Leadership
Meet the leadership that drives our marketing teams towards success.
Allen Finch started ViaMetric in 2004 with the vision of providing truly integrated marketing services that generate sales. Today, representing many of the biggest brands in business, ViaMetric is credited with having set a new standard in the marketing industry through its service guarantee.
Allen has more than 25 years experience working with Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, and national political leaders alike. Initially, Allen served the political marketing needs of a number of Federal officeholders and candidates and participated in policy work that gave rise to telecom reform and the Internet. Later, as CEO of one of the largest DC-based technology-marketing consultancies, Allen was credited with successful product and service launches for companies like Microsoft, Compaq (HP), MCI (Worldcom) and Sprint.
Allen later took on a turnaround-bid with networking giant Cabletron Systems, and as head of marketing, product and business development, helped realize a 7x increase in the company’s stock price. Since then, Allen has lent his expertise and backing to the start-up and sale of a variety of successful hardware, software and service companies, which ultimately brought him to the founding of ViaMetric. Allen graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing Communications and Journalism.
Jim Spurr has held executive and other leadership roles for sales and marketing functions in many industries over the past 30 years — from IT to aerospace, automotive, commercial construction, management consulting, and even retail. He has managed and performed the various mechanisms of buyer, seller, broker/negotiator, and consultant, successfully executing the full spectrum of sales, marketing, and delivery processes at startups, mid-market, and Fortune 500® companies, including EDS, GM, BRIVAR, Salion, V2Soft, and Williams International.
With a hands-on team philosophy, he has developed a common theme throughout his deep and wide career: measurement, data, and calculation: if it can be documented, it can be measured — if it can be measured, it can be improved. Jim has made a career out of finding patterns and relationships within data and processes. From developing predictive weather pattern models in his academic days to enterprise process engineering over the past decade, Jim now directs his considerable expertise to the continuous improvement and optimization of customer marketing programs, technology, and standards for ViaMetric. Jim holds a BSME, focusing on Thermal Science from Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI.
Trish Iversen brings more than 15 years of combined administrative, facilities management customer service and human resources experience to the ViaMetric team. For more than five years, she held the title of office manager for Advanced Sport Systems, an international action sports company based out of San Luis Obispo, CA.
She originally hails from the beautiful Central Coast of California, where she studied business administration with a minor in psychology. Her love of live music and outdoor activities brought her to Austin, TX, in the summer of 2006. Prior to joining ViaMetric in 2008, Trish supported SAP’s software development, sales and executive teams as office services manager for the Lean Manufacturing Division.
Mikeal Woods has more than 10 year’s experience in leading Sales and Business Development efforts. Prior to joining ViaMetric in 2013, Mikeal held sales leadership roles in a variety of companies, selling everything from exotic coffees and art to technology and digital marketing services.
Not only has Mikeal always distinguished himself by exceeding quota at both the individual and team level, as well as by the teams he managed, his skills ultimately earned him acceptance into the prestigious Kaufman Foundation’s Urban Entrepreneur Partnership program.
Following three very successful years as a New Orleans area entrepreneur with a graphic and web design, branding and marketing services firm, Mikeal merged his company with ViaMetric to build out its New Orleans office and ultimately it’s inside sales and digital outreach team. Prior to Mikeal’s sales and business experience, he was proudly a Physical Security Specialist with the Louisiana National Guard from 1996 to 2005. Mikeal also attended the University of New Orleans, where his major was in business.
Jeff Guillen joined ViaMetric in July of 2009 and quickly rose to become a valued member of our marketing team. He currently operates and manages the various digital outreach systems used at ViaMetric to help generate our clients’ leads. He is always experimenting with new ways of managing client outreach in an attempt to streamline the many processes involved with his responsibilities.
Jeff moved to Austin in summer of 2009 from McAllen, TX where he graduated from the University of Texas-Pan American with a BA degree in Fine Arts. He previously worked at Argot Ltd. as a data analyst, assisting them with their benchmarking of local school districts. He is very pleased with his relocation to Austin, due to his new found love of rock climbing (and his position with ViaMetric.)
Sarah Gardner came to ViaMetric in the fall of 2009. After starting her Marketing career with Allstate’s Internet Marketing team in Chicago, Illinois, Sarah decided to relocate back to Texas, where she was born and raised, to be closer to her family.
That’s when ViaMetric was lucky to find her. Sarah manages the many process and platform vehicles in place at ViaMetric to collect, assess, tabulate and and forward client sales opportunities. Much of her success in the role is as a result of her marketing experience having been built on such a solid foundation in Information Technology. Sarah not only knows what it takes to drive a successful marketing team, she knows the tools to get it done.
As Sarah continues her ambitious journey with ViaMetric, she’s pursuing a continuing education in the field of Information Technology.
Danielle Thornton has nearly 10 years experience in statistical analysis, operational optimization and software development and design that has quickly made her indispensable to the data team here at ViaMetric.
Danielle’s range of corporate experience extends from inventory control and purchasing, to employee efficiency management and training, to management and instruction across a wide variety of software and data applications.
Her work to draw focus and direction from large quantities of seemingly disparate data to the service of ViaMetric clients has found great success here. In fact, working with the data team, Danielle continues to engineer ways to drive ever more success through every ViaMetric client engagement.
Having attended Florida State University and graduated from Emory-Riddle Aeronautical University in aeronautics and business, Danielle still nurtures a love of all things aviation-related, but is currently happiest ‘flying-high’ with ViaMetric.
Dr. Nigl has distinguished himself as an applied behavioral researcher and professional statistician and has provided a high level of professional business research services to leading companies in verticals such as technology, professional and business services, telecommunications, software and hardware over the past 20 years. Clients who have benefited from his research and analytical expertise include Microsoft, HP, Verizon, Citrix Systems, Sony and Panasonic among others.
Dr. Nigl has particular expertise in database profiling, customer segmentation analysis, regression analysis and predictive modeling, price sensitivity analysis, conjoint analysis and brand power/brand loyalty assessment. He has published 5 books, 7 chapters and over 100 scientific papers and has taught statistics at the graduate level at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, San Diego State University and the Medical College of Wisconsin