Team Members

Deborah N. Theobald

Chairwoman / Chief Executive Officer

Deborah obtained her master's degree in Aerospace Engineering with a concentration in robotics and human factors of space travel, including impact on human physiology and health maintenance. Her master's thesis included testing of a custom built haptic robot–human interface in varying environments including NASA's KC–135 microgravity jet. Deborah co–founded Vecna Technologies in 1998 and the Vecna Cares Charitable Trust in 2004. She has acted as Chairwoman and CEO through the company's growth and transition from a IT services focused company to the world leader in several product lines while simultaneously keeping the company's strategic service offerings strong. Debbie speaks regularly at conferences and has won numerous awards for her company's achievements as well as its strong commitment to social responsibility and improving the world for future generations.

Bill Donnell

Chief Sales Officer

After graduating from Yale University, Bill served on Active Duty as a US Army Medical Service Corps Officer. As a graduate student at George Mason University, Bill focused on business operations and health care delivery systems, earning a Masters of Science degree in Health Systems Management. With over 17 years of industry experience, Vecna clients call upon him to provide strategic direction for large-scale system development initiatives and business policy decision. Today, Bill serves as VP of Sales and Senior Account Executive for Vecna’s DoD/VA and Commercial sector business units.

Michael Bearman

General Counsel / VP Contract Management

Michael oversees Vecna's State and Federal government (non-military) business units. Vecna clients call upon him to provide strategic direction for large-scale software development efforts and business policy decisions. As General Counsel, Michael protects Vecna's legal, contractual and intellectual property rights, assists with business development, and interacts with clients on a variety of levels. Michael, while practicing law at McKenna, Long & Aldridge's Washington, D.C. office, gained experience in appellate and commercial litigation, government contracts, products liability defense, IP litigation, and corporate law. Michael graduated Cum Laude from Georgetown with a degree in law. While at Georgetown, Michael was a member of the "Law & Policy in International Business" Journal and represented juveniles in connection with the Juvenile Justice Clinic.

Ted Quinn

Chief Operations Officer

Ted D. Quinn is a member of Vecna's executive team overseeing a range of market facing and operating activities. Ted joined the Company in the fall of 2008 and brings 20 years of executive experience in the technology and services industries. Most recently, Ted worked as the President of The Consortium (Taylor Corporation) with overall operating, financial and marketing/sales responsibility. Prior to The Consortium he was a business manager at Teradyne Corporation where he held leadership roles in product development, strategic marketing and Teradyne's Asian operations. He also worked as a Senior Manager in the management consulting practice of Accenture Consulting and in the healthcare practice of Fletcher Spaght, Inc. Mr. Quinn obtained a bachelor of science in Economics from Brigham Young University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Daniel A. Theobald

Chief Technical Officer

The inventor of the Bear™, Daniel is well versed in the engineering sciences with extensive experience in software architecture, artificial intelligence (AI), electromechanical engineering and mobile robotics. His interests and expertise include robot control and mobility systems, object-oriented design, enterprise system architecture, and system integration. His graduate work at the MIT AI Laboratory included developing web-based control algorithms for a robotic Mars explorer, a progenitor of Spirit and Opportunity. Graduating at the top of his class at MIT, Daniel is the recipient of the Henry Ford II Scholar Award and the Hertz Foundation Award, as well as a fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Daniel holds BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.

Ben Bau

VP of Software Development

Ben Bau is a member of the executive team and oversees all aspects of software development at Vecna. His responsibilities include providing technical direction and guidance for all product development, ensuring that clients are benefiting from the latest technology advances, advising clients on achieving superior technology return on investment (ROI), and overseeing the quality of all Vecna software products and services. Ben has led numerous large software engineering projects for both commercial and government clients, consistently achieving superior results for the customer. Ben is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Andreas Hofmann Ph.D.

VP Autonomous Systems

Andreas joins Vecna as one of the world's leading experts on robotic motion control systems, a field at the nexus of artificial intelligence, machine learning, expert systems and robotics. His expertise focuses on advanced planning and motion control tasks for humanoid robots, with an emphasis on balance control in the presence of disturbances. A senior scientist and manager at Lisp Machine, GE and Pegasystems, Andreas co-founded Gensym Corp. (Trading symbol: GNSM.PK), a company specializing in automatic, supervisory-level control software for the chemical process and manufacturing industries. Among other duties, he was responsible for the development of key components of Gensym's flagship G2 real-time expert system. Andreas received a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering at MIT, a masters in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Ph.D. in computer science from MIT.

Chris Larsen Ph.D.

Senior Scientist

Chris directs Vecna's Research and Development Grants program, in addition to being a Senior Scientist. He came to Vecna from the Cognia Corporation where he developed a biological information curation system, Cognia Molecular. Prior to Cognia, Chris pursued a Post-Doctorate in cell biology at Harvard Medical School, as well as a teaching sabbatical at Phillips Academy. In his spare time, Chris loves running, teaching science to adolescents, cross-country skiing and yoga, in addition to playing trumpet, altohorn, and guitar for various community groups. Chris earned a BS in chemistry and biology from Mercer University, and a Ph.D. from Emory University.

Al Ramsey Ph.D.

Director of Product R&D

Al brings a diversified background in technology-based products and services to Vecna. With a B.S. and M.S. from MIT and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, his research areas include artificial intelligence, system dynamics, and aerodynamic design. Results from his doctoral dissertation were used to help design space probes for NASA missions to Mars. In addition to his research experience, Al also brings business experience as a Product Manager at a global web hosting company, where he was responsible for managing the data storage business unit. Outside of work, his interests include martial arts, such as taekwondo and hapkido.