Executive Team
Mark Russell
Chief Executive Officer and V.P. of Research and Development
In his role as CEO of Infrared Industries, Mark Russell directs overall corporate operations and the company’s research and development efforts. Mark came to Infrared Industries in 1997 with considerable expertise in aerospace, automotive technologies, and business.
In his early years, he worked at NASA/Ames Research, where he was involved in the development of the space shuttle, flight simulation of the Concord, and the development of vectored thrust used for STOL aircraft. Later, he moved into the business world, where he piloted his companies into revenues of millions of dollars.
With his expertise in engineering and business and his team spirit gained from a lifetime involvement in motorsport racing, Mark is uniquely qualified to be at the helm of Infrared Industries. Mark holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.
Martha E. Rykala
V.P. of Software Development and Chief Financial Officer
Martha Rykala is a gifted computer programmer. Upon graduation, Martha was recruited by Control Data Corporation as a Software Developer for the then new super computers coming out of development. Seeing the future of PCs, Martha accepted a position to manage software development at Acer/Counterpoint Computers. During the explosive growth era of PCs, Martha took ever expanding positions at Zilog, Telestream, and Sun Microsystems. Martha was a key player through the growth years at Sun Microsystems, where for 14 years she was involved in leading teams of as many as 150 programmers to complete products–including one of their operating system releases–on tight schedules with even tighter resources.
She holds a B.S. degree in Mathematics from Michigan State University and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Washington, which made her the only choice to head software development at Infrared Industries.
Martha also has exceptional organizational abilities and many years of working with federal and state tax law, which made her a natural choice for CFO of Infrared Industries.
Barbara Diane Beeler
Marketing and Sales Director
Barbara Diane Beeler brings over 25 years experience in technology marketing to her role as Marketing and Sales Director of Infrared Industries. She served as Product Marketing Engineer and Technology Spokesperson (appearing on television and radio) at Texas Instruments, Product Manager at Novell, Product Marketing Manager at Lucent Technologies, Product Manager and Product Marketing Manager at BMC Software, Product Marketing Manager at eFunds (now Fidelity), and as Marketing and PR Consultant to many other companies.
She is a published author and has been a newspaper columnist and a PR manager for a large national organization. Barbara has a B.A. degree in Music from Agnes Scott College, worked on a Masters degree in music (piano) at the University of Tennessee, has the equivalent of a Masters degree in Computer Science through TI coursework, and holds a M.S. degree in Management and Administrative Sciences (in the School of Business) with a concentration in Management Information Systems from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Wayne Hom
Chief Engineer
Wayne Hom is a real asset as Chief Engineer with over 30 years electronic engineering and design experience. His expertise includes both analog and digital circuitry, microprocessor and microcontroller system designs, environmental monitoring, automotive diagnostic equipment, instrumentation, and industrial process control systems.
In addition to his work at Infrared Industries, Wayne serves as VP of Engineering at Maximum Controls, LLC, Senior Electrical Engineer at MillenWorks, Chief Engineer at Elite Access Systems and Worldwide Environmental Products. He has also been Director of Engineering at Peerless International and Balco and has worked as Project/Program Manager at Sun Electric Corporation.
John Schimandle
Electronics Engineer
John Schimandle brings a wealth of experience to his role as Electronics Engineer. He has a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from California State University, Sacramento. He has served as Lead Design Engineer at Hewlett-Packard, Engineering Consultant at 2Wire, Chief Technology Officer at VisiScan, president of Iguana Vision, and Chief Information Officer at Touch Sonic Technologies.
John’s principal strengths are complex design problem analysis, design, simulation, component selection, schematic capture, prototype implementation, software development, validation testing, production testing, and troubleshooting.