Executive Managment Bios

Irv Shapiro, CEO & CTO

Irv Shapiro is responsible for overall business strategy and corporate leadership. Irv’s successful entrepreneurial experience includes founding Metamor Technologies in 1985. Under Irv’s leadership, Metamor was named an Inc. 500 company for two consecutive years, growing to over 500 employees and $32 million in revenues. In 1997, Metamor was sold for $38 million to CORESTAFF. In 14 months at CORESTAFF following Metamor’s sale, Irv participated in 10 acquisitions, directed the growth of Metamor to $52 million in sales and helped to architect the creation of a $250 million consulting services group. He founded Edventions in 1999, which was sold to Edison Schools in 2001, then he spent a year as the COO of Jemmco, a $500 million hedge fund. Prior to founding Metamor, Irv spent 5 years at Digital Equipment Corporation as the Data Communications Expertise Center Manager.

On October 10th, 1996 Irv was inducted into the "Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame" sponsored by University of Illinois at Chicago, the law firm of Lord Bissell and Brook, and LaSalle National Bank. In 1997, he was a finalist in the KPMG Illinois High Tech awards. Irv earned a BS in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis.

Cindy Pogrund, VP of Sales & Service

Cindy Pogrund is responsible for sales and support services. Prior to joining Ifbyphone, Cindy held multiple positions at Xpedior, a $250M systems integration firm created by combining Metamor Technologies with other Corestaff entities. Cindy’s roles included President US Operations and Senior President Midwest Region. Prior to Xpedior, Cindy directed the Metamor Technologies Networking and Infrastructure practices. Over the last couple of years Cindy has delivered strategic consulting services to multiple organizations in the non-profit sector. Cindy earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BS in Management Information Systems from University of Illinois.

Josh Kugler, VP of Technology

Josh Kugler is responsible for the systems and technology groups. Prior to joining Ifbyphone, Josh worked with Irv at Edventions as the VP of Operations. Josh was also responsible for Edison Schools’ student achievement technologies. Prior to Edventions, Josh spent 12 years at Ameritech in roles including technology operations, call center management, and software development management. Josh earned an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BA in Math and Computer Science from Emory.

Jason Pinter, Director of Finance & Administration

Jason Pinter is responsible for Finance and Administration. He began his career as a consultant in Andersen’s Business Consulting Practice, where he was involved with several strategic and system implementation projects. After Andersen, he spent approximately 5 years at Kraft Foods, working in Corporate Marketing Services, category, and operations finance. Jason then moved to Orbitz Worldwide, where he supported product and marketing finance and the Corporate FP&A team. In his roles at Orbitz, he supported integration efforts with Cendant Corporation and an IPO. Jason has his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he concentrated in Strategy, Marketing, and Real Estate. He has a B.S. in Business from The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, where he majored in Finance and minored in Psychology.