Jim Brasunas, Executive Director of the Information Technology Entrepreneur Network
Mr. Brasunas has 30 years of entrepreneurial, management, marketing and sales experience with technology-based companies. He has been involved with numerous start-up ventures, including telecommunications, information technology, retail, manufacturing and a number of non-profit organizations. Since 2006, he has served on the board of the St. Louis IT Coalition.
Since April of 2008, Mr. Brasunas has been Executive Director of the Information Technology Entrepreneur Network (ITEN). ITEN is an operating entity of Innovate St. Louis, a not for profit corporation. ITEN serves innovative IT start-up enterprises in the St. Louis region by providing support services and connections including expert mentoring, early stage technology adoption by larger companies, focused networking events, and preparation for angel and venture funding.
From 2003 to 2006, Mr. Brasunas was the President of the Technology Entrepreneur Center, a technology incubator in downtown St. Louis. He was responsible for directing all of the activities of TEC, including day to day management, mentoring the incubated companies, fundraising, and positioning TEC within the community. He secured funding from public and private sources and built TEC into a regional center for start up companies focused on information and communications technology. He forged important links between TEC and local universities, governmental entities and community leaders.
In 1999, he became the CEO of Partner Communications, a broadband company that provided 802.11b wireless internet services to apartment communities in the Midwest. Under his leadership, Partner raised $15M from a combination of local and national investors. During that time, he also served on the Board of Directors of Intira Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based web hosting company originally founded in St. Louis as Digital Broadband Networks (DBN).
Mr. Brasunas joined Brooks Fiber Properties at the inception of the company in early 1994 as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and served in a number of senior executive positions until the successful sale of the company for $3B+ in 1998.
Prior to joining Brooks Fiber, Mr. Brasunas held various management positions during an 11-year career with Nortel Networks. From 1989 until 1993, he pioneered the development of leading-edge technology and innovative financing solutions for the emerging Competitive Local Exchange market. Earlier, he was instrumental in providing Nortel's switching, data, and transmission products to the Department of Defense and other agencies of the Federal Government, including winning the largest telecommunications contract ever awarded by the US Air Force at that time.
Mr. Brasunas is a founding board member of both the Missouri Incubation Association (MOINC) and the Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children. He serves on the board of the MIT Club of St. Louis.
Mr. Brasunas holds a Bachelor of Science degree from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He pursued graduate studies in psychology and innovative management at the Institute for Comparative Studies, Gloucestershire, England. He has been recognized on numerous occasions for business and community leadership.
