Our Executive team is comprised of industry leaders with deep knowledge and expertise across various areas of IT. It is guided by an independent Board of Directors, the principals of which have extensive experience in the sales, service, and financing of hardware, software, and technology services.
The officers and members of the board bring to ePlus expertise gained in management positions at companies such as Textron, Computer Sciences Corporation, Telesciences, BDM International, LCC International, Comsat, and MCI Communications.
Our success and growth are driven by our management's vision, clearly-defined goals, and dedication to providing our customers with best-of-breed solutions and value-added services that allow them to achieve positive and impactful business outcomes.
The following biographies reflect the 2021 Proxy Statement (as of July 23, 2021).
Bruce M. Bowen
Independent Director
Age: 69
Director of ePlus since 1990
Committees: None
Other Public Company Directorships: None
Mr. Bowen founded our company in 1990 and served as our President until September 1996. Beginning in September 1996 and until March 2014, Mr. Bowen served as our Executive Vice President and from September 1996 to June 1997 also served as our Chief Financial Officer. In March 2014, Mr. Bowen stepped down as Executive Vice President, and he retired as an employee of the company in May 2018. However, he continues to serve on the Board, as he has since our founding. Prior to founding the Company, he served as Senior Vice President of PacifiCorp Capital, Inc., which was an equipment leasing company. In the past, he has served as Chairman of the Association for Government Leasing and Finance as well as various committees of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, which gave him a broad understanding of issues affecting our industry. During his leasing career, Mr. Bowen participated in equipment lease financing in excess of $3 billion, involving many major vendors as well as government contractors. Mr. Bowen is a graduate of the University of Maryland for both his undergraduate degree in finance, and his master’s degree in business administration in finance. Throughout his leasing career, he has been responsible for finance and funding, and sales and operations activities, providing the Board with a vast array of knowledge in a multitude of industry specific areas.
C. Thomas Faulders, III
Independent Director and Chairman
Age: 71
Director of ePlus since 1998
Committees: Audit and Compensation
Other Public Company Directorships: None
Mr. Faulders was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Virginia Alumni Association from 2006 to 2017. Prior to that, Mr. Faulders served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LCC International, Inc. from 1999 to 2005 and as Chairman of Telesciences, Inc., an information services company, from 1998 to 1999. From 1995 to 1998, Mr. Faulders was Executive Vice President, Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer of BDM International, Inc., a prominent systems integration company. Mr. Faulders also served as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of COMSAT Corporation, an international satellite communication company, from 1992 to 1995. Prior to this, Mr. Faulders served in a variety of executive roles at MCI, including managing a multi‐billion dollar leverage lease program as their Treasurer, leading the MCI Southeast Region for large account sales, and serving as the Senior Vice President of Business Marketing. He led mergers and acquisitions efforts in several roles, including at MCI, Comsat, BDM, and LCC International. He has served on numerous boards in the past and has held roles as chairs of compensation, audit, and governance committees. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The Board believes Mr. Faulders’ extensive executive and financial experience in the telecommunications and high‐tech sectors, along with his experience as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of a public company and his leasing and M&A experience, enables him to provide considerable financial expertise, business management and operational knowledge, insight and guidance to the Board. He qualifies as an audit committee financial expert within the meaning of SEC regulations.
Eric D. Hovde,
Independent Director
Age: 57
Director of ePlus since 2006
Committees: Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair)
Other Public Company Directorships: None
Mr. Hovde is an active entrepreneur who has started and manages numerous business enterprises. Mr. Hovde is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of H Bancorp LLC, a private bank holding company. He has served as a director on numerous bank boards throughout his career and has been serving on the board of H Bancorp’s largest holding, Sunwest Bank, since 2016, where he is also the Chief Executive Officer. Additionally, since 2014, Mr. Hovde serves as the Chief Executive Officer and co‐owner of Hovde Properties, LLC, a real estate development and management company, located in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition, Mr. Hovde founded and previously managed both Hovde Financial, an investment banking firm, and since 1994, Hovde Capital Advisors, an asset management company. Since 1998, Mr. Hovde, along with his brother Steve Hovde, established and continue to fund the Hovde Foundation. The foundation supports numerous charitable activities but has two central missions: (i) building and funding Hovde Homes, which operate around the globe to care for children suffering from abuse and abandonment, as well as children who have been rescued from slavery; and (ii) funding clinical research to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. Mr. Hovde earned degrees in Economics and International Relations at the University of Wisconsin. The board believes that Mr. Hovde’s expertise in the financial services industry, investment management areas and business operations, as well as his experience on other company boards, bring valuable insight to the board.
John E. Callies
Independent Director
Age: 67
Director of ePlus since 2010
Committees: Audit and Compensation (Chair)
Other Public Company Directorships: None
Mr. Callies has been a Senior Advisor to McKinsey and Company since 2011, and also serves on the Advisory Board of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado. Previously, he was employed by IBM in various capacities for 34 years. Mr. Callies served as General Manager of IBM Global Financing from 2004 until his retirement in June 2010. With operations in 55 countries supporting 125,000 clients, Mr. Callies led the world’s largest information technology financing and asset management organization and was responsible for business direction and management of a portfolio of nearly $35 billion in total assets. As Vice President, Marketing, On Demand Business for IBM, Mr. Callies had company‐wide responsibility for all marketing efforts in support of On Demand Business, along with leading the marketing management discipline for IBM. In 2003, he was appointed Vice President, Marketing and Strategy, of IBM Systems Group. Prior to that, beginning in 1996 when he was named General Manager, Small and Medium Business, IBM Asia Pacific Corporation, based in Tokyo, Japan, Mr. Callies had filled roles in marketing and marketing management. In 1991 he was named General Manager of IBM Credit Corporation’s end‐user financing division, now called IBM Global Financing. Mr. Callies is a former Chair of the Board of Governors of Fairfield Preparatory School in Fairfield, Connecticut, and former member of the Advisory Board of Lehigh University. Mr. Callies is a graduate of Lehigh University. The Board believes that Mr. Callies’ knowledge of our business, including the leasing sector, along with his sales, operational, strategic, international, and board experience bring value to the Board.
Ira A. Hunt, III
Independent Director
Age: 65
Director of ePlus since 2014
Committees: Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance
Other Public Company Directorships: None
Mr. Hunt has returned to his private consulting practice as President and CEO of Hunt Technology, LLC, the company he started after his retirement from Federal service. Hunt Technology, LLC, focuses on strategic IT planning, cyber and data‐centric security, big data analytics, and cloud computing. From July 2016 through October 2020, he was Managing Director and Cyber Lead for Accenture Federal Services in Arlington Virginia, and he has also served as Chief Architect for Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund located in Westport, Connecticut. Mr. Hunt retired from the Central Intelligence Agency (the “CIA”) in 2013 as their Chief Technology Officer after a 28‐year career in Intelligence. Prior to that, Mr. Hunt served as Director, Application Services, of one of the largest business units in the CIA. Mr. Hunt began his CIA career in 1985 as an analyst in the CIA’s Directorate of Intelligence and subsequently served in positions of increasing responsibility across the organization, including the Directorate of Intelligence, DCI’s Non‐Proliferation Center, Crime Narcotics Center, and Open Source Program Office, and Chief Information Officer. Mr. Hunt began his career in 1979 working as an aerospace engineer for Rockwell International and General Research Corporation. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Mission Link, a non‐profit organization, and on the Board of Advisors for Vaga Ventures and LookingGlass. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering in Civil/Structural Engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. The Board believes that Mr. Hunt’s extensive knowledge of the technology industry, including strategic IT planning, cyber and datacentric security, big data analytics, cloud computing, and IT architecture and environment, bring industry expertise to our Board.
Mark P. Marron
Director, CEO and President
Age: 60
Director of ePlus since 2018
Committees: None
Other Public Company Directorships: None
Mr. Marron became the CEO and President of ePlus inc. on August 1, 2016, and was appointed to the Board on November 14, 2018. He began his career at ePlus in 2005 as Senior Vice President of Sales and became COO in 2010. A 30+ year industry veteran, he was formerly with NetIQ where he held the position of Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Services. Prior to joining NetIQ, Mr. Marron served as General Manager of Worldwide Channel Sales for Computer Associates International Inc., a provider of software and services that enables organizations to manage their IT environments. Mr. Marron has extensive experience throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Montclair State University. Mr. Marron’s role as CEO provides the Board with access to an experienced executive with a thorough understanding of our business and the industry.
Maureen F. Morrison
Independent Director
Age: 67
Director of ePlus since 2018
Committees: Audit (Chair) and Nominating and Corporate Governance
Other Public Company Directorships:
Asbury Automotive Group Inc. and Safeguard Scientifics, Inc.
Maureen F. Morrison joined the ePlus Board of Directors in June 2018. She is a highly accomplished senior executive leader who retired in 2015 from a career as an audit partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP (“PwC”). At PwC, Ms. Morrison worked with prominent private equity backed entities and multibillion‐dollar global technology corporations. She has diversified experience in software, IT‐enabled solutions and consulting, hardware, and manufacturing. As a highly respected financial and accounting professional, Ms. Morrison has extensive experience in corporate boardrooms advising Audit Committees of midcap public companies, private equity‐backed entities, and Fortune 500 companies. Ms. Morrison currently is a member of two other for‐profit boards: Asbury Automotive Group, where she is the Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation and Capital Allocation & Risk Management Committees; and Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., where she serves as Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation and the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees. She also presently serves on the Education Committee for The Alliance Theater in Atlanta, Georgia, and previously served on its Finance Committee. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Rutgers University. The Board has determined that as a result of her broad experience with complex accounting, financial and risk‐related issues, as well as her experience on public company boards, Ms. Morrison is well-qualified to assist in the auditor oversight function as an Audit Committee member, and as a member of the Board. She also qualifies as an audit committee financial expert within the meaning of SEC regulations.
Ben Xiang
Independent Director
Age: 36
Director of ePlus since 2019
Committees: Audit and Compensation
Other Public Company Directorships: None
Mr. Xiang joined Veritone, an Artificial Intelligence platform company, as Vice President of Strategy and Operations, in February 2021. Along with driving Veritone’s AIaaS business, Mr Xiang is responsible for corporate development, strategy and growth. Prior to that, Mr. Xiang served as interim Chief Information Officer of Sunwest Bank from August 2019 – December 2019. Beginning in 2015 and through the present, he has served in a consulting role through Crescent Group, where his contributions included advising start‐ups and established companies in digital transformation and growth. From 2012 through 2019, Mr. Xiang held multiple roles with Ingram Micro, the world’s largest IT distributor, as Ingram’s global executive for the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and Mixed‐Reality business as well as roles in strategy and corporate development. He has extensive experience in cross‐border M&A, post‐merger integrations, and business operations. Prior to joining Ingram, Mr. Xiang was Managing Director of Fortress Consulting, a management consulting firm supporting Fortune 500 companies in the US, Europe, and China. In 2009, he joined the CITIC Group as Director focusing on investments in technology and media. Prior to that, Mr. Xiang worked for Sony BMG in the areas of digital strategy and transformation. Mr. Xiang has extensive experience throughout Asia Pacific and North America and holds a degree in Finance and Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Since April 2015, Mr. Xiang has also been on the board of directors of Sunwest Bank. The Board believes that Mr. Xiang’s expertise of go‐to‐market within the IT channel, knowledge of the technology industry and emerging technology vendors, and international M&A experience bring value to the Board.
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