NovaStor Management Team
Experience & Dedication
Each member of NovaStor’s executive management team has extensive practical experience dealing with economic and strategic challenges of the IT, software and data lifecycle industry.
NovaStor focuses on developing technologies that enable enterprises, resellers and service providers to enter growth markets with a strong profile supported by profitable products and services.
NovaStor’s management expertise has proven its value in the building of successful enterprises.
The use of established management systems further enables the steering of a company that centers around customers and partners.
Stefan Utzinger | CEO
After developing IT-systems for the EU and the Hoechst AG as a student, Stefan Utzinger laid the groundwork of his entrepreneurial engagement with the foundation of Conceptware AG in 1992.
He led the company specializing in content management systems as chairman of the board until 2001 - acquiring renowned VC companies as investors. Among others, a leading German economics magazine recognized his work:
According to “WirtschaftsWoche” he belongs to the “Elite of the Future” and was awarded respectively in the year 2000.
Stefan Utzinger continued to consult leading IT-enterprises strategically, thereby contributing to the building of a sales network.
Among his tasks were the position as Head of Partner business with Intershop and the setting-up of the outsourcing business at Arvato Systems.
Another milestone was the expansion of the European distribution network for Allaire (now Adobe).
Stefan Utzinger joined NovaStor in 2004. After being in charge of the research & development processes, he was assigned Executive Vice President Marketing & Technology.
In 2007 Stefan Utzinger was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). In this role he is responsible for NovaStor’s worldwide business operations.
Stefan shares his expertise and practical experience with building successful enterprises and direct and indirect sales channels in particular in his 2011 book publication
Channel Revolution.
Find further information at www.channel-revolution.com.
Mike Andrews | Managing Director NovaStor Corp.
Mike Andrews was promoted to the position of Managing Director in January 2007, retaining the title of Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales, a position which he has held at NovaStor since July of 2000.
He is responsible for the operations of NovaStor’s North American head quarters and for the global sales of NovaStor’s complete product line.
Prior to NovaStor, in 1990, he managed a Canadian government inventory tracking and security initiative for 7 years leading to hundreds of millions in cost avoidance and savings.
In 1997, he then became the Executive Vice President of Sales at Authentex Software, acting as the North American Distribution for ThunderByte Anti-Virus and a world wide distributor for the award winning DataSafe Encryption Software solution.
He is a 17 year veteran of the data security industry, is co-founder of a system integration and services company and currently sits on the board of Paradox, a non-profit organization that
furnishes under privileged students with computers and professional training to assist in the creation of better work opportunities.
Adrian Knapp | Chairman & CEO of Novavisions AG
Adrian Knapp is a seasoned entrepreneur. He has a degree in Business Economics from GSBA Zurich and has been involved in the launch of several different companies. In 1991, he was one of the founders of Dicom AG (Kofax PLC today), an international Swiss value-added distributor (VAD) for imaging products. Dicom AG had its initial public offering (IPO) on the AIM-London Stock Exchange in 1995. Adrian was also co-founder of COPE AG, the first fully data storage focused system integrator in Central Europe. COPE AG had a Nasdaq IPO in 1998. Later, Adrian was involved with Mount10, a Swiss-based managed service firm. Mount10 went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2000. In 2005, Adrian bought the American NovaStor and a year later, became the initiator of Novavisions AG, a holding firm that invests in Internet and technology firms. Novavisions AG is a large shareholder in NovaStor. As Chairman of the Board for NovaStor, Adrian Knapp and Markus Bernhard, along with the rest of the NovaStor management team, are responsible for the overall strategic direction of the company.
Markus Bernhard | CFO of mobilezone holding AG
Markus Bernhard graduated from the University of St. Gallen as a licensed Business Economist with a B.A. HSG degree. He worked for Revisuisse Price Waterhouse between 1991 and 1997. During that time, he also became a Certified Public Accountant. In September 1997, Markus was appointed as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of COPE Inc. and later became the CFO of Mount10. At that time, NovaStor was the main driver in the IPO processes at COPE and Mount10. Markus then served as CFO for Novavisions AG until March 2007. One month later, Markus became the CFO of Mobilezone Holding AG, a leading Swiss-based independent mobile phone provider.
