Advisory Board
Matt Davis
Matt has over fifteen years of experience in the telecommunication industry. After attending Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, he started his telecom career doing deployments with a Cisco partner. After working on many of the major carrier networks, Matt found a network to call his own with Frontier Communications. Just a few short years later, he joined the IFN family to help foster the growing network.
Matt has continued to stay on top of numerous technologies by earning and maintaining technical certifications. He is a Carrier Ethernet Certified Professional (CECP) with the MEF forum. Nokia Network Routing Specialist (NRS). Multiple Cisco certifications, including Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE).
Matt lives in Avon, IN, with his wife Megan and one son. When Matt is not building networks, you will find him relaxing in the backyard, smoking meat, and sipping bourbon.
Ron Galle
Ron Galle serves as a Board Advisor and Senior Consultant for Mytra. In these roles Galle serves as the primary financial and strategy consultant on client engagements. He is also responsible for all financial, tax, and administration for the firm. Prior to joining myTRA, Galle held financial leadership positions in the private and public sectors, including as CFO at Indiana Fiber Network (IFN – sold to Zayo Group Holding, Inc.), and Vice President of Finance at Hulman & Company/Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Hulman/IMS).
While at IFN Galle brought in new auditors and a new banking partner to scale the business, and was the financial lead during the largest growth period of IFN’s history. Throughout his time in corporate finance Galle has driven growth and efficiencies, and has worked closely with boards, committees, and outside consultants to generate strategic plans and initiatives.
At Hulman, Galle was involved in bringing new events to the IMS and helped create the motorsports investment district in Indianapolis. Before working in corporate finance, Galle was an audit manager for BKD LLP (now Forvis Mazars), a national CPA and advisory firm. In his ten years with BKD, Galle provided accounting, tax, and consulting services to a wide range of clients.
Galle is a graduate of Purdue University. He holds a CPA and CGMA designation and is a member of the Indiana CPA Society and the American Institute of CPAs. Ron has three adult sons, and resides in Zionsville, Indiana.
Bill Hager
Bill Hager has never been satisfied with the status quo. He looks at the way things have always been done and ask “why.” In that resolve he also is never short on sound creative solutions. Having started in telecom in the mid-eighties in Dallas Texas, Hager has spent the majority of his career working in the global carrier solutions space. He has held sales and management position with Cable & Wireless NA, Sprint, Ameritech, Focal, Qwest, TATA and Nitel. During his thirteen-year stretch with Qwest (CLNK/L3) he led a team that pioneered internet solutions into their global carrier business segment, Hager held executive level sales positions focused on developing, sales teams, revenue, product, and market specific solutions for carrier clients worldwide. He also participated in the launch Hong Kong office for Qwest.
Most recently, as Vice President of Carrier Sales at GTT Bill is responsible for bolstering the company’s position among carriers and solution providers. Hager and his team are leading the charge to develop client focused solutions to expand their global carrier Ethernet reach and Cloud connectivity.
Hager holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Iowa where he also on the wrestling team. He lives on the north shore Chicago. When he is not on a plane, he very enthusiastic about spending is free time with his wife and three daughters.
Becky Sanders
Becky Sanders has over 10 years of experience in the telecommunication industry and over 15 years of experience in rural healthcare and telehealth. She started her career in telecommunications with the National Exchange Carrier Association in their Whippany, New Jersey. Becky transferred to their Chicago, Illinois offices where she became the Manager of Tariffs and Training. She worked with rural telecommunication company staff in the 5-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Upon relocating to the Indianapolis, Indiana area, Becky joined the Indiana Rural Health Association in 2008 as an Assistant Coordinator where she created the Indiana Telehealth Network (ITN). The ITN was one of 83 grantees for the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC’s) Rural Health Care Pilot Program. The ITN began with the construction of over 200 miles of fiber optic network to 34 Critical Access Hospitals throughout the state of Indiana. This network has grown to include roughly 300 applicants and is now a consortium leader for the FCC’s Healthcare Connect Fund (FCC).
Becky’s role at the IRHA evolved to Program Director for the federally funded Upper Midwest Telehealth Resource Center (UMTRC) in 2011, covering the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. During her tenure as the Program Director of the UMTRC, she honed her skills as a national speaker and grant writer. Becky has a Lean Healthcare Black Belt Certification from Purdue Healthcare Advisors and is a past National Rural Health Association Fellow. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana State University and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Management from Western Governors University. Becky lives in Plainfield, Indiana with her husband and their two daughters. She is an avid reader with an interest in multiple genres including biographies, historical fiction, and sci-fi fantasy. On weekends you can find her family traveling to Renaissance Faires, Scottish Highland games, and gaming conventions
Tony Russell
Tony has more than 20 years of sales, new business development, and operations experience in telecommunications, data networking, and IT infrastructure. Tony earned a Bachelor of Science in Business degree with a Major in Marketing and a Minor in Computer Systems from Emporia State University and later earned a Master of Science in Management degree from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas.
Growing up in a small Kansas town and spending seven years of his career working at a family-owned independent telephone company has provided Tony with a solid understanding of rural markets. As employee number two at Kansas Fiber Network, he assisted in standing up the business by serving in several leadership roles and helped move the business to cashflow positive within four years.
Tony lives in Wichita, Kansas, with his wife and three children. He is excited to be associated with myTRA and is looking forward to adding value to the company and its clients.
Brad Seymour
Brad brings over 30 years’ telecom industry experience. Most recently, Brad served 15 years as General Manager of Texas Lone Star Network (TLSN). TLSN is a consortium of forty-one rural telecom companies which Brad recruited all of them. Brad coordinated with the member companies to create a statewide fiber-optic network and coordinated the purchase and deployment of the electronics to light the network and sell services on it.
Brad lead TLSN’s involvement as an INDATEL member and served on the INDATEL Board. INDATEL’s members represent more than 400,000 fiber optic route miles and over 1.5 million serviceable buildings primarily focused on rural and suburban America. INDATEL serves its customers through its national aggregation PoPs, reaching over 700 independent providers currently operating in 47 states.
He always enjoyed sharing ideas with all the INDATEL members. Brad was born and raised in Texas and lives in the Austin area with his wife of 34 years and his son. He is an avid musician and golfer.
Obadiah Smith, Jr.
Obadiah Smith Jr is a retired Air Force Reserve Chaplain who served 20 years within the Air Mobility Command. His last assignment was Wing Chaplain at Grissom Air Reserve Base in Kokomo In. He received a B.A. degree in sociology from Azusa Pacific University, Masters of Divinity from Fuller Seminary; MBA from Anderson University and a Military equivalent Master’s Degree. He is an ordained minister with the Church of God and has held several previous positions with Church of God Ministries as Director of Homeland Missions and Compassionate Ministries (disaster relief and sustainable development project around the world); and was Associate Director/Strategic partnerships with World Vision International before relocating to Anderson Indiana.
His international experience includes travel, programs, teaching, consultancies and sustainable development projects in Africa, Brazil, Haiti, Romania, Turkey, Israel, Athens Greece, Hong Kong and Sir Lanka.
Martie Willaby
Martie is a distinguished executive leader renowned for his strategic vision and transformative management approach within the telecommunications sector. With a career spanning over three decades at the helm of executive leadership, Martie has consistently steered organizations towards unprecedented growth and market prominence. In his role as Vice President of Carrier Sales at Segra, Martie exemplified leadership by orchestrating seamless team integration and driving substantial revenue growth within the Carrier domain. His strategic direction played a pivotal role in elevating Segra's value from $1 billion to $3 billion in just three years, underscoring his proficiency in executive management.
Martie's educational background includes a His unique blend of technical expertise, strategic insight, and transformative leadership make him an indispensable asset in executive management roles, guiding organizations towards sustainable growth and market leadership. Martie's unwavering commitment to excellence and his ability to navigate complex business landscapes position him as a trusted steward of success in today's dynamic corporate landscape. Martie has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Carolina, complemented by active involvement in the Delta Upsilon Fraternity.