J. Ames Cornish

Leadership: Identifying and pursuing new product and market opportunities. Recruiting, managing, and motivating technical and marketing teams. Raising investment and development funds. Communicating company vision to customers, influencers, and the media. Founder and CEO of venture-backed software company. Board Director for technology start-up, education, and non-profit organizations.

Marketing & Strategy: Business planning, forecasting, and analysis. Market segmentation, product strategy and partnering strategy. Competitive analysis and positioning. Product Management and cross-functional team building. Business development, software licensing and contract negotiation. Master's of Business Administration from Stanford University.

Technical: Software architecture and development with a wide variety of platforms and languages. Database architecture, integration, and development. Conceived, designed, and developed three award-winning software products. Inventor of US patent #7,519,948 for XML-based web application development. Master's degree in theoretical physics from Harvard University. Graduate-level computer science studies at Stanford University.

Security: Internet security auditing, policies, and implementation. Chairman and Founder of the SDForum Internet Security special interest group. Board Director for Infragard, an FBI-sponsored cyber-security organization. Certified Information Security Professional (CISSP), and certified PCI assessor (QSA, QPASP).

Experience

Founder and Partner. Founded successful consulting practice for internet security, business and marketing strategy, and application development. Clients include Hewlett-Packard, Reel.com, Philips Semiconductors, Charles River Ventures, and several start-ups.

Business and Marketing

Helped clients to successfully raise investment capital, enter new markets, and select strategic partners.

Entrepreneur-in-residence for one of Japan's big three technology corporations. Researched and identified target customer segments. Developed market entry strategy. Identified and qualified acquisition candidates and business partners for U.S. market entry.
Developed new business strategy and identified and qualified potential start-up acquisitions for a leading manufacturer of storage appliances and peripherals.
Investment due diligence, market fit assessment, and technical evaluation of a security software technology start-up for Charles River Ventures
Market analysis, strategy and positioning recommendations, partnering strategy, and business planning for Hewlett-Packard, including Unix and NT server divisions for direct and VAR channels to medium to large enterprises
Market segmentation, application analysis, and venture-capital presentations for 3ParData, an enterprise-scale storage server systems vendor, funded by Mayfield Fund and Oracle Ventures
Business strategy recommendations, financial projections, and security derivative valuation for Churchill-Madison Group, a business consulting firm
Business planning, technical architecture recommendations, and program management for Extempo Systems, a startup creating virtual interactive characters for enterprise customers
Business planning, financial modeling, and strategy consulting for a Biotech pharmaceutical startup

Helped clients to successfully secure web operations and to develop secure internet applications. Internet security engagements include penetration testing, security assessment, firewall and virtual private network configuration, cryptography integration, and secure web application development and architecture.

Forensic data recovery for an apparel manufacturer in litigation against former executives. Uncovered clear evidence of misconduct that was key to litigation.
Forensic data collection and analysis for a regional bank to confirm conflicts of interest and misconduct. Evidence was used to terminate IT executives.
Web application security testing and source code review for novel two-factor two-way Internet-based authentication system PassMark, used by Bank of America for online banking authentication.
Application security testing, penetration testing, and vulnerability scanning for Airframe Business Software, of their integrated business applications delivered as an Internet service.
Numerous Payment Card Industry (PCI) on-site security assessments and security scanning for multiple class 1, 2, and 3 merchants, processing service providers, and payment application developers.
Web application security testing and payment network penetration testing for multiple large credit-card payment processors.
Security assessment, Regulatory compliance review (HIPAA and California SB1386), traffic analysis, network architecture recommendations, and VPN installation for Cord Blood Registry. (Platforms: Cisco IOS, WatchGuard Firebox, Linux, HP Top Tools, Microsoft Active Directory, Cisco VPN)
Security architecture, design, and implementation of the web integration of cryptography and smart card technologies for planned retail and consumer deployments for Philips Semiconductors. (Platforms: PKI, MS Crypto API, C++, JavaScript, COM, ASP)
Security auditing, penetration testing, system hardening, host-based intrusion detection system implementation for PumaTech, an internet information synchronization and delivery company. (Platforms: Solaris, Linux, NT, SonicWall, Snort, Saint, Nessus, Unix shell scripting, CheckPoint, Cisco IOS)
Network and software security review and architecture for a secure eCommerce web application development for PumaTech. (Platforms: Solaris, Weblogic, Oracle 8, Java, http cookies, SSL encryption).

Helped clients improve product performance, add new product lines, and achieve competitive advantage through superior product information. Software development engagements include database and data-warehousing design and implementation, secure and dynamic web site design and implementation, and Java and C++ application development.

System architecture and database development of a 500,000-product video, music, and toy catalog for one of the top eTailers of children's products, FamilyWonder, funded by Accel and US Venture Partners. Trained and led engineering staff. (Platforms: Oracle 8, SQL, PL/SQL, Solaris, ColdFusion)
Movie database spidering (automated data retrieval from web pages) and merging into a data warehouse, and internal web site development for Reel.com, the leading internet video seller, now a subsidiary of Hollywood Video. Also developed an automatic script creation system, which generated robust SQL procedures from schema descriptions. (Platforms: SQL Server 6.5, Oracle 8i, Windows NT, IIS, Visual InterDev, PL/SQL, XML, XSLT, Perl, ASP, ODBC, C++, WinSock)
Design and development of SQL2XML, a database conversion utility that transforms tables in an SQL database to XML documents. SQL2SML automatically discovers the tables, columns, primary key constraints, and foreign key relationships in a relational database, and uses these to create an intelligent plan for which tables should be nested in hierarchical XML. (Platforms: Java, wfc XML, SQL, ADO, jdbc)
Product catalog database needs analysis, schema design, and process architecture for BigWords.com, a leading internet vendor of college textbooks (Platforms: Oracle 8, SQL Server 7, Solaris, Windows NT)
Development of a secure customer support site for Mirapoint, an email appliance startup (Platforms: IIS, ASP, SQL Server 6.5)
Internet and desktop software components for InfoMediate, an Internet "active delivery" startup (Platforms: Windows, COM, ActiveX, Visual C++)
Java performance-boosting and deployment techniques for Netmosphere, a web-based project management supplier which was acquired by CriticalPath (Platforms: Sun Java Plug-In, Netscape SmartUpdate)
Java-based "push" technology for Nuance Communications, a speech recognition software vendor (Platforms: Java, JDBC, TCP, VoxML)

President, Founder, and Chief Technical Officer. Founded and built authoring software company. Raised venture capital funding. Conceived, designed, and led development of multimedia authoring, web authoring, and children's products, which won a MacUser Eddy finalist award, a Technology & Learning "Best Software of the Year" award, and a Software Publishers' Association Codie finalis t award for "Best Consumer Software Application". Sold company to Sunburst Communications.

Business Accomplishments

Raised over $1.8 million in outside funding from private investors and venture capital funds including Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Recruited and managed senior sales, marketing, and technical management.
Proposed, negotiated, and closed a publishing agreement with Claris. Secured development contract with Taligent. Closed bundling and licensing deals with Apple Computer, Kodak, and Yahoo!. Negotiated acquisition of Vividus by Sunburst Communications, which was later acquired by Houghton Mifflin.
Represented company and products to the media through trade press interviews, trade show panels, user group presentations, mainstream business and consumer print media interviews, and national radio and television broadcast appearances. Selected and managed external public relations firm.
Managed marketing activities including print and web advertising, direct mail campaigns, press releases, trade show participation, two-tier distribution relationships and programs, and OEM relationships. Developed business plans, including product plans, competitive analysis, marketing plans, and budgets.

Technical Accomplishments

Managed design and development of Web Workshop, the web page creator for kids and families, which won an SPA Codie finalist award for "Best Consumer Software Application". (Platforms: C++, Windows, Winsock, tcp, ftp, http protocols)
Developed a prototype client/server graphic authoring environment in Java. (Platforms: Netscape, Java applets, http).
Designed and developed a business presentations application for Taligent, now a subsidiary of IBM (Platforms: C++, AIX, TaligentOS)
Designed and built a cross-platform C++ application framework used to produce Windows95, Windows 3.1 and Macintosh versions of our internet authoring tools. Special features included automatic memory management, type-safe lists and arrays, a robust class verification strategy, and a platform-independent versioned object file format. (Platforms: C++, OO design, Windows, MacOS)
Conceived, designed, and developed Amazing Animation, an animated creativity program for kids ages 5 and up, which won Technology & Learning's "Best Software of the Year" award, and was distributed by Claris Corporation, a subsidiary of Apple Computer Managed user interface testing, and human factors design. (Platforms: Macintosh, QuickTime, Metrowerks C++)
Designed and wrote Cinemation, a multimedia authoring tool which won a MacUser Eddy finalist award for "Best Animation Program". (Platforms: MacOS, QuickTime, Mathematica, Think C, Motorola 68040 and PPC assembly)

Applications Marketing Manager, Desktop Presentations and Multimedia. Responsible for all of Apple's Desktop Presentations marketing activities. Supervised a group of four market managers.Managed market research and focus group programs. Instigated and nurtured alliances with third-party software developers. Developed channel programs, sales strategies, and presented to thousands of customers and partners at Comdex, MacWorld, and Apple sales conferences.

Market Development Manager, Desktop Presentations. Championed Apple's entry into the mainstream business presentations marketplace. Developed target business-to-business market segments, positioning, strategic relationships, and product plans. Managed project teams and contractors to create sales tools, customer literature, trade show demonstrations, and seminar presentations.

Group Product Manager, Graphics Software. Recruited and supervised team of four product managers for business graphics software. Introduced and grew new product line to become the largest in our three-division business unit. Responsible for profit and loss, current product introductions and marketing, future product development, and channel development.

Product Manager, Graphics Software. Managed several graphics software products totaling more than $8 million in annual sales. Managed all aspects of the product life-cycle, including market research, product feature-set determination (MRDs and PRDs), budget proposals, product planning, pricing, customer support planning, manufacturing, packaging, public relations, promotion, advertising, sales training, and retail dealer approval. Successfully launched two new products through both direct and retail channels. Recruited retail distribution partners.

Corporate Finance Associate. Invented new bond (including terms, analysis, and marketing) in which more than $200 million was invested. Research and marketing in the Technology Finance Group. Valuation of new securities on the Product Development Committee. Coordinated the design and development of a linear programming system.

Programmer, Sociology Department. Developed BASIC and C language software for data analysis and for student use in sociology courses. Several programs have been nationally distributed.

Research Assistant, Physics Department. Developed techniques and computer programs for analyzing nuclear particle collisions to determine the mass of the neutrino. Designed and trouble-shot electronics hardware for an experiment to detect proton decays.

Summer Intern. Developed FORTRAN software for numerical modeling of chemical distributions in the ocean. The purpose of this work was to understand the ocean's behavior as a reservoir of carbon, and thus predict global climate changes caused by fossil fuel consumption.

Education

MBA 1984. Special interests: technology management, marketing, and entrepreneurship. Also completed graduate-level computer science courses in programming language design, computer graphics, expert systems development, and knowledge representation.

BA and MA cum laude in physics 1981. Accepted with sophomore standing. Main academic interests: theoretical physics, cosmology, psychology, economics, and philosophy. Toured Caribbean as a member of the Harvard Jazz Band.

Technical Proficiencies

Database Platforms: Architecture and implementation of data warehousing and eCommerce web applications on Oracle and SQL Server. Design of backup and standby systems, and database security policies. Integration of Oracle Financials with eCommerce systems. Designed and built multi-source, multi-product catalog database system for two leading consumer eTailing sites.

Operating Systems and Platforms: 9 years Windows, 10 years MacOS, 6 years UNIX and Linux. Also proficient with DOS, Apache, IIS, TCP/IP, ftp, IPSEC, NAT, html, smtp, nntp, COM, DCOM, ActiveX, OLE, XML, XSLT, Sun JDK, WebLogic, JavaBeans, J2EE, EJB, RMI, IIOP, ODBC, JDBC, QuickTime, and Microsoft VFW.

Programming Languages: Concept and implementation of consumer packaged software and commercial custom software, including 15 years C, 9 years C++ and 4 years Java. 11 years OOP and OOD, including Booch. Also proficient in SQL, PL/SQL, JavaScript, ASP, JSP servlets, Java Beans, Perl, Pascal, Basic, FORTRAN, APL, Forth, MRS (expert system language), LISP, Prolog, Smalltalk, and Z80 and 68020 assembler.

Special Design Expertise: Object-oriented frameworks, large-scale database schema design, animation, video, audio, user interface design, graphical authoring tools, and client/server applications. Conceived, designed, and developed three award-winning software products: Cinemation (multimedia authoring), Amazing Animation (children's creativity), and Web Workshop (web site authoring).

J. Ames Cornish
Résumé

Skill Summary

Experience

Education

Technical Proficiencies

J. Ames Cornish Résumé

Skill Summary

Experience

Education

Technical Proficiencies

J. Ames Cornish
Résumé