Management & Directors

John Hastings – Director, Chief Executive Officer, President & Chief Operating Officer

Joining the Company in February 2008, John Hastings leverages 23 years of progressive general management, marketing, consulting and sales experiences gained from work in over 30 countries with world class organizations: Nestle/Stouffer's, Kraft/General Foods, Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., NCR/Teredata, Unisys Corp. and VNU/ACNielsen. While at VNU/ACNielsen, a $4.5 Billion global research, media and publication’s company headquartered in New York, John spent eight years building and managing various organizations where he last served as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of VNU MI Global Business Intelligence.

With a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cal State University, Fullerton, CA, and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA, John is also classically trained in brand management, field sales & marketing and management & information consulting disciplines and has managed $100+ million business units and organizations as large as 250 associates. Importantly, John also brings a family background of law enforcement experiences, wherein several relatives have worked as Peace Officers in the U.S., (as jailers, sheriffs, L.A. & S.F. police academy faculty, and chiefs of police). 

Chad Olsen - Secretary & Chief Financial Officer

Joining the Company as the corporate controller in September 2001, Mr. Olsen has been the Company's Chief Accounting Officer since October 2008. Previously, from 1992 to 1997, Mr. Olsen worked in the banking and investment industry where he assisted clients with tax, investment and banking services. From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Olsen worked with a certified public accounting firm performing tax, auditing, and business consultative services. Additionally, Mr. Olsen owned and operated his own accounting practice performing tax, accounting, and consulting services. Mr. Olsen received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Brigham Young University.

Robert Childers – Director

Mr. Childers joined our board in July 2001.  Since 1977, he has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Structures Resources Inc., a firm which he founded in 1972, and has more than 30 years of business experience in construction and real estate development.  Mr. Childers has served or is currently serving as General Partner in 16 Public Limited Partnerships in the Middle Atlantic States.  Partners include First Union Bank and Fannie Mae.  Structures Resources has successfully completed over 300 projects (offices, hotels, apartments, and shopping centers) from New York to North Carolina. 

Recently Mr. Childers has founded a new company providing construction services to major companies developing gas wells in the Marcellus shale. He is a co-founder of Life Science Group, a boutique biotech investment-banking firm. Mr. Childers was the founding President of Associated Building Contractors for the State of West Virginia and served as a director of The Twentieth Street Bank until its merger with City Holding Bank.  He is a former naval officer serving in Atlantic fleet submarines.  Mr. Childers is a member of the Compensation Committee and the Nominating Committee of our board of directors.

Larry G. Schafran – Director

Larry G. Schafran, Director.  Mr. Schafran is associated with Providence Capital, Inc. (“PCI”) as a Managing Director.  PCI is a New York City-based investment and advisory firm.  Mr. Schafran is also a director of Tarragon Corporation.  Additionally, Mr. Schafran was Lead Director and Audit Committee Chairman and later a Consultant to the Chairman of WorldSpace, Inc.  In addition, Mr. Schafran is also a Director of the following publicly traded U. S. corporations: Sulphco, Inc., New Frontier Energy, Inc., DollarDays International, Inc., Subaye Corp. and National Patent Development Corporation.  In recent years, Mr. Schafran served in several capacities, including, as a Director of PubliCard, Inc. and ElectroEnergy, and Trustee, Chairman/Interim-CEO/President and Co-Liquidating Trustee of Special Liquidating Trust of Banyan Strategic Realty Trust; Director and/or Chairman of the Executive Committees of Dart Group Corporation, Crown Books Corporation, TrakAuto Corporation, and Shoppers Food Warehouse, Inc. (Vice-Chairman); Director and Member of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committees of COMSAT Corporation, and Managing General Partner of L. G. Schafran & Partners, LP, a real estate investment and development firm.  Mr. Schafran is Chairman of the Audit and Nominating Committees and a Member the Compensation Committee of our board of directors.

David P. Hanlon – Director

Mr. Hanlon resigned as Chief Executive Officer and President of Empire Resorts, Inc., a public company in the gaming industry in May 2009.  Prior to starting his own gaming consulting business in 2000, in which he advised a number of Indian and international gaming ventures, Mr. Hanlon was President and Chief Operating Officer of Rio Suites Hotel & Casino from 1996-1999, a period in which the Rio Suites Hotel & Casino underwent a major expansion. From 1994-1995, Mr. Hanlon served as President and Chief Executive Officer of International Game Technology, the world's leading manufacturer of microprocessor gaming machines. From 1988-1993, Mr. Hanlon served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Merv Griffin's Resorts International, and prior to that, Mr. Hanlon served as President of Harrah's Atlantic City (Harrah's Marina and Trump Plaza). Mr. Hanlon's education includes a B.S. in Hotel Administration from Cornell University, an M.S. in Accounting, an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and he completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. Mr. Hanlon is a member of the Audit Committee of our board of directors.

Rene Klinkhammer – Director

Mr. Klinkhammer graduated from European Business School, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany, in 2004, with an MBA-equivalent degree in business administration.  His majors were Banking, Finance and International Management.  After graduating, Mr. Klinkhammer joined Deutsche Bank’s Investment Banking Division as an analyst in the Corporate Finance Advisory Group, specializing in mergers & acquisitions, along with debt and equity financing transactions for larger German clients of the bank.  In 2007, Mr. Klinkhammer joined Sapinda Group, a privately-owned investment company with offices in Amsterdam, Berlin and London.  For the past three years, Mr. Klinkhammer has worked with SecureAlert’s parent, RemoteMDx, as both an investor and advisor.