Ernst & Young on IT projects for many Fortune 100 & Fortune 500 clients. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a B.S. in Management Information Systems. In his free time, Brent is a one-man band (for real) and enjoys playing the guitar, keyboard, drums and vocals.
Management
Steve Foster, VP Operations
Steve Foster brings over 20 years of management experience to our team. His experience includes seven years as Vice President, Director of Operations and CFO at one of the Southeast’s largest independent cabinet dealerships. Steve is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and holds degrees in Accounting and Management Information Systems. In addition to helping shape the vision for CompanionCabinet Software, he is responsible for the overall customer experience on our software platforms as well as all company operational activities.
In his spare time he serves as Vice President and Treasurer of the Charlotte Starz youth fastpitch softball organization.
Nick Ritota, Director of Sales & Marketing
Nick Ritota has over 30 years of kitchen industry experience including 18 years as General Manager of a design-build firm in the Northeast. He has held positions with Masco (MAS) including Senior Trainer for product, design and software, Business Development Manager for a $60M + product line and as Director of Marketing. He has extensive experience with design software, is certified on QuickBooks and has trained designers and salespeople throughout the country.
Nick is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University where he holds a B.S. in Marketing. He also holds a Certified Kitchen Designer (CKD) and Certified Bath Designer (CBD) from the National Kitchen and Bath Association.
Nick is responsible for dealer and manufacturer sales throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Blair Swogger, Chief Financial Officer
Blair has over 40 years of diversified financial and operational experience with small to large public and privately held companies. Prior to joining CompanionCabinet Software, Blair was COO/CFO of H3Sportgear and Jarden Home Brands in Muncie, Indiana, a consumer products company that manufactured and globally sourced consumer consumables (i.e. Ball, Diamon, Forster, Kerr) composed of metal, glass, and plastics.
Blair’s professional career has included positions of Cost Accountant, Plant Controller, Division Controller, VP Finance, Material Director, VP Finance & Operations, and COO/CFO. His experience includes cost accounting, forecasting and analysis, supply chain management, TQM, Six-Sigma, ISO, Activity Based Management, Acquisitions, preparing companies for sale, plant closures and consolidations. He also led implementation of MAPICS II and JBA International ERP systems as well as migrating an acquisition into SAP.
Blair is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College, MBA and Saint Francis University, B.A. Business Administration.