Steve Dispensa, CTO & Co-Founder

Mr. Dispensa joined PhoneFactor (formerly Positive Networks) as Chief Technology Officer in 2001. Since co-founding PhoneFactor, he has had responsibility for product definition, architecture, product development, and operations. He also manages the overall technology strategy of the company.

Prior to co-founding PhoneFactor, Mr. Dispensa created Midwest Networking Associates in 1995, providing network consulting and integration services to ISPs, businesses and schools. In 1997, Midwest expanded into the Internet service business with a full line of consumer and business Internet access products. After selling Midwest Internet in 1999, a consulting engagement with Sprint led to his hire as the Director of Network and Systems Architecture within Sprint’s Broadband Wireless Group. During Mr. Dispensa’s tenure at Sprint, he was responsible for the network design and implementation of Sprint’s fixed wireless broadband Internet service. He also created and managed the systems development group, with responsibilities including development of the systems for monitoring and managing network performance. Other contributions to Sprint included the design of Sprint’s second-generation broadband wireless network and the corresponding network operations systems.

Mr. Dispensa received his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He has several patents pending in the fields of computer science and telecommunications, is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, and is a Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert. He has been recognized three years in a row by Microsoft as a Most Valuable Professional for his contributions to the Windows kernel mode development community. Mr. Dispensa is an innovative technology leader, educating others on data security by writing and speaking on the topic regularly in the United States and internationally, including RSA (US & Europe), Troopers, and numerous webcasts and podcasts.