Our Board
Charles H. Ogburn
Executive Director and Head of Corporate Investment Arcapita, Inc.
Charles Ogburn (Charlie) is an Executive Director and Head of Corporate Investment of Arcapita. Prior to joining Arcapita, Charlie spent more than 15 years at the investment banking firm of Robinson-Humphrey, most recently as Senior Managing Director and co-head of investment banking. Prior to Robinson-Humphrey, Charlie was an attorney with the law firm of King & Spalding for five years.
Charlie is a graduate of Duke University and earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University School of Law. He is a Director of the Atlanta Venture Forum and a Trustee of Trinity School.
J. Leo Montgomery
Advisory Director
Leo Montgomery joined SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in 2003 after spending more than 39 years as a Senior Partner for Ernst & Young LLP. Leo served as the Southeast Area Industry Leader for the Technology, Communications and Entertainment Group and served on the International Telecommunications Advisory Committee. He has significant experience in helping publicly held companies with merger and acquisition transactions, as well as structuring their financing arrangements.
Leo has assisted companies with more than 100 Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including 20 initial public offering registration statements. At Ernst and Young, he served clients of all sizes, from entrepreneurial enterprises to professionally managed companies including Cingular Wireless, BellSouth Corporation and AT&T Latin America.
Leo holds a BA degree from Harding University.
R. Stanley Allen
Advisory Director
Stan Allen is Founder and President of First Mile Communications, a provider of broadband wireless last mile services based in Atlanta. Stan also co-founded Cypress Communications, Inc., a provider of managed voice, data and Internet solutions for small to mid-sized enterprises in commercial office buildings. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Cypress through its IPO in 2000 and later as Vice Chairman for Strategic Initiatives through the sale of the company to Arcapita in 2005.
Prior to Cypress, Stan was founder and President of Applied Video Technologies, Inc. an MMDS investment and development company based in Atlanta with holdings in the Southeastern United States. He was also co-founder and President of American Quality Cable, Inc. an MMDS license acquisition and operating company based in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Stan has previously held positions as a management consultant for Coopers & Lybrand and Wellington Real Estate, a subsidiary of Wellington Management Company. He holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Virginia and is a former director of the Wireless Communications Association.
James S. Gilmore, III
Advisory Director
The Honorable James S. Gilmore III, former Governor of Virginia brings an exceptional history of leadership and distinguished service to Cypress Communications. During his term as Virginia's executive leader, from 1998 to 2002, Governor Gilmore created the nation's first secretariat of technology, established a statewide technology commission, and signed into law the nation's first comprehensive state Internet policy. He also chaired the U.S. Congressional Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities Involving Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction, a national panel established by Congress to assess federal, state, and local government capabilities to respond to the consequences of a terrorist attack. Also known as the Gilmore Commission, this panel was influential in developing the Office of Homeland Security.
In 2003, President George W. Bush appointed him to the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors, and he was elected Chairman of the Air Force Board in the fall of 2003. Governor Gilmore was also Virginia's Attorney General from 1993 to 1997. From 2002 to 2008, Governor Gilmore was a partner at the law firm of Kelley Drye and Warren, where he chaired the firm's Homeland Security Practice Group and focused on corporate, technology, information technology and international matters. Governor Gilmore is a 1971 graduate of the University of Virginia and a 1977 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.
In addition to Cypress Communications, Governor Gilmore serves on the board of directors of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc., Everquest Financial, CACI International, Inc., and the National Rifle Association. Governor Gilmore is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has just formed a consultancy, the Gilmore Global Group, LLC, to provide strategic advice and transactional assistance on business matters. He has also served on the boards of Barr Pharmaceuticals from 2002 to 2008 and IDT Corporation from 2002 to 2006 and chaired the Republican National Committee in 2001 and the Republican Governors' Association in 2000.
Stephen L. Schilling
President & CEO of Cypress Communications
Stephen L. Schilling has over 20 years of experience in the telecom and data communications industry where he has specialized in turnarounds, start-ups and managing high-growth firms. Prior to Cypress Communications, Steve was the founder and President of Netifice Communications, a company he created in 1998 and led until its merger with MegaPath Networks. Under his leadership, Netifice navigated the turbulent waters of telecom in the early 2000’s to become a thriving, nationally recognized leader and innovator in the IP VPN space.
Prior to Netifice, Steve was President and COO of Charter Communications International, and prior to Charter Communications, he held executive positions at GE Capital-ResCom, MFS and RealCom Office Communications.
Steve has twice been named to Catalyst Magazine’s Atlanta’s Top 50 Entrepreneurs list. In 2000 he was an Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year finalist and in 2004 he was awarded Atlanta Telecom Professionals’ Award for Outstanding Leadership. Steve speaks frequently at industry tradeshows and has been published in various trade journals. He earned a B.S. in Administrative Management from Clemson University and an M.B.A. in International Business from Georgia State University.
