The OliverIQ leadership team and staff have spent decades bringing the benefits of smart, connected homes to customers around the globe. We are the founders and past leaders of PHAST, iBahn, Control4, home security providers, wireless carriers, and multiple other technology ventures. Our story is one of vision and a passion for simplifying smart home technology. Founded on the belief that managing a connected home should be effortless and intuitive, OliverIQ has launched the first truly complete AI-powered smart home as a service platform.
Will West, Eric Smith and Glen Mella created Control4, led it to dominance as a custom home automation platform, and have made a lasting impact on the smart home industry. They have brought in the top talent from Contro4 to engineer the OliverIQ intelligent platform and Knowledge Center. OliverIQ’s mission is to make true intelligent home automation available to the broad market. This approach is revolutionizing the way people interact with their homes, offering features like home automation, live security monitoring, remote device management and comprehensive technical support. Since our launch at CES 2024, dozens of industry news articles have been written about our technology and business strategy.
OliverIQ provides customers with the platform for intelligent automation, world class support, and a lasting, profitable relationship with the modern connected home. It is the culmination of years of delivering award-winning, elegant smart home solutions and leveraging the latest advancements in intelligent device control, wireless communications, AI and cloud computing. OliverIQ is supported and funded by leading tech investors including EPIC Ventures, Album VC, Pelion Venture Partners, Silicon Valley Bank, and Intel Capital.
Our Name – “IQ” is a reflection of our intelligent, AI-powered platform. The name “Oliver” is inspired by a quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes: “I wouldn’t give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my right hand for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.” This quote encapsulates our mission to provide intelligent, user-friendly tools that transform complexity into simplicity, enhancing the lives of the customers we serve.
OliverIQ is led by a team of automation experts, with a decades-long track record of bringing the benefits of smart home technology home to consumers around the world.
Will West
Chief Executive Officer & Founder
Will West
Chief Executive Officer & Founder
Will has been involved in the world of Home Automation for decades. He and Eric Smith have created 5 industry-leading companies together, and they were both recent recipients of the CEDIA Lifetime Achievement designation; an honor given to only a select few that have helped shape the industry. Will and Eric created Control4 and along with Mark Morgan, Glen Mella, and many others, grew the Company to become the dominant worldwide leader in home automation. They successfully took the Company public in 2013.
Will has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital, private equity, and the public markets. In 1998, he co-founded iBAHN (then called STSN), which became the worldwide leader in broadband services for business travelers serving millions of customers in thousands of hotels. Prior to founding iBAHN, Will was CEO and co-founder of PHAST Corporation, a leading manufacturer of high-end home automation systems. Will also held prior roles at Proctor and Gamble, the FSLIC, and Wasatch Advisors. He holds a degree in Finance from the University of Utah, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds the CFA designation.
Will served as the chairman of the board of the Utah Capital Investment Corporation (the State of Utah’s “Fund of Funds”) where he served for close to 10 years. He served two terms as the Chairman of the Board for the Utah Technology Council (UTC) and he sat on the Governor’s Economic Council and served multiple terms as Chairman of the Leonardo, Utah’s premier Science, Art, and Technology Museum. Will was appointed by the Utah Senate President to the Governing Board of the Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR).
Will has been repeatedly named to Utah Business Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the State. He was twice named Utah Valley Entrepreneur of the Year and was named the Ernst and Young Master Entrepreneur Of The Year® in the intermountain region. In 2008 he was named CEO of the Year by the Utah Technology Council. Will also served on the boards of several connected home and automation companies, including Passive Logic and Hero Labs.
Eric Smith
Chief Technology Officer & Founder
Eric Smith
Chief Technology Officer & Founder
Eric Smith is OliverIQ’s Chief Technology Officer. In this role he is responsible for OliverIQ’s product direction and architecture, leveraging his long and deep background in home automation to guide the products to be simple and comprehensive.
Prior to joining OliverIQ, Eric was Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Control4. Control4 is the first company to make whole-home automation a practical option for any residence. The company makes everyday life easier by providing one-touch control of both new and existing electronic systems in the home. In 2013 Control4 went public on the Nasdaq under the symbol “CTRL.”
Prior to Control4, he co-founded STSN (now iBahn), the worldwide leader in broadband services for business travelers. Eric developed the intellectual property that made it possible to simplify Internet protocols and offer fast, convenient broadband service to travelers staying in more than 500,000 hotel rooms in 300 cities around the world. Prior to STSN, Eric co-founded PHAST Corporation, which quickly became the leading control system in the residential control systems market.
Eric is the father of 7 Children, and holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Brigham Young University.
Glen Mella
Chief Revenue Officer
Glen Mella
Chief Revenue Officer
Glen Mella is Chief Revenue Officer, responsible for the company’s global sales, business development, and strategic partnerships. He has 30+ years operational experience in product management, marketing communications, retail and digital channels, and global business development.
Glen co-founded Axcend, a provider of compact, microflow Liquid Chromatography (LC) systems offering dramatic improvements for scientists in portability and rapid and convenient deployment. Prior to Axcend, Glen completed a 3-year voluntary role as Mission President for the California San Jose Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a co-founder, Board member, and former CEO of Cypher; a software startup that was acquired by Cirrus Logic. Glen also served as President and COO of Control4; a global leader of automation systems for homes and businesses. He served as SVP of marketing and sales for Triton PCS, where he led the marketing and sales efforts of over 700 professionals in 140 company-owned retail stores, and over 500 authorized reseller outlets. Before joining Triton, Glen served as CEO of Found, Inc., a software provider to the retail industry that was acquired by CRS Retail Systems. He also held marketing management positions at Novell, WordPerfect, and Frito-Lay/PepsiCo.
Glen serves on the Boards of Elios, Axcend, and the HealthTree Foundation, and as Advisor to Connected Home Living. He holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School and a Bachelors degree from Brigham Young University. He served on the Board of Directors of InMoment, Imagine Learning, and Cypher; and he also served as a Trustee for the Utah Technology Council and as Chair of the UTC CEO peer-to-peer forum.
Mike Kimball
Chief Financial Officer
Mike Kimball
Chief Financial Officer
Mike Kimball has experience in finance, technology and business transactions. He started his career in public accounting and consulting with EY and Cap Gemini, where he was a director of High Technology in Silicon Valley. He worked with a variety of large Fortune 500 companies, IPO startups, and international companies such as: Google, Cisco, Apple, Samsung, and Verizon.
Mike has extensive experience working in retail, with global teams and international companies. He has also been involved in various startups and non-profits. He currently sits on the board of three charities that are involved in social impact, education, and assistance.
Mike holds Bachelor Degrees in Accounting and Chinese and Master Degrees in Accounting and Information Systems from the Brigham Young University. He loves his family and outdoor activities like running, biking, and skiing.
Julie Blake
Vice President of Marketing
Julie Blake
Vice President of Marketing
Julie is a highly motivated and performance-driven marketing executive with over 30 years of experience developing successful products. From high-profile global brands to start-ups, Blake has been recognized for utilizing innovative approaches to capitalize on market trends to propel new business growth and sales targets. She began her career at Kimberly-Clark Corporation where she spearheaded the launch of HUGGIES Pull-ups® training pants. Later she joined 3Com Corporation as Director of Marketing for the Mobile Communications & Wireless Products Division. From 2003-2022 Blake has filled senior marketing roles at proprietary and public colleges. She executed the launch of Neumont College of Computer Science and most recently served as a Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer at Davis Technical College. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas and a Master of Science in Management degree from Cardinal Stritch University.
Bryan Koutsky
Sales Director
Bryan Koutsky
Sales Director
Bryan Koutsky comes to OliverIQ with over 30 years of experience in the consumer electronics industry. Prior to OliverIQ, Bryan spent 14 years at Control4, where he led the smart home launch into regional retailers, national retailers, builders, and buying groups. Specializing in consumer electronics since 1992, Bryan is a results-driven sales executive focused on sell through vs just sell in, well-versed in consumer electronics, strategic planning, analytical thought leadership, negotiations, and communication. Bryan’s work history includes high end custom sales and installation, retail sales, rep sales, manufacture sales, and managerial experience of local and remote teams. Bryan has been a volunteer with CTA for the multi-room audio board, as well as tech home board. His expertise is focused on developing customers, implementing sales strategies, and execution at the highest level. During his off time, he loves spending quality time with family, fishing, golfing, playing baseball, watching the Green Bay Packers, and Kansas Jayhawks Basketball.
John Epeneter
Vice President of Product
John Epeneter
Vice President of Product
John Epeneter has been seeking (and not yet finding) business perfection for most of his 30+ year career. He has lived through sky-rocketing pre-IPO start-ups and spiraling declines of large enterprises, survived dot-bombs and great recessions, and all the roller coaster twist and turns in between. Under many titles including Vice President, Senior Director, and Director, he has defined, delivered, managed, marketed, and sold cloud, mobile, and server apps as well as the hardware they run on. He has worked in B2B, B2C, and B2B2C markets using dealer, distributor, and direct channels. John graduated from Westminster College with a dual MBA in IT and marketing. He also holds a BS in business and organizational communications from Emerson College. He and his wife Cindy live in Sandy, UT and are the proud progenitors of three daughters, two sons-in-law, and one granddaughter.