Management Team

Mr. Brechin has served as our Chief Executive Officer since July 2008, as our Chief Financial Officer since March 2011, and as a director of the Company since January 2006. Mr. Brechin co-founded the Company’s predecessor, Pelican Mobile, in 1996 which had been a leading provider of rugged, mobile technology solutions providing services to branches of the U.S. military, various federal entities and numerous security and public safety agencies throughout the Mid-Atlantic region for more than a decade.

Mr. Brechin possesses years of technology expertise in the areas of hardware configuration, software installation, troubleshooting and network administration as a computer consultant for a number of organizations before founding the company. Mr. Brechin managed all aspects of the Pelican’s corporate and government sales, including sales strategy, partner/vendor relations, corporate structure, contract acquisition, training and development. In addition, Mr. Brechin managed Pelican’s financial planning, cash flow and risk analysis. He successfully closed over $20 million in sales and secured key client relationships. Through his sales efforts and strategic vision, Pelican was twice recognized as a top reseller of Panasonic equipment, including “Reseller of the Year” in 2004. Mr. Brechin has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and International Affairs from Kalamazoo College and a Master’s Degree in Information and Telecommunications Systems from Johns Hopkins University.

Mr. Rutherford has served as Chief Strategic Officer since December 2013 and, prior to that, as our President and Director of Engineering since July 8, 2008. He has also served as a director of the Company since January 2006. He co-founded Pelican in 1997 and served as its Vice President from 1997 to 2006.

Mr. Rutherford has more than 25 years of entrepreneurial experience in conceiving, developing and building technical solutions for clients in both the corporate and government sectors. For Pelican, Mr. Rutherford was responsible for all aspects of technology evaluation and deployment to meet its clients’ needs for mobile, ruggedized computing solutions. This included locating and assimilating complex solutions from various vendors to ensure a turnkey installation in highly variable models of police and fire vehicles. In addition, Mr. Rutherford launched and continues to develop Pelican’s technical support infrastructure, for which he and his team of engineers have been presented with awards for Outstanding Technical Support by various clients, including the Maryland State Police. Leveraging his extensive mechanical, electronic and computer expertise, Mr. Rutherford has developed a large array of products from concept, including a Mobile Training Center for the Department of Defense and proprietary irrigation control filters to eliminate RF interference from the Annapolis Naval Radio Transmitter Station.

Mr. Rutherford is the recipient of several awards for his innovative technology systems, including the “Comdex Most Innovative” award in 1998.

Mr. Hillman has served as Chief Operating Officer and President since December 2013.  Prior to joining the Company in 2012, Mr. Hillman served in various executive level capacities during his 25 year career.  Most recently, he spent 10 years as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Director of Game Trading Technologies, Inc. (“GMTD”), a publicly-traded company in the consumer electronics industry that he co-founded. Prior to his tenure at GMTD, Mr. Hillman was Vice President of Product Development at InterAct Accessories, Inc. and held various management positions at both Baltimore Gas & Electric and Constellation Energy Group.

Mr. Hillman has an M.S. degree in Finance from Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland, an M.B.A. degree from the University of Baltimore, and a B.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University.

Mr. Nelson has served as Managing Director since February 2010.  Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Nelson’s eleven years of automated traffic safety enforcement experience including implementing the largest and most successful speed enforcement camera programs in the United States (Montgomery County, MD and Washington, DC). Mr.Nelson served as the Director of ATSE for Montgomery County Police Program, where within the first two and a half years of his leadership, the program reduced the incidents of aggressive speeding while acquiring nearly $35M in revenue.

Prior to joining Montgomery County Police, Mr.Nelson worked for Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) as a Senior Program manager responsible for implementation of the nationally recognized Washington, DC speed camera program. Under Mr.Nelson’s oversight, the DC program grossed nearly $27M annually for the city’s traffic safety efforts. Mr.Nelson’s charisma and expertise have afforded him the opportunity to represent the Automated Enforcement industry on key legislative issues. He was instrumental in crafting the automated speed enforcement program in Charlotte, North Carolina and provided legislative testimony for NC, MD and DC governing councils. Mr.Nelson’s experience in legislation along with his congressional testimony has been the essential factor to the adoption of the first speed camera legislation in the State of Maryland (Montgomery County).

Maurice Nelson received his Bachelor’s Degree from Columbia Union College, (MD) and his Project Management certification from George Washington University, (DC).

Mr. Given has served as the Director of Citation Processing since February 2012.  Mr. Given develops and leads the citation processing and fines collections business.  He has over 20 years of experience helping municipal citation programs with on street parking enforcement, handheld and metering technology integrations, citation processing systems, motor vehicle systems interfaces, online service strategies, electronic and lockbox payment technologies and delivery, customer service and adjudication services and billing and collections.  Ron has architected, implemented, and delivered numerous enforcement and citation processing solutions for state and local government clients in the US and Australia.

Prior to joining Brekford, Mr. Given worked for Professional Account Management – now part of Duncan Solutions – where he was Vice President for Parking Solutions and managed over 15 processing and collections service contracts.  Prior to that Ron worked at Lockheed IMS – later ACS and now Xerox Services – in its parking citation and toll violation businesses, including a 2-year international joint-venture in Melbourne, Australia to implement the largest Red Light/Speed Camera/Parking Fines outsourcing contract in the world.

Ron Given received a B.A. in International Studies from American University in Washington, DC.  He actively participates with International Parking Institute (IPI) and Allied Affiliate conferences nation-wide.

Ms. Ellison joined Brekford in 2012 and is the National Director for the Vehicle Services division where she oversees sales and business development, as well as creating and implementing expansion plans for this division. She has over 10 years of experience in customer relations, operations, business development and management. Sarah has created and implemented vehicle and technology upgrades for state, local, and federal agencies around the region to include fleet management programs, in car, body worn, and fixed camera solutions, tablet and laptop mobility upgrades, and overall vehicle enhancement plans. These programs have provided for increased efficiency, productivity, and safety for the departments and their personnel.

Prior to joining Brekford Ms. Ellison worked business development in the staffing industry. She was responsible for opening and developing lines of business within her previous company that they had never had before. From initial client relationship, to contract fulfillment, hiring, and management of the staff; Ms. Ellison helped take these businesses to the next level. She grew the business size, revenue, and increased customer satisfaction and efficiency. Prior to that Ms. Ellison served in the United States Air Force.

Mr. Deleaver has served as a director of the Company since December 2007. Mr. Deleaver is a law enforcement veteran and security consultant with over 37 years of experience in local, state, federal, critical infrastructure and international security assessment and mitigation.

He currently serves as Immediate Past President of NOBLE, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, consisting of 58 chapters and 4,300 members, after serving as National President from 2007 to 2008 and National Vice President during 2006. Mr. Deleaver has served on Boards of various organizations, including the Ethics Board for Harford County, Maryland, the U.S. Service Academies Nomination Board, the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association as President, and state and regional chapters of NOBLE as President and Vice President, respectively. From January 2003 through December 2006, he was appointed to certain positions at the request of State of Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich, including Superintendent of the Maryland Natural Resources Police, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, as well as re-appointed to Chief of Police of the Maryland Transit Administration. While serving under Governor Ehrlich, Mr. Deleaver directed several initiatives as one of 8 experts under the Governor’s Homeland Security Task Force, traveling to Israel to participate in an international security program to assess threat mitigation systems implemented for critical infrastructure in the State of Israel, as well as performing an evaluation of surveillance systems implemented by the City of London in response to the subway and bus bombings of July 2005. From July 1998 to January 2003, Mr. Deleaver served as Director of Strategic Planning and later Chief of Police for the Maryland Transit Administration Police. From July 1992 to December 1998, he served as both Captain and Major and Executive Assistant to the Superintendent to the Maryland Natural Resources Police.

From 1969 to 1992, Mr. Deleaver served as an officer in the Maryland State Police, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant, during which time he served on the Executive Protection Detail for Maryland, where he protected three governors and was selected to serve on several protection details for visiting dignitaries.

Mr. Deleaver earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice from Miami Dade College of Assessments and completed graduate work through the Law Enforcement Institute of the University of Maryland.

Mr. Smith has served as a director of the Company since 2013 and has a wealth of experience in equity markets and track record of advising public companies regarding growth, capital structure, and financing strategies. Mr. Smith is currently the Managing Member of Evolution Advisors, LLC, based in New York, which offers services to growing middle-market companies including business plan development, capital structure review, merger and acquisition negotiations, and introduction to financing opportunities. He has also served as a Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Edison Nation since January 2011. Edison Nation is the nation’s largest open innovation network for independent inventors, enabling corporate partners to find new product innovation from inventors in 168 countries around the globe utilizing a proprietary search and matching process. Prior to these endeavors, Mr. Smith was the Managing Director of the Private Equity Group at Cowen and Company from June 2005 to September 2007 and a Principal in the Private Equity Placements Group at Banc of America Securities from 2000 to 2005.

Mr. Smith earned his Bachelor of Science in Business from Skidmore College in 1992.

Mr. West has served as a director of the Company since October 2012. He has been the Managing Partner at C3 Healthcare Solutions, LLC since he led its formation in March 2008 with five other members. C3 Healthcare Solutions provides business development and marketing consulting services to health care organizations including hospitals and physician practices. Additionally, Mr. West is the Chief Executive Officer of Pulmonary and Critical Care Associates of Baltimore, PA (“PCCAB”), a 43 physician group practice specializing in pulmonology, critical care, and sleep medicine. He is responsible for oversight of all financial, accounting, and billing operations and has led the organization to 55% revenue growth in the past five years. Mr. West is also the President of Proximall, LLC, a physician billing company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of PCCAB, formed in January 2012. Prior to these endeavors, Mr. West served as Administrative Director of Orthopedics, Neurosciences, and Bariatrics at Greater Baltimore Medical Center from August 2003 to February 2007. Mr. West board experience includes the Baltimore Spine Center from January 2005 to February 2007 and he is currently on the Executive Advisory Board of The Doctors Company.

Mr. West earned a Master of Science in Management from The University of Maryland in 1999 and a Bachelor of Science from James Madison University in 1991.