Leadership Team
Bobby Balachandran founded Exterro, Inc. with the conviction that process improvements in the legal industry can be driven from lessons learned in other industries. He leads the company in building a comprehensive platform for global corporations to mitigate risks, control costs, and have complete visibility into their legal governance, risk, compliance and discovery processes, from end to end. As president and CEO, he has demonstrated leadership in bringing creative software solutions and breakthrough workflow technology to the legal industry; and brings 15 years of leadership experience in architecting and implementing large-scale GRC solutions for Fortune 500 companies to daily operations.
Balachandran leads the overall strategy and vision of the company, providing the senior management team with a unified vision and enabling the organization to grow aggressively and sustainably, and fostering a culture of creativity, innovation and flexibility. His comprehensive legal and technology background provide the real-world knowledge and practical experience needed to drive Exterro’s continued innovation.
Before founding Exterro, Balachandran worked extensively in financial services, healthcare and telecommunication industries building mission-critical applications. He holds a BS in computer science from Government College of Technology in Coimbatore, India, and an MS in computer science from Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.
Karthik Palani oversees the day-to-day global operations of Exterro. He leads the integration of strategic and innovative processes into Exterro’s Fusion platform, and works with the executive team to evaluate and drive new strategic business opportunities, including strategic alliances, mergers, and acquisitions. Palani has more than ten years of information technology leadership experience in the automotive, manufacturing, health care, and telecommunications industries. He received a BS in computer science and Engineering from Regional Engineering College in Trichy, India.
Shashidhar Angadi is the head of Technology Operations at Exterro, Inc., and drives the technology direction of Exterro, focusing on architecture frameworks, portals, security, service-oriented architecture, CRM and application integration. Angadi has more than 15 years of experience in the IT industry and has architected and implemented complex solutions for a number of leading retail and financial institutions. He holds a BS in computer science from Bangalore University in Bangalore, India.
Ajith Samuel is the executive vice president of Exterro, Inc.’s process innovation department, and leads the company’s trailblazing product strategy team. Samuel has 15 years of experience in regulatory compliance and designing and architecting large-scale information systems for the futures industry. He holds a master’s degree in computer applications from St. Joseph’s in Trichy, India.
Mark Wilcox is the Vice President of Enterprise Software Sales, driving partnerships and finding solutions for clients to solve their legal governance and e-discovery challenges. Wilcox also manages technical integrations with software partners and system integration partners, streamlining and ensuring collaboration between software development teams across corporate legal and IT environments. Wilcox is a proven leader with a history of success in building strong consultative development teams focused on identifying and supplying solutions to address specific client needs. He has more than two decades of sales and management experience ranging from advertising and media to lending and finance. He holds a BS in speech communications from Oregon State University.
Bob Rohlf has broad experience in law and business. With a background in process management, Rohlf managed business process improvement projects in a number of national and regional companies representing the transportation, energy, manufacturing, electronics, foods, and leisure sectors. Prior to joining Exterro, Rohlf was Global Services Director for Commerce One, where he built relationships with services partners to deliver enterprise-level projects to clients in the pharmaceutical, energy, and metals sectors. A member of the Oregon State Bar, Rohlf has experience with general business and patent litigation, as well as environmental regulatory agencies. Rohlf has an MBA from Oregon State University and a JD from Lewis and Clark School of Law.
Mandana Salehi has more than ten years of experience working with compliance in the government and academic fields, as well as in marketing and management. As Senior Director of Solutions Consulting, Salehi has brought her expertise in the administration of justice, electronic discovery and the practical application of complex legal concepts to Exterro. Salehi is an expert in industry trends, workflow management software functionality and project management. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Portland State University in Administration of Justice, and is currently completing her master’s of business administration at Marylhurst University in Portland, Oregon.
Debbie Caldwell is highly regarded communications professional with more than 25 years of experience in the high technology, general business and legal industries. Prior to joining Exterro, she held senior marketing positions at Fios, Inc., one of the top e-discovery service providers, and Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. She has also represented a myriad of public and growth companies, such as Intel, Sequent Computer Systems (now IBM), Instantiations (now Google) and Tripwire Security Systems. Debbie earned her degree in Journalism, with an emphasis in public relations and a minor in both Business and English, from the University of Oregon.
As the Director of Product Marketing and Strategic Alliances, Jim FitzGerald drives growth and positioning of Exterro’s e-discovery solution suite in the marketplace. FitzGerald brings to Exterro more than 20 years of experience in marketing and management for industry-leading complex software solution providers. Previously, FitzGerald was Director of Product Management and Strategy for IBM for ten years. While at IBM, he was responsible for initiatives that grew a technology and product base of $22 million per year to $414 million per year, and forged strategic partnerships with leaders such as Cisco, Nokia, and Siemens and McKesson. FitzGerald earned his Masters of Business Administration in technology marketing from the University of Oregon, and holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science/MIS from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.
David Hartmann brings more than ten years of experience in complex software implementations to his role as the Director of Client Success at Exterro. Hartmann heads up the planning and execution of project charters and success criteria processes to ensure Exterro clients achieve success. He is a visionary leader with a history of success in building strong cross-functional teams focused on delivering solutions to address specific client needs. He holds a BS in project management and organizational leadership from George Fox University, was honored as an Oregon Scholar by then-Governor John Kitzhaber, and is currently completing his Project Management Professional certification. He also received the national leadership award for business advocacy in 2005
Bob Carey has been litigating cases since 1987 and has substantial jury trial and appellate experience. He specializes in employment litigation involving discrimination and wrongful discharge complaints, enforcement of non-competition agreements, and related commercial litigation. Carey is admitted to practice in Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, and the Defense Research Institute, and he is active on committees with state and local bar associations.
Carey received his B.A. in economics from Harvard University and his J.D. from Willamette University College of Law.
Bill Drew is a litigation shareholder with Elliott, Ostrander & Preston, P.C., in Portland, Oregon. Drew specializes in practical problem solving, dispute resolution, complex negotiations, trial work, and appellate advocacy, with a focus on business, real estate, and intellectual property disputes. As a former judicial clerk to the Honorable W. Michael Gillette of the Oregon Supreme Court, Drew is familiar with the internal processes of appellate courts and persuasion.
Drew graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he taught both negotiation skills for the Harvard Negotiation Project and advocacy skills for the Harvard Board of Student Advisors.
Joseph Tripi’s practice concentrates on commercial litigation, construction litigation and creditors’ rights. Before joining Grenley, Rotenberg, Evans, Bragg & Bodie, P.C., Tripi was with Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt for five years, representing clients in a variety of construction defect litigation.
Joe Tripi holds a J.D. from University of Oregon School of Law, and is a member of the Multnomah County Bar Association, OSB Debtor-Creditor Section; OSB Litigation Section; and OSB Construction Law Section. He is a member of the City Club of Portland, Associated General Contractors (“AGC”), American Institute of Architects “AIA”), American Builders & Contractors (“ABC”), and Home Builders Association (“HBA”). He is involved with AGC Young Contractors Forum, AGC Legislative Committee and AGC Associates Counsel.