About
The ESP Team
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Wallace Doolin, Chairman and CEO
Wallace Doolin brings 35 years of business experience to ESP. Wally has served as CEO and President of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide and TGI Fridays, President of Applebee's, Chairman and CEO of BUCA, Inc. and CEO of la Madeleine, Inc. and is currently Chairman and Founder of Black Box Intelligence and serves on the board of directors of Caribou Coffee. Wally is a widely recognized and respected leader within the global hospitality industry. His reputation reflects a consistent record of operating with integrity, developing high performance teams, and building thriving corporate cultures.
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Drew Palmer, President and Co-Founder
Prior to joining ESP Systems, Mr. Palmer was a business development manager at Microsoft Corporation and was responsible for creating and managing relationships with advertisers, strategic partners, and customers. Prior to his position at Microsoft, Mr. Palmer worked at Bank of America Capital Investors. Mr. Palmer graduated cum laude from Duke University where he majored in history and received a certificate in markets & management.
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Chris Simonsen, Vice President of Product Development and Manufacturing
Chris Simonsen brings over 20 years of experience. Chris began his career as a Circuit board designer for Babcock and Wilcox, specializing in nuclear power inspection and repair technology. Over the next 10 years Chris worked on hardware design projects in the areas of test systems, robotics, and fiber optic communications. During that time he also led several government projects for Department of Defense and Department of Energy. Chris next worked with the Cellular Phone Division of Ericsson. Upon the sale of this Ericsson division to Flextronics, Chris became the Business Unit Manager for Optical Manufacturing Operations with responsibility for all areas of manufacturing including engineering, procurement, finance, and final integration. Chris graduated with a degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University.
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Scott Boulware, Chief Financial Officer
Prior to joining ESP Systems, Mr. Boulware spent 13 years at PL Industries, a leading private label apparel manufacturer where he managed financial reporting, external audits, tax compliance, inventory purchasing, and corporate insurance. Mr. Boulware's other work experience includes four years with Price Waterhouse where he served as a Senior and Staff Accountant and performed financial statement audits for public and private companies. He received a BS degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1990.
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Dave Douglas
Dave Douglas, an ESP Systems Board Member, has spent the last 27 years developing, marketing, and implementing technology for the Restaurant and Hospitality industries. During this period, Mr. Douglas has worked with a variety of food service technologies and with many of the companies who use or provide these technologies. Over the course of his career, Mr. Douglas has developed many innovative strategies to successfully market and deliver food service technology to all types and sizes of restaurants, restaurant chains, and other hospitality providers.
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John Shurman
Former executive with the Coca-Cola Company, managing various Coke operations in different parts of the world. Last positions was President of Coke Brazil, third largest operation in the world. Presently has own consulting company, John L. Shurman and Associates, advising companies in the beverage, education, and technology industries. Graduated with an MBA from the University of Michigan and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
