Management Profiles

Brett Brinton is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Zonar. Brett established the company with four founders in 2001 developing and introducing the first Electronic Vehicle Inspection Report (EVIR) system in the transportation industry. Since the inaugural EVIR product, Zonar diversified its solutions and expanded its markets under Brett’s vision and leadership.

Brett’s interest in business began while studying pre-medicine at the University of California-Irvine. He planned to use this degree to serve his Native American Potawatomi tribe, but instead moved to Seattle, WA in 1989 to begin a business with his father, William Brinton Sr. and brother, Bill Brinton.

The family founded Wasser High Tech Coatings based on a unique and patented high performance, heavy-duty, industrial polyurethane coating. Brett Brinton envisioned the company to grow exponentially and the family pursued the development, manufacturing, sales, marketing and finance of Wasser with perseverance and determination. Brett undertook the challenge of bringing a new product to an old, established market place. Wasser rapidly became the global leader in industrial coatings for large infrastructures, including bridges, pipelines, airports and sports stadiums.

In 1999, the Brintons sold Wasser and Brett remained with the company for one year in a leadership role. He then joined Eurochemie B.V. in the Netherlands and provided technical training and operational support for a new product launch in Europe and the Middle East. Brett helped successfully establish the new product line with over $1 million in sales the first six months. The second year brought a 50% increase over the prior year’s sales.

Brett credits much of his business savvy & enterprising skills to his father and his experience at Wasser. This experience set the foundation for success when launching Zonar in 2001.

Brett resides in Seattle, WA with his wife Joy, and sons Jesse and Matthew. He maintains an active lifestyle and enjoys outdoor activities including snow skiing and wake boarding.

Mike co-founded Zonar Systems in 2001 to fulfill the growing and expanding technological demands of the transportation industry. As Zonar’s Chief Technology Officer, Mike brings the customers’ needs to the Research and Development team, leading them to fulfill those needs with the most technologically advanced and cost-effective products on the market today.

Throughout his career Mike has held safety to be of utmost importance, often working in fields where the failure to maintain a safe work environment could be life threatening. Mike began using technology to increase safety while working at Zetec, where he used robotics and networking systems to ensure the operational integrity of submarines and aircraft carriers, and to secure hazardous areas such as nuclear power plants. Prior to Zetec, Mike contributed to the testing of avionics systems for commercial and military aircraft at Sundstrand Data Control, working on projects such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. During his work at Zonar Mike has continued to hone his skills, working in part to develop many now patented Zonar products and intellectual property.

He draws upon his experience in both writing software and designing hardware to ensure that Zonar's products and services are fully integrated for a seamless user experience. Protecting drivers is a personal goal of his, as his father drove trucks for a living. His mission at Zonar is to provide valuable solutions that make the roads safer for everyone.

Mike resides in Issaquah, WA with his wife Sylvie and daughters Cristina and Sabrina. In his free time Mike enjoys bass fishing.

Chris joins Zonar as Executive Vice President bringing over 25 years of financial, operational, and technological experience from the transportation industry. As Zonar’s Executive Vice President, his primary focus is to develop and oversee Zonar’s quickly growing position within the commercial transportation space.

Prior to joining Zonar, Chris held several leadership positions in commercial transportation—most recently serving as President & COO of the Celadon Group. Chris also served as President and CEO of Tripmaster, President and CEO of Atipical Holdings, President of Pegasus Transtech, and Executive Vice President of Terion Tracking Systems. He also spent 16 years with GE Capital culminating in a role as the president of TIP North America – a $550M, 125 branch leasing business.

Chris is the Chief Marketing Officer for Zonar and has spent more than 15 years developing and implementing marketing strategies that get things moving for companies in the business of making things move. With experience as both a corporate executive and consultant in the public and private sectors, Chris has a solid understanding of what it’s like to operate a fleet in today’s highly competitive and heavily regulated environment.

Chris brings to the Zonar team a unique blend of analytical, technological and creative foresight that has consistently yielded success to a diverse group of transportation-based companies. Chris holds a BBA in Marketing, Finance and International Management from the University of Toledo.

Kendall joined Zonar in 2011 and serves as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer. Kendall brings 25 years of financial experience and leadership to Zonar, with a background working with high growth companies.

Previously, Kendall was CFO of Verathon Medical, Inc., a leading designer, developer and manufacturer of proprietary medical devices. Verathon marketed its products globally with operations in 7 countries and was acquired by Roper Industries in 2009. Kendall was also Corporate Controller for Immunex Corporation, a premier developer of biopharmaceutical technology. He joined Immunex in 1990 and held various financial management positions during the company’s growth from a 200 person research company to a fully integrated research, manufacturing, and sales organization employing more than 2,000 employees with annual sales exceeding $1 billion.

Kendall’s background also includes working with publicly and privately-held companies, as both an executive and consultant, in the areas of corporate compliance, projections and valuations, corporate financing, and accounting operations. He started his career in 1987 as an auditor with the public accounting firm of Deloitte and Touche. He is a CPA and holds a B.A. in business administration from the University of Washington.

Eric co-founded Zonar Systems after spending 25 years in commercial sales representing John Deere, Mercedes Benz & Freightliner Trucks. His vision of simplifying the vehicle inspection process led to the development of Zonar's 2010 EVIR handheld which revolutionized the transportation industry.

Throughout his professional career Eric has specialized in introducing new products and technology to the transportation and construction industry. In his current Vice President of Business Development position, Eric is responsible for the introduction of Zonar’s solutions to the nation’s most innovative commercial vehicle operators, customers and manufacturers.

Don joined Zonar in 2003 and brings to the team more than 45 years of leadership in the education and pupil transportation industry including school district administration, department of education administration, and private sector employment partnering with educational institutions. Don earned a B.A. from the University of Washington, where he played center and linebacker on two Rose Bowl football teams, and earned his Master's degree at Central Washington University.

Don was inducted into the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) Hall of Fame in 2006 after serving in leadership roles with several national pupil transportation organizations. He is currently the NAPT President Elect. In his current role as Vice President of Business Development, Don introduces Zonar solutions to increase safety and efficiency for pupil transportation.

Fred joined Zonar in 2010 after a 25 year career with the Washington State Patrol (WSP). During his career, he commanded the WSP Academy, Government and Relations Division and the Commercial Vehicle Division. He is the Past President for the Washington Chapter, FBI National Academy Associates. Fred is a member of the American Trucking Association (ATA) Safety Policy Committee and earned his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Washington.

In this current role as Vice President of Product Management & Compliance, he leads Zonar’s product development to meet the needs of customers today and tomorrow.